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Vintage 1954
When Hubert Larnaudie invites some fellow residents of his Parisian apartment building to drink an exceptional bottle of 1954 Beaujolais, he has no idea of its special properties. The following morning, Hubert finds himself waking up in 1950s Paris, as do antique restorer Magalie, mixologist Julien, and Airbnb tenant Bob from Milwaukee, who's on his first trip to Europe. After their initial shock, the city of Edith Piaf and An American in Paris begins to work its charm on them. The four delight in getting to know the French capital during this iconic period whilst also playing with the possibilities that time travel allows. But, ultimately, they need to work out how to get back to 2017, and time is of the essence....
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First published April 4, 2018
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About the author
Antoine Laurain
36 books684 followersAntoine Laurain (born 1972) is a French author. He previously worked as a screenwriter and antiques dealer.
His first novel "The Portrait" was published in 2007 and he achieved wide international acclaim with "The Red Notebook". Since then his works have been translated into 14 languages and partly made into films.
His first novel "The Portrait" was published in 2007 and he achieved wide international acclaim with "The Red Notebook". Since then his works have been translated into 14 languages and partly made into films.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 278 reviews
February 2, 2025
My thoughts on this book's appeal center on its ability to lull your anxiety centers and soothe your story cravings while delivering resolutions to all problems for all the people we've invested our three hours in. Really welcome in the Silly Season of family gatherings, work parties, and suchlike exhaustions. Load the Kindlebook onto your phone for $9.50, read it in bits and snatches...you'll recall everything because it's all right there.
Satisfying, savorable civet for your ease and delectation.
The TL;DR version appears on my blog.
Satisfying, savorable civet for your ease and delectation.
The TL;DR version appears on my blog.
February 26, 2020
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
I firstly need to begin this review by saying that I have had this book for quite a while. I did try to read it last year but about 3/4 chapters in I gave up as the story just didn’t grab me. I decided that I would try the book again as the synopsis had me very intrigued, this time I stayed with it until the end.
The plot, in a nutshell, is about a group of four people, three Parisians (Hubert, Julien, and Magalie), and an Airbnb guest from Milwaukee, USA, called Bob who is staying in their apartment block. An incident with a locked door sees Hubert decides to share a vintage bottle of 1954 Beaujolais with the three mentioned above. After having a good evening drinking and socialising one by one they awake the next day to find themselves transported to the year of the wine. The setting is Paris.
The time-travel aspect was certainly different and enjoyable whilst the mention of flying saucers and the link to the wine was a little too far-fetched for me but I understand that there had to be some reason why drinking the Beaujolais would take the four of them back to 1954.
I am completely split on what I think about the book. I loved the setting of Paris in the 50s and the references to things and people from that era, however, I found that I began drifting off or thinking of other things whilst reading, the book just couldn’t keep my attention. It was also supposed to be a humorous tale but I only found small sections funny.
For those of you that are old enough to remember the 50s, this book could be a good trip down memory lane, or those that adore Paris could see all the sites as they have never before. For me, I just couldn’t get into the story and it was an effort to read it.
This is completely me and not the book. Shame as I was looking forward to it. Part of me does wonder whether if it is the fact that the book is translated, such as have parts of the plot been changed or rearranged to make it work in English? I guess I’ll never know.
The book is certainly different and if you enjoy historical fiction, that is a little unusual, then you just might like this story.
I firstly need to begin this review by saying that I have had this book for quite a while. I did try to read it last year but about 3/4 chapters in I gave up as the story just didn’t grab me. I decided that I would try the book again as the synopsis had me very intrigued, this time I stayed with it until the end.
The plot, in a nutshell, is about a group of four people, three Parisians (Hubert, Julien, and Magalie), and an Airbnb guest from Milwaukee, USA, called Bob who is staying in their apartment block. An incident with a locked door sees Hubert decides to share a vintage bottle of 1954 Beaujolais with the three mentioned above. After having a good evening drinking and socialising one by one they awake the next day to find themselves transported to the year of the wine. The setting is Paris.
The time-travel aspect was certainly different and enjoyable whilst the mention of flying saucers and the link to the wine was a little too far-fetched for me but I understand that there had to be some reason why drinking the Beaujolais would take the four of them back to 1954.
I am completely split on what I think about the book. I loved the setting of Paris in the 50s and the references to things and people from that era, however, I found that I began drifting off or thinking of other things whilst reading, the book just couldn’t keep my attention. It was also supposed to be a humorous tale but I only found small sections funny.
For those of you that are old enough to remember the 50s, this book could be a good trip down memory lane, or those that adore Paris could see all the sites as they have never before. For me, I just couldn’t get into the story and it was an effort to read it.
This is completely me and not the book. Shame as I was looking forward to it. Part of me does wonder whether if it is the fact that the book is translated, such as have parts of the plot been changed or rearranged to make it work in English? I guess I’ll never know.
The book is certainly different and if you enjoy historical fiction, that is a little unusual, then you just might like this story.
July 5, 2019
Dreadful! Avoid this sappy time-travel novel at all costs. I thought the setup promised a gentle dose of fantasy, and liked the fact that the characters could meet their ancestors and some Paris celebrities during their temporary stay in 1954, induced by drinking a particular bottle of wine. But the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes, particularly a gay hairdresser and an American Harley-Davidson fanatic. An antiques restorer who dresses in a Goth style is universally nicknamed Abby, after some character on a TV show I never heard of. The plot is far-fetched and silly, with UFOs as time machines, e.g. traveling through time rather than space. I also thought a character being in a coma after a cancer diagnosis seemed nonsensical. (For delightful nostalgia and cameo appearances from famous historical figures, I would advise you to watch Midnight in Paris instead.)
October 26, 2019
An assorted mismatch group of five people drink a bottle of 1954 Beaujolais and are transported back in time. It could be they are in a drunken haze, or it’s just an excuse for Laurain to write about Paris in its heyday, and slip the likes of Edith Piaf and Salvador Dali into his tale. It’s harmless piffle, and reminded me in places of a sitcom that holds your attention, though at no stage do you laugh at loud.
I was looking for a book to ‘cleanse the palate’ before some darker reading for late October, and to an extent, this fitted the bill. It only takes a couple of hours to get through.
I haven’t read any other Laurain, but from summaries of his other stuff, I don’t think this is typical of his work. I may have to be persuaded to read more from him though..
I was looking for a book to ‘cleanse the palate’ before some darker reading for late October, and to an extent, this fitted the bill. It only takes a couple of hours to get through.
I haven’t read any other Laurain, but from summaries of his other stuff, I don’t think this is typical of his work. I may have to be persuaded to read more from him though..
February 7, 2019
Hubert Larnaudie invites some of his neighbors in his apartment in Paris to share a bottle of 1954 Beaujolais. To his great astonishment, he and three others---antique restorer Magalie, mixologist Julien, and Airbnb tenant Bob---awake the next morning in 1950s Paris.
The four encounter all the fascinations of old Paris---bistros on every corner, fruit and vegetable carts, lampposts, unfiltered cigarettes, and lots of celebrities---and it's a delightful adventure for them all as they search for a way to return to the present-day.
So much fun!
The four encounter all the fascinations of old Paris---bistros on every corner, fruit and vegetable carts, lampposts, unfiltered cigarettes, and lots of celebrities---and it's a delightful adventure for them all as they search for a way to return to the present-day.
So much fun!
May 30, 2019
Another satisfying light read full of laughs from Antoine Laurain. It's so rare that a book actually makes me laugh out loud, but this one did, quite a few times.
It's far-fetched, but knowing he writes an uplifting tale and creates such fun characters makes me want to read everything he writes.
Here, its 2017 and we meet a Parisian man named Hubert who lives in a building that has been in his family for generations, though now he owns only the apartment he lives in. His wife and daughters are away, he has just attended the management committee meeting and goes into his cellar when he finds a dusty 1954 Vintage Beaujolais. Accidentally locking himself in, he is rescued by Bob from Milwaukee, who's rented Madame Renaud's apartment on AirBnB (say you're the American cousin if anyone asks) so in a gesture of appreciation Hubert invites Bob and two other tenants Julien ( a cocktail waiter) and Magalie (a restorer of antique ceramics) to join him to open the bottle.
1954 was a special year and the novel has already taken us to the Saint Antoine vineyards where the grapes may have been infused with a bit of magic from a low flying unidentified object. Pierre Chauveau (Julien's great grandfather) gave a testimony describing what he had seen and was mocked by villagers for it, he drank a bottle of the 1954 Beaujolais, gave some to his dog (as he had the habit of doing), went out for a walk and was never seen again.
The morning after the four in Paris drink the vintage wine, they wake up in 1954.
As they head out into their day, we too are taken back in time and see the city and people's habits as they were back in the 50's. Bob, who has never been to Paris takes the longest time to realise he's no longer in 2017. The four of them have various interesting encounters and then come up with a plan on how to get themselves back to their present.
It's a fun ride, entertaining, and brings back to life some of the memorable characters of Paris of a bygone era. It would look great on screen to see how different Paris was.
It's far-fetched, but knowing he writes an uplifting tale and creates such fun characters makes me want to read everything he writes.
Here, its 2017 and we meet a Parisian man named Hubert who lives in a building that has been in his family for generations, though now he owns only the apartment he lives in. His wife and daughters are away, he has just attended the management committee meeting and goes into his cellar when he finds a dusty 1954 Vintage Beaujolais. Accidentally locking himself in, he is rescued by Bob from Milwaukee, who's rented Madame Renaud's apartment on AirBnB (say you're the American cousin if anyone asks) so in a gesture of appreciation Hubert invites Bob and two other tenants Julien ( a cocktail waiter) and Magalie (a restorer of antique ceramics) to join him to open the bottle.
1954 was a special year and the novel has already taken us to the Saint Antoine vineyards where the grapes may have been infused with a bit of magic from a low flying unidentified object. Pierre Chauveau (Julien's great grandfather) gave a testimony describing what he had seen and was mocked by villagers for it, he drank a bottle of the 1954 Beaujolais, gave some to his dog (as he had the habit of doing), went out for a walk and was never seen again.
The morning after the four in Paris drink the vintage wine, they wake up in 1954.
As they head out into their day, we too are taken back in time and see the city and people's habits as they were back in the 50's. Bob, who has never been to Paris takes the longest time to realise he's no longer in 2017. The four of them have various interesting encounters and then come up with a plan on how to get themselves back to their present.
It's a fun ride, entertaining, and brings back to life some of the memorable characters of Paris of a bygone era. It would look great on screen to see how different Paris was.
June 12, 2019
I loved The President’s Hat by Antoine Laurain, so when Gallic Books gifted me a copy of Vintage 1954 I was overjoyed. I love his writing style, and the quirkiness oozes through this translation, as it did with The President’s Hat. There is a magic to his writing, and the humour and sweetness made me not want to put the book down until I had finished it. As a Francophile, this book ticked so many of my boxes, and I think I smiled for the entirety of it (apart from when I laughed out loud!).
This book is set in 2017, when Hubert Larnaudie finds a bottle of wine in the cellar of the Parisian apartment block he lives in which has been in his family for generations. The bottle was from a vineyard where, in 1954 a UFO sighting was reported, and the wine had been bottled that summer. Following a resident’s meeting, Hubert decides to open the bottle to share with his neighbours, Antiques restorer Magalie, Mixologist Julien, and Air BnB visitor and American Bob. The following morning, when they all wake up, they all find that they have been transported to Paris in 1954.
After having some funny experiences in 1954 Paris, they come up with a plan to get them back to 2017, and this quirky, entertaining tale takes you on a journey back to the present day. I loved the way technology is highlighted as not always changing things for the best, and the nostalgia that this book evoked of a bygone era made me want to be there in the middle of Paris, in 1954.
Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain will be published by Gallic Books in the UK on 20 June 2019.
This book is set in 2017, when Hubert Larnaudie finds a bottle of wine in the cellar of the Parisian apartment block he lives in which has been in his family for generations. The bottle was from a vineyard where, in 1954 a UFO sighting was reported, and the wine had been bottled that summer. Following a resident’s meeting, Hubert decides to open the bottle to share with his neighbours, Antiques restorer Magalie, Mixologist Julien, and Air BnB visitor and American Bob. The following morning, when they all wake up, they all find that they have been transported to Paris in 1954.
After having some funny experiences in 1954 Paris, they come up with a plan to get them back to 2017, and this quirky, entertaining tale takes you on a journey back to the present day. I loved the way technology is highlighted as not always changing things for the best, and the nostalgia that this book evoked of a bygone era made me want to be there in the middle of Paris, in 1954.
Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain will be published by Gallic Books in the UK on 20 June 2019.
July 18, 2019
In 1954, two quite remarkable things, that may or may not be connected, happened at the Saint Antoine vineyards, in the Beaujolais wine region:
- The vintage was of exceptional quality; a wine that in the years before and the years after would be considered as no more that a decent table wine was lauded for a single year.
- A man saw an unidentified flying object. He reported it to the authorities and they filed away his report, another to add to the exceptionally high number of similar reports that year.
Twenty-four years later, in 1978, that same man recognised the same unidentified flying object that he had seen in a very famous film. When he said just that, he wasn’t taken seriously, and so he went home. He decided that it was time to drink his last bottle of that wonderful 1954 vintage; he added a splash to his dog’s bowl, as he always did; and then they went out for a walk. Neither of them were seen again, and it seemed that they has disappeared into thin air.
That is simply the introduction; and it will all be explained in the main story, which begins in 2017 and is full of the charm, the warmth, the lightness, the humanity, for which its author is renowned – and, of course, a dash of the fantastical.
That story begins with a man named Hubert ,who lives in a building in Paris that has been in his family for generations; though their stake has diminished over the years, and Hubert only owns the apartment where he lives. After a sparsely attended residents meeting he goes down to his cellar to look for something; he spots a dusty bottle of 1954 Vintage Beaujolais; but then he realised that he had locked himself in.
Hubert’s cries for help are heard by an American who has just arrived in Paris for the very first time, and who has rented an apartment for the duration of his trip. Bob is startled, but he is delighted to meet one of his temporary neighbours, and to be invited to share the bottle of wine. Two more residents arrive home – Julien, a cocktail waiter at Harry’s Bar, and Magalie, a restorer of antique ceramics – and they are invited along too.
Next morning, the quartet who had drunk the vintage wine woke up in 1954.
It took them some time to realise what had happened. Hubert, who had the strongest ties to the place where he lived and his history, was first.
Hubert loosened his tie and walked rapidly back home, trying as best he could to make sense of the morning’s events. Unless it was a dream, Salvador Dalí was staying at the Hotel Meurice, all the buses were vintage, street sellers had reverted to using hand-drawn carts and the large moustachioed man surveying his building work whom he’d greeted as he left this morning was none other than Monsieur Bouvuer himself, the founder of the charcuterie of that name. The charcuterie that had opened in 1954. Hubert stopped. 1954. The same year as the wine.
Bob, who was a stranger to the city, took was last to realise what had happened; but having someone with them who was unfamiliar with the country was a blessing for the group, because he had accepted Francs in exchange for his US Dollars and when he knew what had happened he was happy to share them with his new-found friends.
It was lovely watching the four of them out in the Paris of 1954 – which was beautifully evoked – and their adventures brought lovely and diverse qualities to the story.
- Hubert met a long-lost relative, he discovered that his story was rather different to the one he had been told, and he learned something that could be very useful to him in 2017.
- Julien went to the bar where he worked met its founder – Harry MacElhone – and impressed him and his customers by creating a wonderful new cocktail.
- Bob did the things he had always intended to do on his holiday, and he did something that he hoped might change his future.
- Magalie went to the haberdashery where she thought she might run into the grandmother who had brought her up and who she missed terribly.
It was lovely to move through the city with them, and to spot many notable figures who were in Paris in 1954. I won’t name them all, but I must share one encounter.
Still thinking out how his new cocktail would turn out, Julien paid little attention to the couple who had come in and sat down at the bar. They were discussing the dress the woman would have to wear for the preview of a film in New York. Her elegant companion smiles, ‘Just two more fittings, Audrey, I promise.’
‘I’m counting on you, Hubert. This film is important to me and it’s also important to do justice to your creations,’ replied the young girl in delightfully accented French.
Julien turned to look, and froze. The young girl with the short hair and dark eyes smiled at him and asked, ‘What is that pretty purple drink?’
‘It’s something I’m trying,’ stammered Julien, ‘with violet syrup. But no one has tasted it yet.’
‘I love that no one has lasted it yet,’ enthused Audrey.
‘I’ll have one too,’ said the elegant young man.
As he prepared their cocktails, Julien listened discreetly and deduced that she had made a film, ‘Sabrina’, which took place in Paris and was about to be released.
‘What do you think?’ asked Julien anxiously when she had taken two little sips
‘What do I think?’ she repeated, looking doubtfully up at the ceiling before looking at Julien. ‘It’s very, very good!’ she declared, with a disarming smile.
All of this was lovely, but it wasn’t something that could go on for ever.
Julien had been able to put together a plan of action to take the four friends back to 2017, because he was the great-grandson of the man who went missing in 1978, he knew what had happened in 1954 …. but would it work?
The resolution of the story was not as strong as what had gone before, because there was an awful lot to sort out. It was all sorted out, but the plot mechanics and contrivances overwhelmed the charm of the characters and their experiences for a while.
I can’t think of a way it could have been handled better though, there’s nothing I would have wanted taken out to make things simpler, and so I am thinking if it as the small price that I had to pay for all the lovely things in this book.
I might have used the would lovely too many times, but I think it’s the right word for this book.
It’s not perfect, but it is a lovely confection.
- The vintage was of exceptional quality; a wine that in the years before and the years after would be considered as no more that a decent table wine was lauded for a single year.
- A man saw an unidentified flying object. He reported it to the authorities and they filed away his report, another to add to the exceptionally high number of similar reports that year.
Twenty-four years later, in 1978, that same man recognised the same unidentified flying object that he had seen in a very famous film. When he said just that, he wasn’t taken seriously, and so he went home. He decided that it was time to drink his last bottle of that wonderful 1954 vintage; he added a splash to his dog’s bowl, as he always did; and then they went out for a walk. Neither of them were seen again, and it seemed that they has disappeared into thin air.
That is simply the introduction; and it will all be explained in the main story, which begins in 2017 and is full of the charm, the warmth, the lightness, the humanity, for which its author is renowned – and, of course, a dash of the fantastical.
That story begins with a man named Hubert ,who lives in a building in Paris that has been in his family for generations; though their stake has diminished over the years, and Hubert only owns the apartment where he lives. After a sparsely attended residents meeting he goes down to his cellar to look for something; he spots a dusty bottle of 1954 Vintage Beaujolais; but then he realised that he had locked himself in.
Hubert’s cries for help are heard by an American who has just arrived in Paris for the very first time, and who has rented an apartment for the duration of his trip. Bob is startled, but he is delighted to meet one of his temporary neighbours, and to be invited to share the bottle of wine. Two more residents arrive home – Julien, a cocktail waiter at Harry’s Bar, and Magalie, a restorer of antique ceramics – and they are invited along too.
Next morning, the quartet who had drunk the vintage wine woke up in 1954.
It took them some time to realise what had happened. Hubert, who had the strongest ties to the place where he lived and his history, was first.
Hubert loosened his tie and walked rapidly back home, trying as best he could to make sense of the morning’s events. Unless it was a dream, Salvador Dalí was staying at the Hotel Meurice, all the buses were vintage, street sellers had reverted to using hand-drawn carts and the large moustachioed man surveying his building work whom he’d greeted as he left this morning was none other than Monsieur Bouvuer himself, the founder of the charcuterie of that name. The charcuterie that had opened in 1954. Hubert stopped. 1954. The same year as the wine.
Bob, who was a stranger to the city, took was last to realise what had happened; but having someone with them who was unfamiliar with the country was a blessing for the group, because he had accepted Francs in exchange for his US Dollars and when he knew what had happened he was happy to share them with his new-found friends.
It was lovely watching the four of them out in the Paris of 1954 – which was beautifully evoked – and their adventures brought lovely and diverse qualities to the story.
- Hubert met a long-lost relative, he discovered that his story was rather different to the one he had been told, and he learned something that could be very useful to him in 2017.
- Julien went to the bar where he worked met its founder – Harry MacElhone – and impressed him and his customers by creating a wonderful new cocktail.
- Bob did the things he had always intended to do on his holiday, and he did something that he hoped might change his future.
- Magalie went to the haberdashery where she thought she might run into the grandmother who had brought her up and who she missed terribly.
It was lovely to move through the city with them, and to spot many notable figures who were in Paris in 1954. I won’t name them all, but I must share one encounter.
Still thinking out how his new cocktail would turn out, Julien paid little attention to the couple who had come in and sat down at the bar. They were discussing the dress the woman would have to wear for the preview of a film in New York. Her elegant companion smiles, ‘Just two more fittings, Audrey, I promise.’
‘I’m counting on you, Hubert. This film is important to me and it’s also important to do justice to your creations,’ replied the young girl in delightfully accented French.
Julien turned to look, and froze. The young girl with the short hair and dark eyes smiled at him and asked, ‘What is that pretty purple drink?’
‘It’s something I’m trying,’ stammered Julien, ‘with violet syrup. But no one has tasted it yet.’
‘I love that no one has lasted it yet,’ enthused Audrey.
‘I’ll have one too,’ said the elegant young man.
As he prepared their cocktails, Julien listened discreetly and deduced that she had made a film, ‘Sabrina’, which took place in Paris and was about to be released.
‘What do you think?’ asked Julien anxiously when she had taken two little sips
‘What do I think?’ she repeated, looking doubtfully up at the ceiling before looking at Julien. ‘It’s very, very good!’ she declared, with a disarming smile.
All of this was lovely, but it wasn’t something that could go on for ever.
Julien had been able to put together a plan of action to take the four friends back to 2017, because he was the great-grandson of the man who went missing in 1978, he knew what had happened in 1954 …. but would it work?
The resolution of the story was not as strong as what had gone before, because there was an awful lot to sort out. It was all sorted out, but the plot mechanics and contrivances overwhelmed the charm of the characters and their experiences for a while.
I can’t think of a way it could have been handled better though, there’s nothing I would have wanted taken out to make things simpler, and so I am thinking if it as the small price that I had to pay for all the lovely things in this book.
I might have used the would lovely too many times, but I think it’s the right word for this book.
It’s not perfect, but it is a lovely confection.
May 19, 2019
British readers are going to go crazy for this, Antoine Laurain's latest slice of Parisian whimsy.
His books are always sweet and fun to read but Vintage 1954 kicks the nostalgia into overdrive. Four people are transported back to 1954 Paris from the present day after sharing a bottle of vintage wine. Here they encounter the great figures of the age - Dali, Truffaut, Godard, Hepburn, Prevert et al - and learn a little about how life has changed in the intervening 65 years.
Non-Parisians will, I'm sure, be enchanted by the idea of Old Paris and there is much to be said for such a happy positive book. My only criticism is that it is all perhaps a little too sweet and easy.
His books are always sweet and fun to read but Vintage 1954 kicks the nostalgia into overdrive. Four people are transported back to 1954 Paris from the present day after sharing a bottle of vintage wine. Here they encounter the great figures of the age - Dali, Truffaut, Godard, Hepburn, Prevert et al - and learn a little about how life has changed in the intervening 65 years.
Non-Parisians will, I'm sure, be enchanted by the idea of Old Paris and there is much to be said for such a happy positive book. My only criticism is that it is all perhaps a little too sweet and easy.
March 23, 2021
Quite a cute story. Sort of 'Midnight in Paris' without the magic though. A group of acquaintances drink a vintage 1954 wine and as a result are transported to that year in Paris. The beginning was promising, but it lost steam half way through and by the end seemed really silly. He's got quite a nice style of writing however, so I think I might try another of his books.
April 8, 2020
Très sympa mais trop sucré et parfait pour mon gout. D'accord, supposons-nous qu'on peut aller en 1954 après avoir bu un millesime 54 exceptionel -- ça prend un peu de fantasie, mais ça peut marcher, dans un livre. Mais est-ce qu'on peut aussi retrouver dans un seul jour de promenade à Paris-54 Claude Lelouche, Francois Truffault, Jean Luc Goddard, Audrey Hepburn, Givenchy, Marcel Aymé, Jean Gabin, Edith Piaf, Salvador Dali, Jaques Prevert etc, juste comme ça, par hazard? Peut être ça marche pour vous mais pour moi c'est trop, fantasie ou pas.
February 7, 2025
This was a book where the writing and the characters were central to my enjoyment and, while there is a plot, really I just wanted to see how our characters would grow and change throughout the story. We follow our four main characters from modern day Paris back to 1954. There they must figure out how to get back to their own time and, in the process run across a number of famous historical figures of the time, including my very favorite, Audrey Hepburn!
Even though the story takes you exactly where you can imagine and requires a large suspension of disbelief surrounding time travel and UFOs, Antoine Laurain is a gifted enough storyteller to make me forget what I believe and just go along for the ride.
If you need an escape to a place where nothing worse than petty theft happens, you will find it here.
Even though the story takes you exactly where you can imagine and requires a large suspension of disbelief surrounding time travel and UFOs, Antoine Laurain is a gifted enough storyteller to make me forget what I believe and just go along for the ride.
If you need an escape to a place where nothing worse than petty theft happens, you will find it here.
July 24, 2024
A delightful book, full of whimsy and charm: usually NOT my genre. History, science fiction and a few curiously interesting characters kept me reading.
A group of people - three French, one American - share an old bottle of wine, vintage 1954 and the next day - presto! - they are transferred to 1954 Paris. How to get back? And more importantly: how the heck did we get here!
Descriptions of the city, old and new, perfecto. Perhaps too much perfecto, though. Like a geography tour at times: roads and street vendors, restaurants and quaint cafes. Architecture and how it's changed and how ppl dress, read, walk, think, and so on in the early 50's. (It does get a bit monotonous.)
Oh, and there are flying saucers, too!
However, a nice change of pace for anyone entrenched in mystery, horror and nonfiction, I suppose.
Three stars.
A group of people - three French, one American - share an old bottle of wine, vintage 1954 and the next day - presto! - they are transferred to 1954 Paris. How to get back? And more importantly: how the heck did we get here!
Descriptions of the city, old and new, perfecto. Perhaps too much perfecto, though. Like a geography tour at times: roads and street vendors, restaurants and quaint cafes. Architecture and how it's changed and how ppl dress, read, walk, think, and so on in the early 50's. (It does get a bit monotonous.)
Oh, and there are flying saucers, too!
However, a nice change of pace for anyone entrenched in mystery, horror and nonfiction, I suppose.
Three stars.
August 26, 2023
What fun!
June 21, 2019
Oenological trip back to PARIS 1954
Life has thrown together a motley group of four people at 18, Rue Edgar-Charellier – a “bel immeuble haussmannien” – and after one of them gets locked in the cellar by mistake, they mark his release by opening a bottle of rather fine wine from the Sainte-Antoine vineyard, 1954, one of only 800 bottles produced that year.
Back then Pierre Chaveau saw for certain a flying saucer. His was not the only sighting and his conviction was further ratified when, in 1978, he spotted the very saucer in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Then he went missing together with his dog Ausweis (a descendant of Schnell, granddaughter of Sieg, who was left behind by the Waffen SS as they fled), having drunk wine from that very vintage.
Thus there is history. And as one by one the present day characters discover that they have been booted back to 15 September 1954, they inevitably enjoy a discombobulating but humorous adventure. The Euro coins they try to hand out are thought to be Casino coins and heaven forbid there is even a mention of Brexit (you really cannot escape it)! American Bob, from Milwaukee is initially particularly enthralled by the lack of modernity.
Meet Harry, the Harry of Harry’s Bar (he died in 1958), Truffaut, Piaf… and imagine seeing the Mona Lisa without the milling hoards and guards!
They can enjoy their tardis adventure with the benefit of future knowledge. They enjoy a visit to the original Les Halles, where handcarts with provisions were the order of the day. Les Halles would be razed to the ground just 14 years later.
How, eventually, do they find their way back to their own era?
Antoine Laurain is a gifted storyteller and we first encountered his work in The President’s Hat which is equally delightful. Vintage 1954 is short, written with humour and a pleasure to read.
Life has thrown together a motley group of four people at 18, Rue Edgar-Charellier – a “bel immeuble haussmannien” – and after one of them gets locked in the cellar by mistake, they mark his release by opening a bottle of rather fine wine from the Sainte-Antoine vineyard, 1954, one of only 800 bottles produced that year.
Back then Pierre Chaveau saw for certain a flying saucer. His was not the only sighting and his conviction was further ratified when, in 1978, he spotted the very saucer in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Then he went missing together with his dog Ausweis (a descendant of Schnell, granddaughter of Sieg, who was left behind by the Waffen SS as they fled), having drunk wine from that very vintage.
Thus there is history. And as one by one the present day characters discover that they have been booted back to 15 September 1954, they inevitably enjoy a discombobulating but humorous adventure. The Euro coins they try to hand out are thought to be Casino coins and heaven forbid there is even a mention of Brexit (you really cannot escape it)! American Bob, from Milwaukee is initially particularly enthralled by the lack of modernity.
Meet Harry, the Harry of Harry’s Bar (he died in 1958), Truffaut, Piaf… and imagine seeing the Mona Lisa without the milling hoards and guards!
They can enjoy their tardis adventure with the benefit of future knowledge. They enjoy a visit to the original Les Halles, where handcarts with provisions were the order of the day. Les Halles would be razed to the ground just 14 years later.
How, eventually, do they find their way back to their own era?
Antoine Laurain is a gifted storyteller and we first encountered his work in The President’s Hat which is equally delightful. Vintage 1954 is short, written with humour and a pleasure to read.
July 21, 2019
I very much enjoyed Laurain's
The Red Notebook
when I read it last year. I have a few reservations about Vintage 1954, his latest, but, overall, the good things outbalance the not so good ones.
Three people save Parisian realtor Hubert after he's been locked in the cellar of his apartment building by burglars: Goth restorer Magalie/Abby, barman Julien, both of whom live in Hubert's building, and Harley Davidson fan Bob, who's a newly arrived Airbnb tenant there from Milwaukee. Impulsively Hubert invites the three to share with him the bottle of 1954 Chateau Saint-Antoine he found in the cellar, and the next morning the quartet discover they've been transported back in time to 1954 Paris.
It must have been the bottle of wine to blame, they concur. 1954 was a particularly good year for the Chateau Saint-Antoine grapes. Could this have been because it was in that year that the vineyard was the site of a spectacular UFO sighting? Are UFOs time machines rather than spaceships (an idea that may seem outre but in fact one that Laurain's borrowed from the UFO literature)? Did the UFO somehow infuse the grapes, and hence the wine, with the ability to transport people (and dogs) through time?
As you'll guess, although this is a time-travel fantasy it's less science fiction than whimsy. We're not for one moment expected to believe the rationale for the plot, just to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Which for the most part I did -- very much. I liked accompanying our characters as they discovered and tried to fit in with mid-1950s Paris, where everyone smokes like chimneys, talks wistfully or loathingly of de Gaulle, relishes fresh fish, and, often enough, knocks back a stiff drink for breakfast. What I enjoyed far less was that Hubert and his pals kept running into, just by chance, various celebrities of the era: Jean Gabin, Salvador Dali, Audrey Hepburn, Edith Piaf . . . It was a self-indulgence that got old pretty damn' fast.
What makes it seem especially irksome is that the invented peripheral characters whom our heroes meet are so very much more interesting than the cameoed celebs: Hubert's gay great-uncle (I think) Leonard, whom everyone thought had gone off to make his fortune in Chile but who in fact set up as a hairdresser with his boyfriend; astronomer Professor Arpajon, whose not-yet-written book Alien Visits and Space Phenomena will bring him academic excoriation but become a cult classic in UFO circles; and so on. If Laurain can create such vivid (albeit consciously stereotyped) characters as these and indeed our main protagonists, why bother with the lazy option of introducing celebrities: Jean Gabin, silver-haired and stony-faced; Audrey Hepburn, smiles sweetly; and so on?
There are odd slips in the telling. I'm pretty certain Abby and Julien enjoy their first kiss on two separate occasions. And then there's this:
It's been made clear that Chateau Saint-Antoine is not a major appellation. Even so, surely hundreds if not thousands of people must have partaken of the 1954 vintage, especially since it's renowned as being remarkably good. Have they all been transported back in time to 1954? Wouldn't someone in 1954 have noticed by now that so many "lunatics" told the same story?
So much for my reservations. Overall, though, I was very much entertained by the whimsy -- not to mention the jokes, which quite frequently had me laughing aloud. The translation, by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce, provides just the right light, frothy touch. A thoroughly charming piece of work.
Three people save Parisian realtor Hubert after he's been locked in the cellar of his apartment building by burglars: Goth restorer Magalie/Abby, barman Julien, both of whom live in Hubert's building, and Harley Davidson fan Bob, who's a newly arrived Airbnb tenant there from Milwaukee. Impulsively Hubert invites the three to share with him the bottle of 1954 Chateau Saint-Antoine he found in the cellar, and the next morning the quartet discover they've been transported back in time to 1954 Paris.
It must have been the bottle of wine to blame, they concur. 1954 was a particularly good year for the Chateau Saint-Antoine grapes. Could this have been because it was in that year that the vineyard was the site of a spectacular UFO sighting? Are UFOs time machines rather than spaceships (an idea that may seem outre but in fact one that Laurain's borrowed from the UFO literature)? Did the UFO somehow infuse the grapes, and hence the wine, with the ability to transport people (and dogs) through time?
As you'll guess, although this is a time-travel fantasy it's less science fiction than whimsy. We're not for one moment expected to believe the rationale for the plot, just to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Which for the most part I did -- very much. I liked accompanying our characters as they discovered and tried to fit in with mid-1950s Paris, where everyone smokes like chimneys, talks wistfully or loathingly of de Gaulle, relishes fresh fish, and, often enough, knocks back a stiff drink for breakfast. What I enjoyed far less was that Hubert and his pals kept running into, just by chance, various celebrities of the era: Jean Gabin, Salvador Dali, Audrey Hepburn, Edith Piaf . . . It was a self-indulgence that got old pretty damn' fast.
What makes it seem especially irksome is that the invented peripheral characters whom our heroes meet are so very much more interesting than the cameoed celebs: Hubert's gay great-uncle (I think) Leonard, whom everyone thought had gone off to make his fortune in Chile but who in fact set up as a hairdresser with his boyfriend; astronomer Professor Arpajon, whose not-yet-written book Alien Visits and Space Phenomena will bring him academic excoriation but become a cult classic in UFO circles; and so on. If Laurain can create such vivid (albeit consciously stereotyped) characters as these and indeed our main protagonists, why bother with the lazy option of introducing celebrities: Jean Gabin, silver-haired and stony-faced; Audrey Hepburn, smiles sweetly; and so on?
There are odd slips in the telling. I'm pretty certain Abby and Julien enjoy their first kiss on two separate occasions. And then there's this:
. . . Julien went on. "When the flying saucer flew over, it changed the Saint-Antoine wine and since then whoever drinks it will go back to 1954. It's been proven by an eminent scientist."
It's been made clear that Chateau Saint-Antoine is not a major appellation. Even so, surely hundreds if not thousands of people must have partaken of the 1954 vintage, especially since it's renowned as being remarkably good. Have they all been transported back in time to 1954? Wouldn't someone in 1954 have noticed by now that so many "lunatics" told the same story?
So much for my reservations. Overall, though, I was very much entertained by the whimsy -- not to mention the jokes, which quite frequently had me laughing aloud. The translation, by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce, provides just the right light, frothy touch. A thoroughly charming piece of work.
September 2, 2019
Four newly-met friends in 2017 Paris spend an evening together and, the next morning, discover that it is 1954. It’s the Paris of so many fantasies, with Les Halles still in the city, Harry’s Bar serving the likes of Audrey Hepburn, and no electronics. What will they do with this unexpected visit?
This is a sweet, nostalgic story that you can finish in one sitting.
This is a sweet, nostalgic story that you can finish in one sitting.
May 28, 2020
My 3rd Antoine Laurain book and another warm-hearted, gentle read. Nostalgic fun and, as with his other books, the perfect antidote to the lockdown.
June 28, 2019
Vintage 1954 was one of those books that entrances you from the mere synopsis. It sounded perfectly magical, and Antoine Laurain absolutely delivered with this! The 20th-century Parisian backdrop was written with precision. Combined with Laurain's prose and characterisation, Vintage 1954 is a timeless work of fantastical elegance.
September 10, 2021
I really enjoyed reading this book. For me, it put a new and unusual twist on time travel.
Set in beautiful Paris, Hubert, Julien, Bob and Magalie drink a vintage 1954 Beaujolais that seems to have unique properties more than just the taste and smell. Finding themselves sent back to Paris 1954, they have the chance to catch up with old relatives but ultimately they need to get back to their time of 2017.
The four main characters are a mixed group. Hubert works in property management, Magalie is a restorer of antiques and has a quirky style, Julien a mixologist at the famous Harry’s Bar and finally Bob, on vacation from America. The thing that connects them is the apartments they live in, 18 Rue Edgar-Charellier. All these characters, from different walks of life, brought their own charm and personalities to the story.
Antoine Laurain writes with charm, finesse and wit. His observations of people have a realism to them, and the touches of social commentary are perfect. Going back to 1954 we meet some of the greats of that period Audrey Hepburn, Salvador Dalí, Edith Piaf, Hubert de Givenchy and an appearance by the Duke of Windsor; The historical details made me realize how different our world is today, and not always for the better; the Mona Lisa not being behind glass and less tourists in Le Louvre, Les Halles with its busy markets and wonderful restaurants rather than being replaced with a shopping Mall.
Vintage 1954 is a nostalgic read that offers pure escapism. The writing has a finesse as well as humour and cultural comments of the period. The characters are all endearing, and bring their own stories to 1954, and have very personal adventures. Very much a love letter to the Paris of the past this is a charming and nostalgic read.
Set in beautiful Paris, Hubert, Julien, Bob and Magalie drink a vintage 1954 Beaujolais that seems to have unique properties more than just the taste and smell. Finding themselves sent back to Paris 1954, they have the chance to catch up with old relatives but ultimately they need to get back to their time of 2017.
The four main characters are a mixed group. Hubert works in property management, Magalie is a restorer of antiques and has a quirky style, Julien a mixologist at the famous Harry’s Bar and finally Bob, on vacation from America. The thing that connects them is the apartments they live in, 18 Rue Edgar-Charellier. All these characters, from different walks of life, brought their own charm and personalities to the story.
Antoine Laurain writes with charm, finesse and wit. His observations of people have a realism to them, and the touches of social commentary are perfect. Going back to 1954 we meet some of the greats of that period Audrey Hepburn, Salvador Dalí, Edith Piaf, Hubert de Givenchy and an appearance by the Duke of Windsor; The historical details made me realize how different our world is today, and not always for the better; the Mona Lisa not being behind glass and less tourists in Le Louvre, Les Halles with its busy markets and wonderful restaurants rather than being replaced with a shopping Mall.
Vintage 1954 is a nostalgic read that offers pure escapism. The writing has a finesse as well as humour and cultural comments of the period. The characters are all endearing, and bring their own stories to 1954, and have very personal adventures. Very much a love letter to the Paris of the past this is a charming and nostalgic read.
June 18, 2019
A wonderful, light hearted, Parisian romance, full of charm, nostalgia and good wine!
Hubert, Julien and Magalie all live in the same apartment building in Paris. When Bob (from Milwaukee) visits and rescues Hubert from his cellar, Hubert invites them all to share a vintage 63 year old bottle of wine. The next morning they all discover that they’ve travelled back in time to 1954 (the year the wine was produced). And so begins their adventure to return to 2017 featuring UFOs, long dead relatives and hidden treasure.
I really didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did! It was far fetched and quirky but enchanting and funny at the same time. The writing and rich world building made this a quick and enjoyable read with plenty of laugh out loud moments.
A quirky 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to the publisher (Gallic Books) for providing a copy {Gifted}. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.
Hubert, Julien and Magalie all live in the same apartment building in Paris. When Bob (from Milwaukee) visits and rescues Hubert from his cellar, Hubert invites them all to share a vintage 63 year old bottle of wine. The next morning they all discover that they’ve travelled back in time to 1954 (the year the wine was produced). And so begins their adventure to return to 2017 featuring UFOs, long dead relatives and hidden treasure.
I really didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did! It was far fetched and quirky but enchanting and funny at the same time. The writing and rich world building made this a quick and enjoyable read with plenty of laugh out loud moments.
A quirky 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to the publisher (Gallic Books) for providing a copy {Gifted}. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.
September 7, 2019
Antoine Laurain cannot write a bad book IMHO. This is a sweet time travel story, a group of 4 drink a bottle of wine that transports them back to Paris in 1954. Lots of fun and some laugh out loud moments. Wonderful.
March 11, 2022
Another fun story from Antoine Laurain.
I think he’s my new go-to guy between heavier reading.
This one has a sci-fi theme. UFOs and time travel, the latter being accomplished via drinking a vintage wine and being transported to the year of its production.
Unfortunately I’m getting close to finishing all of his books.
Being one of the few contemporary authors I read, I’m hoping there will be more to follow.
I think he’s my new go-to guy between heavier reading.
This one has a sci-fi theme. UFOs and time travel, the latter being accomplished via drinking a vintage wine and being transported to the year of its production.
Unfortunately I’m getting close to finishing all of his books.
Being one of the few contemporary authors I read, I’m hoping there will be more to follow.
May 3, 2020
This books is fun and easy on the mind. Love the dogs! And the cocktails!
June 15, 2019
I usually associate Antoine Laurain with quirkiness. But he can do so much more. His latest novel Vintage 1954 is here to prove it. His best so far, keep reading to know why.
A beautiful and unusual story that will stay with me.
VERDICT: Antoine Laurain at his best, with history and time-travel giving rich layers to his usual quirkiness.
My full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/06/14/...
A beautiful and unusual story that will stay with me.
VERDICT: Antoine Laurain at his best, with history and time-travel giving rich layers to his usual quirkiness.
My full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/06/14/...
May 4, 2019
Antoine Laurain writes another incredibly charming tale, with themes on friendship, miracles, love, and dogs. The four main characters drink a bottle of wine one evening, and then find themselves transported back in time to the year the wine was made, 1954. But, once they've been transported, how on earth will they get back to their own time? Laurain has a writing style that makes you want to cuddle up with his books -- they are so sweet. Dive in with Laurain and experience his adorably delightful tales of life and love.
August 26, 2020
This is a French novel about time travel (via wine!), so, you know, I'm there. In truth, the characters should have time travelled via champagne because this novel is so effervescent. It's a cute little read with some charming little details in its silly little world. It's fun and light and there is absolutely nothing necessary about it. Don't worry about plot-holes and deep thoughts, just enjoy the toast. It's a frivolous little bubbly, translucent coupe-full of a novel.
March 27, 2021
The style is like a stone thrown on the ocean that gracefully skips across the surface. There is no depth to the characters or to the substance of this book. It was a quick and easy read - fluffy and sweet.
May 8, 2025
Charming but a bit too short and simplistic
March 26, 2020
Il ne faut chercher dans ce livre rien d'autre qu'une histoire mais quelle histoire! Inventée avec tant d'imagination et brillamment racontée. D'autres écrivains (Jean Echenoz, Joël Egloff, Iegor Gran...) l'auraient racontée à leur façon: il n'y a ni pire ni meilleure, là, c'est Antoine Laurain qu'on reconnaît bien, je dirais même qu'il ne raconte pas, il filme (et bien mieux que les réalisateurs qui ont essayé de porter sur écran ses romans: un exercice absolument inutile pour les livres de Laurain qui cependant semblent ressembler à des scénarios tout prêts... il est fort probable d'ailleurs que ceci explique cela) et je lui suis bien reconnaissante pour quelques heures de plaisir en cette période difficile.
Mon plaisir valait 5 étoiles mais à deux tiers du roman Laurain devient un peu trop didactique, et cela d'une manière un peu trop scolaire et directe, ce qui lui a fait perdre une étoile. Mais 4/5, c'est quand même pas mal.
Mon plaisir valait 5 étoiles mais à deux tiers du roman Laurain devient un peu trop didactique, et cela d'une manière un peu trop scolaire et directe, ce qui lui a fait perdre une étoile. Mais 4/5, c'est quand même pas mal.
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