El barbero y otros corazones solitarios

by Julia Stuart, LAURA; MANERO JIMENEZ (Translator)

Una brisa perpetua recorre las calles de Amour-sur-Belle, una aldea tan fea que ni los ingleses quieren vivir en ella.

Guillaume Ladoucette, el barbero, se ve obligado a cerrar su negocio ya que sus clientes, cada vez de más edad, se están quedando calvos. Como solución monta un agencia de citas pues, pese a su nombre, el amor es la única cosa que le falta a Amour-sur-Belle, donde las viejas enemistades nunca llegaron a cicatrizar.

"No es tan fácil enamorarse a primera vista", suele aconsejar el nuevo celestino. "El amor es como una buena cassoulet, necestia tiempo y constancia." Pero ¿cómo podrá Guillaume emparejar a sus vecinos si todavía tiene cuentas pendientes en su propio corazón?

Una hilarante travesura que se aleja de los caminos trillados. Me encantaron todas y casda una de sus páginas. JOANNE HARRIS

Genres: Fiction, France, Romance, Humor, Book Club, Contemporary, Novels

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Julia Stuart grew up in the West Midlands in England. She studied French and Spanish, and lived for a short period in France and Spain teaching English. After studying journalism at college, she worked on regional newspapers for six years. She then became a staff features writer for The Independent, where she worked for eight years, including a spell with The Independent on Sunday. In 2007, she relocated to Bahrain with her English husband, who is also a journalist. She currently lives in London.

Reviews

[Tori Hoeschler · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book that is only 316 pages, this took me FOREVER to read. The two words I would use to describe the story are "sweet" and "tedious". Julia Stuart does a lovely job of capturing the charms and quirks of a small French village and its inhabitants. One almost feels as though they are watching a play with a cast of 33, each person acting out their strange persona and telling their own story all at the same time. In other words, the reader is getting a lot of details thrown at them at every stage of the story.
Again, I say the book is sweet because of the overall plot; a failing village barber sets aside his life's craft to become a matchmaker. In a small town, there isn't much selection for matching so apparent hilarity ensues. But the story gets so bogged down in the details that it becomes irritating and by the time I finished the last page, I was glad it was over.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Suggested With: The ability to speed read.

[Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Guillaume Ladoucette. He has been an excellent barber for his small French town for twenty years. But now he has a problem. Well, two problems, really. The population of the town has not changed much over the years. It stands, in fact, at thirty-three. (That includes the pharmacist who has been missing since the mini-tornado of 1999.) The population's hair is aging. You know what happens to aging hair. That's right, it falls out. Some of Guillaume's customers are going bald!


To make matters worse, a new snazzy barber has set up shop in a neighboring town and some folks have been lured away by the fashionable haircuts that he is offering. Guillaume feels that he must remain true to conventional barbering wisdom and not be swayed by popular attitudes. But the fact remains, he has almost no customers left. What is he to do?


He decides to make a clean break. Start over in an entirely new profession. Despite his own bachelor status and his inability to proclaim his feelings to the woman he has been in love with his entire life, he decides what the town needs most is a matchmaker. And he's the man for the job. He tears the sink out of his shop and, after a quick makeover, re-opens his shop as "Heart's Desire".


Unfortunately, business is a bit slow at the start. Prospective clients looking for love are matched up with people that they are already VERY familiar with. It is a small town, people have already formed opinions about each other, getting them to change is difficult. Things aren't going so well for Guillaume. Then, suddenly, he seems to have a success! The postman has found someone he really likes! Poor Guillaume, the woman in question turns out to be the same one he has been in love with his whole life. Now it looks like he will lose her forever, to the postman. Will he ever muster up the courage to admit his feelings?


What a fun book this is. It is witty and warm, filled with eccentric, endearing characters and fantastic descriptions of French food and pastries. It is a wonderful 'cassoulet' of a novel. Enjoy!

[Michelleluster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming and quirky little book that diverts, entertains, and makes you hungry for food you never thought would tempt you. Please, read this!

[Patrick Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking at previous reviews this book seems to polarise opinions, I really enjoyed it, perhaps reading it on holiday in France helped? However I read it again and still enjoyed it, where other readers felt bludgeoned by the prose and detailed descriptions I really enjoyed that attention to detail. I felt a relaxed atmosphere of rural France was conjured up very well, yes I know it isn't actually real! This was an indulgent piece of literature and I found it gently comedic, the plot didn't really go anywhere but I didn't mind. I think the reviews give a reasonable flavour and it would be hard to write a spoiler filled one so take your choice, if you like this type of book then try this one.

[Lalah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this author's style. I found the structured repetition of certain interactions to be humorous in a giggle sort of way. I enjoyed watching the characters develop, even though it's clear from the beginning where the story will end. It's a fun read.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I read this third, I was rather disappointed, because the other two books I read by Julia Stuart were 4.5 star reads that I rounded up. While there is nothing wrong with her writing, and some have loved this book, it lacks the lustre I found in The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise and The Pigeon Pie Mystery.

In short, a barber finds himself losing his long time customers to a barber who cuts in the latest style which he cannot embrace, so he sets himself up as a matchmaker, despite the fact that he has never married and has loved only one woman in his life. In the meantime, there is a drought and a communal shower is built; bathing at home is strictly forbidden, so all 33 residents must use this one shower. However, it isn't long before the hot water isn't working.

This book is humorous, naturally, and I am not giving away more, and the writing is strong, but it just wasn't at the same level as her next two books. SO, if you read this one and gave up on Stuart's books, you may want to try another.

[Giedre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neįprastų knygų mėgėjams ir rafinuotos ironijos šalininkams. T.y. man :)

[Vonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty clear that this was a debut novel from Stuart after reading her sophomore work, "The Tower, The Tortoise, and The Zoo", which has all the imagination, magic, and whimsy readers see here, but with far more sophisticated editing, specifically pacing and realizing that as good as your material is, most of it is better off not being included. This seemed more a collection of vignettes of characters readers learn to love, rather than a cohesive while that makes for a fluid novel.

For example, whenever Émilie gives tours of her château, it takes several pages on account some origin story she creates for the visitor. First, these stories detract from the main narrative. Secondly, after the first few, it is easy to lose interest.

Examples of that creativity, humor and wit I now attribute to Stuart:

- Guillaume Ladoucette and his best friend Stéphane Jollis, a baker, often take fishing trips, but the unspoken real goal of this trip has nothing to do with fish, but their rivaling rivaling picnic baskets. Always with an innocent "Bring something to eat?" "A snack," the innocent response, although each has spent the entirety of the previous day, or even all night, preparing it. When they inevitably get around to eating, they offer each other tastes. Cue declination, "But then I wouldn't have any room for... this!"

- ... what follows are extremely descriptive, highly sensory descriptions some delicious dishes. This, Stuart is good at. Food is interwoven throughout the story as a warm, welcoming escape; emotional signals for the characters, delicious fantasies for the readers... I love that, unlike most other "food in fiction", it is not actually a main focus.

- Guillaume's parents' meeting. Her parents forced her to participate their trapeze act. He saw the fear in her eyes in the audience. He came to congratulate her. She dotted over him for the rest of his life, the trapeze act instilling a paranoid fear of death in her for all her days.

- The age old castle Émilie Fraisse, Guillaume's lifelong love interest (unfulfilled up to now because, succumbing to his fears, he never responded to her letters) returned to town to live in after a failed marriage.

- Amour-sur-Belle's status as the least appreciated town around leads the government to choose them for a testing round for communal showers in an effort to conserve water.

- To raise said minimal appreciation, an effort is made to fabricate population numbers by inviting all known relatives (+2) and the use of a box of wigs provided by Guillame (+ many, -much running and strangely familiar looking faces). Unfortunately, census representatives send for a surprise double-check.

- The historical artifacts relevant to barbering that Guillame collected over the years.

- Guillaume's talent for procrastinating. How he spends all day elsewhere, across town, another town, the same room- choosing pastries, researching his many calendars that guide his gardening, locating better, newer, thicker, more colorful paper, vivifying the candle store next door, having dinner, examining the contents of his desk hutch, etcetera- anything, rather than write his love letter.

This is magical realism, yes. But it is stretched a little far. The physical ailments resulting from a broken heart. The fact that Guillame has not yet embraced his lover because he has been afraid to respond to an innocent letter she sent him as a teenager. How Lisette Robert's stunning beauty had been a lifelong burden for her (attracting numerous suitors that are inevitably disappointed, as nothing could ever live up to her physical attributes).

To be fair, it is quite lyrical. Crossing into pose poetry, utilizing multiple literary devices. With her frequent switch from prose to prose poetry, readers may find it difficult to appreciate Stuart's writing, unable to switch mindsets. The potential is here; what she needed was a good editor and more practice at her craft. Evidence of this can be seen in her sophomore novel.

[Teresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book to be "precious". The author has a great vocabulary and she seems intent on finding ways to work in every word that she has learned. The plot often felt contrived. I was bludgeoned with certain phrases such as the "supermarket leather sandals". Really? The description of the shoes was listed about every five pages. It was hard to believe that this book took place in modern day France.

Why did I keep reading it? It came highly recommended so I kept thinking I was going to find out why it was so beloved by so many readers. I never did. I can say it makes a "cozy read". If you don't want anything graphic in the way of sex or violence, you can be assured that you will not encounter it in this book. If the setting of a novel is important--this has setting. If you want an interesting plot, don't bother.

[Chrystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whimsical, fanciful, delightful.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed Stuart's books to date, but her debut novel, The Matchmaker of Perigord, surpassed them all for me. It is easy to read, but shrewdness and intelligence reign in equal measure. Stuart's characterisation is great, and the novel is a real gastronomic delight; I am even more eager to travel to my beloved France at Easter in consequence.

The Matchmaker of Perigord is charming and witty, and made me laugh aloud at several points, which is something I rarely do when reading. The novel transported me fully to beautiful Brantome, which I visited some years ago, and entertained me throughout with its playful repetitions and human characters. I absolutely loved it.

[Aleta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! What a sweet, light-hearted, endearing story replete with kooky characters and cheeky British humor and written with such a lyrical style. A perfect European vacation read.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witty and imaginative for a first novel, the author’s humor, quaintness, and good-natured peril make for an enjoyable journey within a small village in rural France. The characters’ follies and antics keep the reader wryly smiling and rooting for love until the end. There are a VAST array of characters, however, and the comedy of errors that is the plot becomes chaotic at times. Recommended for a light, quick read, the author’s talents and style are refined and enhanced in her later works.

[Allison Ketchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Stuart has crafted an utterly charming, farcical comedy of rural France that could not fail to delight.

Guillaume Ladoucette (whose mother's feud with Madame Moreau involves assault-by-eel and overripe tomatoes) is the barber for the village of Amour-sur-Belle, a tiny hamlet of 33 aging residents, each with his or her own quirks and past secrets (many of which were revealed during the mini-tornado of 1999, when they all thought they'd die). When his client list dries up (due to a combination of balding customers and his refusal to attempt cutting-edge hairstyles like The Pinecone), he decides to set out his shingle as a matchmaker. He's an unlikely choice, having been secretly in love with Émilie Fraisse for twenty-six years, but he approaches his new calling with enthusiasm, if not immediate success. He continues to push pairs of villagers together, insisting that love is like a cassoulet--you must take the good with the bad. As Guillaume undertakes the massive task of bringing love to the villagers, drought has brought a communal shower to Amour-sur-Belle, and villagers must walk to the square in their dressing gowns to queue up for their daily shower.

Though the book is clearly contemporary, with references to a mini-tornado in 1999 and prices in euros, Stuart has given the village and its residents timeless appeal. Every person is referred to in every instance by both first and last names, and many physical descriptions and important events are described using the exact same phrasing, and these echo comfortably throughout the book, like an epic told from memory by a master storyteller. The repetition is both lyrical and practical--it helps the reader keep the numerous characters, their pasts, and their relationships with each other straight. Stuart also retells the same stories from different points of view at different times in the action, creating a rich, layered confection worthy of Stéphane Jollis, the baker. The stories themselves are inventive, just barely believable, but with a sense of farce, in the manner of Émilie Fraisse giving tours of the castle and creating wild stories about the furnishings.

This book has been compared to Chocolat. I must confess that, though I love the film, I've avoided the book, but to the film at least the sense of timelessness, the charm of rural France, and the entwined lives of the villagers have similarities. If a charming tale of deceptively simple village life sounds like your cup of tea (or truffled foie gras, as it were), I highly recommend this for a fun read.

http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/20...

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ladoucette was born to be a barber and what a barber he is. He seems to have it all until he starts to notice that some of his long time patrons are sporting snazzy new hairstyles such as the pine cone. When it becomes obvious that his customers have started flocking to a nearby village to have their hair done his life hits a slump and all seems lost. Until the day he decides that what he needs is a new career. Amour sur Belle is a tiny village but even so its community needs a matchmaker and he is the perfect person to fill the position.

This is a love story dedicated to the oddities of its characters. From the reason Amour got its name, not what you think, to how it winds up having one communal shower, every page is filled with the funny, magical, interwoven moments of life that make this story such a joy to read. Page after page you'll find yourself laughing with them and cheering them on as they face such adversities as a micro climate that scientists are unable to explain which causes mini storms where the inhabitants buckle down to pray for salvation or the misunderstanding that can be caused by a love letter stuffed into a pastry. It is a celebration of love in its many forms and Ladoucette is indeed the perfect person to introduce us to its many variations.

Set in the beautiful south of France, this is the perfect book to buoy your spirits and make you fall in love with the magic of life and cassoulets.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guillaume Ladoucette’s barbershop has always enjoyed great success in his tiny village in southwestern France, but his customers are older – and balder – and the business is failing. Looking for a new way to earn his living, he converts the shop into a matchmaking agency and begins to set up the various inhabitants of Amour-sur-Belle on blind dates, despite the fact that many have not spoken to one another since the mini tornado of 1999.

The results of Guillaume Ladoucette’s matchmaking efforts are less than perfect, to say the least. Long-held feuds thrive in matters small and ridiculous – Madame Ladoucette and Madame Moreau are still enemies, decades after a disagreement concerning whether to add tomatoes to cassoulet, Stephane Jollis and Lisette Robert haven’t spoken since rumors circulated that he ate the frogs that disappeared from her pond, and almost no one speaks with grocer Denise Vigier because her grandmother was found “guilty of horizontal collaboration” with the Germans in 1944.

What a delightful comedy of manners. Stuart writes in a style that is light, and deliciously unique, repeating certain phrases / descriptions until the reader is as familiar with each of the outrageously quirky residents as they are with each other. And the food! Oh my stars … I think I gained weight just reading the descriptions of the cassoulet, or the baker’s little cakes, or the over-the-top contents of picnic baskets. And, of course, love triumphs – how could it not?

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very light and fluffy, like a croissant. And sometimes there is a bite of chocolate in it as well. Quite favorably reviewed, which is what lead me to get it. I think the descriptions (making fun of!?) extreme French food are very fun.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny, quirky book that I read a while ago and bought copies for friends for Christmas, such was its genuine delight. The author has a wild and humorous imagination and blends that with the little quirks of French village life to come up with a genuinely entertaining, light read.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lighthearted and amusing read! I enjoyed 2 of her other novels (Zoo and Pearl Fisher) and this one had a lot of the same elements that I liked — a large cast of quirky characters, whimsically-crafted sentences. Not quite as tight story-wise as the others, but that makes sense given that it’s her first one.

Took me a while to get into it, I think because there are so many characters being introduced that it’s hard to care about them all right away. Felt like a lot of the side storylines were disrupting the flow of the main one. But by the second half, I was invested in the whole community and the book really picked up. Truly wacky in a charming way. Loved all the (I assume accurate) references to small-town French culture, like how everyone offers each other walnuts but no one accepts because they have their own to get through.

[Sunhawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give half stars, this would get 3.5. I loved the story, and the characters in it showed intense insight into French "you can't see Paris from here" life -- reminds me of the Bruno books, because that insight from an outsider is unexpected and precious -- and most of the time the repetitive narrative devices: Émilie's frocks always appears to have been shorn off at the knees, while her circular stair is always poorly repaired. For me, the repetition is overdone.

[Lynn Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t make up my mind about this book. On one hand, it’s quirky in a very French way. On the other, it’s a chunky, repetitious read.

[Ekaterina Dolgova · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, some parts are funny, some boaring

[Ismael Nogal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy entretenido, te saca risas en muchas de las páginas.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Told in cheeky French country style.

[Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author of Chocolat called it a "hilarious romp off the beaten track, love it to bits." I won't go that far, it was OK, I did finish it, but won't look for more books by this author anytime soon!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was nervous about reading this as the title suggested “chic lit”. It’s been on my shelf for years so I took it to France so that I could leave it for my Aunt and Uncle when I left. What a funny, uplifting and entertaining story. I loved it far more than I expected to. Set in France, so big tick, around the Dordogne, another tick. Lots of food references and descriptions which I always love in a book, huge tick. Brilliant characters, every single one and there are a lot in the book. So pleased that I finally picked it off the shelf. Aunt and Uncle both loved it too and he’s in his early 70s and an Aussie bloke!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into the story (like 2 years) but once I realized how whimsical it was, its quirks were charming (like a Roald Dahl novel for adults, but no spice) and I was rooting for all the characters to find love.

I wish there was an audiobook because there’s a lot of French words & names I don’t know how to pronounce.

[Maryna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Есть книги, которые читаешь ради захватывающего сюжета или глубокой философии, а есть вот такие душевные, теплые книги, прочитав которые получаешь тонну удовольствия!

"Сват из Перигора" - простое, как дважды два, произведение, но тем не менее это первая за, наверное, год с лишним книга, которую мне однозначно захотелось купить, потому что такие истории - это именно то, что делает мир немного лучше и веселей.

Французская глубинка, маленькое село, где всего 33 жителя. И все эти 33 человека абсолютно и на всю голову больные!))))) Это настоящие деревенские чудики, которые могут появиться и жить только в таких вот удаленных местах. Не знаю, в чем тут дело, но в больших городах такие персонажи не водятся. Они то и делают, что ругаются и готовят кушать и едят, но с такими описание подробностей последнего, ммммм.... В сцене описания работы Стефана Жолли, пекаря, я испытала оргазм кулинара, простите-простите))) А я ведь эту французскую кухню с обилием сливочного масла и тушеной пищи очень не люблю, а тут прям захотелось найти рецепт кассуле! Но вот в чем проблема - на любовной фронте местные жители все же не столь успешны, как в деле кулинарном. Вот и решает, главный герой-парикмахер Гийом Ладуссет переквалифицироваться в сваты, что бы и жителям помочь, и самому остаться с ложкой кассуле.

Это абсолютно вневременная книга, и тем только еще более прекрасна. Как-то забывается, что время современное описывается, настолько она самобытна. Рекомендую, в общем!

З.Ы. И вот что интересно - абсолютно французская, хоть и из под пера англичанки "Сват из Перигора" понравился мне на тысячу процентов из ста, а такая же тоже абсолютно французская, и тоже из под пера англичанина Франция. Год в Провансе прошла совсем мимо. В душевности дело, в душевности... И сумасшествии героев)))

[Jessica Marquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I adore France, I'm not interested in idylls. I seek insightful, honest writing about real life. Unfortunately, that can be hard to find when it seems every American and their dog wants to move to Provence and write about la vie en rose.

That is why I so enjoyed "The Matchmaker of Périgord," a charming little novel far from chick lit. Stuart's voice is quirky and original; the tone is bittersweet, and sometimes just bitter.

Broadly, the book is about French villagers trapped within la vie quotidienne. Many see love as the answer but doubt they'll ever find it, which is where our quirky protagonist comes into play.

As the characters struggle to solve their problems and put some excitement into their lives, Stuart employs an interesting approach, that of extreme repetition. When she mentions a character who we've met before, he is a character wearing a certain thing and speaking a certain way or sitting in a certain place...always. This is not mentioned just once for detail, but again and again and again. If this sounds tedious, that's because it is. The cool part is I think that's the point.

The villagers are stuck, living lives that go in lazy circles with each day bringing more of the same. As readers we can't forget this, and are made to feel some of the pain, the draining boredom, that comes from doing the same thing again and again (and reading about it). The quirky details about a character resulted almost in dread, when I realized I was going to hear those same details repeated relentlessly. While it seemed a little much at times, I still love the way Stuart's form matched her content. (In that respect it reminds me of French Modernist fiction un tout petit peu).

A worthy addition to the anti-idealist French fic bookshelf.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Честно говоря, прочитав одну четвертую часть книги, я была глубоко уверенна в том, что больше троечки она от меня не получит. Моментами, даже задумывалась о том, что справедливой оценкой будет двойка с плюсом. А потом случилось чудо...По другому это и не назовешь, потому что неожиданно и причем абсолютно бесповоротно я кардинально поменяла свое мнение, буквально проглотив оставшуюся часть истории, и по сей момент пребывая в некой эйфории от нее. Что-то в "Свате из Перигора" есть точно! Его, по моему мнению, не в коей мере нельзя сравнивать с "Шоколадом" Джоанн Харрис или "Жареными зелеными помидорами в кафе "Полустанок" Фэнни Флэгг. Общее у вышеозначенных книг только то, что действие в них происходит в маленьких городках, где все друг друга знают. В остальном же "Сват..." в отличии от двух книг, с которыми его наиболее часто сравнивают, это по-большому счету сатира. Очень милая, светлая, но все-таки сатира. Изначально, мягко говоря чудные жители местного городка (а точнее сказать даже деревушки) раздражали меня сверх всякой меры, но потом меня осенило, что эти персонажи просто не стоит воспринимать всерьез, и тогда все стало на свои места. Аллилуйя!
Рада, что прочитала! Советую всем! Если у вас есть чувство юмора и в меру склонности к романтизму, тогда книга вам наверняка понравится!