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The Pop Larkin Chronicles #2
A Breath Of French Air
Ma hankers for France, heat. So all ten Larkins flee cold wet England in August. Son-in-law Charley teaches bon mots for his childhood sunny seaside, bursts beachballs sent at his topless tanning Marriette. Air is stormy, tea weak, food tough, burnt. Ma's bulk bursts chair. Host Mlle Dupont eyes Pa's bachelor passport and "milord's" monogrammed Rolls.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
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About the author
H.E. Bates
278 books194 followersHerbert Ernest Bates, CBE is widely recognised as one of the finest short story writers of his generation, with more than 20 story collections published in his lifetime. It should not be overlooked, however, that he also wrote some outstanding novels, starting with The Two Sisters through to A Moment in Time, with such works as Love For Lydia, Fair Stood the Wind for France and The Scarlet Sword earning high praise from the critics. His study of the Modern Short Story is considered one of the best ever written on the subject.
He was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire and was educated at Kettering Grammar School. After leaving school, he was briefly a newspaper reporter and a warehouse clerk, but his heart was always in writing and his dream to be able to make a living by his pen.
Many of his stories depict life in the rural Midlands of England, particularly his native Northamptonshire. Bates was partial to taking long midnight walks around the Northamptonshire countryside - and this often provided the inspiration for his stories. Bates was a great lover of the countryside and its people and this is exemplified in two volumes of essays entitled Through the Woods and Down the River.
In 1931, he married Madge Cox, his sweetheart from the next road in his native Rushden. They moved to the village of Little Chart in Kent and bought an old granary and this together with an acre of garden they converted into a home. It was in this phase of his life that he found the inspiration for the Larkins series of novels -The Darling Buds of May, A Breath of French Air, When the Green Woods Laugh, etc. - and the Uncle Silas tales. Not surprisingly, these highly successful novels inspired television series that were immensely popular.
His collection of stories written while serving in the RAF during World War II, best known by the title The Stories of Flying Officer X, but previously published as Something in the Air (a compilation of his two wartime collections under the pseudonym 'Flying Officer X' and titled The Greatest People in the World and How Sleep the Brave), deserve particular attention. By the end of the war he had achieved the rank of Squadron Leader.
Bates was influenced by Chekhov in particular, and his knowledge of the history of the short story is obvious from the famous study he produced on the subject. He also wrote his autobiography in three volumes (each delightfully illustrated) which were subsequently published in a one-volume Autobiography.
Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener and wrote numerous books on flowers. The Granary remained their home for the whole of their married life. After the death of H. E Bates, Madge moved to a bungalow, which had originally been a cow byre, next to the Granary. She died in 2004 at age 95. They raised two sons and two daughters.
primarily from Wikipedia, with additions by Keith Farnsworth
He was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire and was educated at Kettering Grammar School. After leaving school, he was briefly a newspaper reporter and a warehouse clerk, but his heart was always in writing and his dream to be able to make a living by his pen.
Many of his stories depict life in the rural Midlands of England, particularly his native Northamptonshire. Bates was partial to taking long midnight walks around the Northamptonshire countryside - and this often provided the inspiration for his stories. Bates was a great lover of the countryside and its people and this is exemplified in two volumes of essays entitled Through the Woods and Down the River.
In 1931, he married Madge Cox, his sweetheart from the next road in his native Rushden. They moved to the village of Little Chart in Kent and bought an old granary and this together with an acre of garden they converted into a home. It was in this phase of his life that he found the inspiration for the Larkins series of novels -The Darling Buds of May, A Breath of French Air, When the Green Woods Laugh, etc. - and the Uncle Silas tales. Not surprisingly, these highly successful novels inspired television series that were immensely popular.
His collection of stories written while serving in the RAF during World War II, best known by the title The Stories of Flying Officer X, but previously published as Something in the Air (a compilation of his two wartime collections under the pseudonym 'Flying Officer X' and titled The Greatest People in the World and How Sleep the Brave), deserve particular attention. By the end of the war he had achieved the rank of Squadron Leader.
Bates was influenced by Chekhov in particular, and his knowledge of the history of the short story is obvious from the famous study he produced on the subject. He also wrote his autobiography in three volumes (each delightfully illustrated) which were subsequently published in a one-volume Autobiography.
Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener and wrote numerous books on flowers. The Granary remained their home for the whole of their married life. After the death of H. E Bates, Madge moved to a bungalow, which had originally been a cow byre, next to the Granary. She died in 2004 at age 95. They raised two sons and two daughters.
primarily from Wikipedia, with additions by Keith Farnsworth
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
April 11, 2019
“It was nice to go on holiday but it was nicer still to go home.” Further adventures with the Larkins, the indomitably cheery hedonists who starred in The Darling Buds of May. The family numbers 10 after the addition of little Oscar and the wedding of Mariette to Charley. After Charley reminisces about the French holidays of his childhood, Ma decides she’d like to give another country a try. Pop overcomes his antipathy for long enough to learn a few helpful phrases and dutifully book his clan into a falling-down hotel for a month starting in late August. At first it looks like they might get kicked out because Ma and Pop aren’t technically married, but Pop so charms the hotel owner that she not only lets them stay but decides he must be a Lord and gives the party the luxury treatment. This is for the best, as all the other aspects of his stay are atrocious: France shows off its worst weather and mostly inedible cuisine; even the booze is barely tolerable. But Pop still makes a couple of romantic conquests and pulls off a terrific first anniversary party for Charley and Mariette, with a feast complete with a passable “pouding à la Jorkshire”.
Like a lot of comedy, this feels slightly dated, and maybe also a touch xenophobic. That’s the point, I guess: Pop is as English as they come; why would you ever leave home when you live in the best country on earth? he thinks. So it was appropriate to be reading this in France in a pre-Brexit respite. I do have to wonder how these novels were received in the late 1950s: the Larkins reimagined today would be chavs, basically; while their unmarried status (and Ma’s tolerance of Pop’s smooching sessions with other women, all in the name of allowing him “variety”) is no biggie now, it would have been scandalous then. To make you care about and enjoy time spent with such superficially distasteful people is an achievement, I suppose. I don’t think I’ll go on to the rest of the sequels, though.
Like a lot of comedy, this feels slightly dated, and maybe also a touch xenophobic. That’s the point, I guess: Pop is as English as they come; why would you ever leave home when you live in the best country on earth? he thinks. So it was appropriate to be reading this in France in a pre-Brexit respite. I do have to wonder how these novels were received in the late 1950s: the Larkins reimagined today would be chavs, basically; while their unmarried status (and Ma’s tolerance of Pop’s smooching sessions with other women, all in the name of allowing him “variety”) is no biggie now, it would have been scandalous then. To make you care about and enjoy time spent with such superficially distasteful people is an achievement, I suppose. I don’t think I’ll go on to the rest of the sequels, though.
November 28, 2015
This was OK, but just OK. The Larkins are displeased with life in general during a rainy summer, until Mariette's husband of one year begins to rhapsodise about his childhood holidays in France. Except he probably went there in July or August, and the Larkins spend the month of September in a coastal town, unaware of the abrupt changes in climate France is famous for on the cusp of the seasons.
Very much a period piece, this book satirises the typical English tourist of the sixties, seventies and even part of the eighties who wanted the Mediterranean climate of sun, sea and sand--but also wanted everything else to be just like home: English food, English newspapers, English spoken everywhere. Pa Larkin picks up a word and a phrase here and there and figures he's "fluent" in French, and the whole family sits and criticises the people, the food, the fashions because hey--they're not like England. Then there's the horsefaced English woman who's a member of the slap-leather set and spends her summer going what she fondly imagines to be "native" (blissfully unaware that the real natives probably mock her behind her back every time they meet), and her strait-laced sister who discovers the other Summer Holiday S--sexual dalliance. Ah yes, we remember it well; my OH was a travel agent in S. Spain all his working life and we still live here, given that he was born here and I've lived here most of my life.
So far so sixties, but it doesn't quite work. Partly because they're not in the comfy cosy surroundings of home, partly because Ma is relegated to the background unless she's breastfeeding the latest Larkin--and that's where the biggest "but" arises. I got very tired of the constant sexualisation of the breastfeeding biz and everything else. I have no problem with women who breastfeed in public, that's what breasts are for, after all--but why did Bates feel he had to use sexual language to describe the beachfront, the sea, or whatever? Tiresome, and it shows a lack of range. True to "comedy" fiction/movies/TV of a certain type in the 50s and 60s, dirty-old-man-ism is presented as "funny", as Pa puts his amorous moves on any female within reach and roars with laughter at their reactions...and fictionally enough, none of them seems to mind it a bit. Yeah right. Because we all want some middle-aged berk kissing us or feeling us up whenever the mood takes him, and then ridiculing us, don't we, girls? Ugh. And Ma just chortles and eggs him on in the background--probably glad to get a break from his attentions and palavering. But even more "ugh" is when he notices and practically slavers over the physical development and beauty of his own daughters. Including Primrose, who is--rising 12?? Per-lease. Definitely not funny.
I also found it hard to believe that they could just leave eleven-and-a-bit year old Primrose behind, no passport, no money, no nothing, and no repercussions. That would last until school opened--and then what?
Not Bates' best work.
Very much a period piece, this book satirises the typical English tourist of the sixties, seventies and even part of the eighties who wanted the Mediterranean climate of sun, sea and sand--but also wanted everything else to be just like home: English food, English newspapers, English spoken everywhere. Pa Larkin picks up a word and a phrase here and there and figures he's "fluent" in French, and the whole family sits and criticises the people, the food, the fashions because hey--they're not like England. Then there's the horsefaced English woman who's a member of the slap-leather set and spends her summer going what she fondly imagines to be "native" (blissfully unaware that the real natives probably mock her behind her back every time they meet), and her strait-laced sister who discovers the other Summer Holiday S--sexual dalliance. Ah yes, we remember it well; my OH was a travel agent in S. Spain all his working life and we still live here, given that he was born here and I've lived here most of my life.
So far so sixties, but it doesn't quite work. Partly because they're not in the comfy cosy surroundings of home, partly because Ma is relegated to the background unless she's breastfeeding the latest Larkin--and that's where the biggest "but" arises. I got very tired of the constant sexualisation of the breastfeeding biz and everything else. I have no problem with women who breastfeed in public, that's what breasts are for, after all--but why did Bates feel he had to use sexual language to describe the beachfront, the sea, or whatever? Tiresome, and it shows a lack of range. True to "comedy" fiction/movies/TV of a certain type in the 50s and 60s, dirty-old-man-ism is presented as "funny", as Pa puts his amorous moves on any female within reach and roars with laughter at their reactions...and fictionally enough, none of them seems to mind it a bit. Yeah right. Because we all want some middle-aged berk kissing us or feeling us up whenever the mood takes him, and then ridiculing us, don't we, girls? Ugh. And Ma just chortles and eggs him on in the background--probably glad to get a break from his attentions and palavering. But even more "ugh" is when he notices and practically slavers over the physical development and beauty of his own daughters. Including Primrose, who is--rising 12?? Per-lease. Definitely not funny.
I also found it hard to believe that they could just leave eleven-and-a-bit year old Primrose behind, no passport, no money, no nothing, and no repercussions. That would last until school opened--and then what?
Not Bates' best work.
July 4, 2017
This is a silly book, but it's a joyous romp - or 'lark' as Pa Larkin would have it. When a wet July - 'a real thick 'un'- starts getting Ma down, the Larkin's new son-in-law begins reminiscing about his childhood holidays in France. Next thing you know, a whole crew of Larkins (all of those daughters with floral names plus baby Oscar) are crammed into the Rolls Royce and heading for their first foreign holiday. Their first encounter with Beau Rivage is pretty grim, but soon Pa Larkin has them all drinking English punch, eating roast beef and abandoning that French pose for a rollicking good time.
This is the sequel to The Darling Buds of May.
This is the sequel to The Darling Buds of May.
July 18, 2021
These book are silly and funny and bawdy and just what i need this summer- my summer of discontent.sigh. The characters are outrageous and wild -the setting in the glorious country side is lovely and i have laughed through this- perfick
April 5, 2014
I do not think I enjoyed the sequel as much as I did 'The darling buds of May'.
You just cannot drag humour if there is no plot,'The darling buds of May' had no plot but it was really enjoyable because of its descriptions of the British countryside, the delectable food, the jobs the young ones did to make money and all sorts of things so new to me. 'A breath of French air' cannot sustain as here the tremendous lack of plot shows and the book just disintegrates as a badly cooked souffle.
You just cannot drag humour if there is no plot,'The darling buds of May' had no plot but it was really enjoyable because of its descriptions of the British countryside, the delectable food, the jobs the young ones did to make money and all sorts of things so new to me. 'A breath of French air' cannot sustain as here the tremendous lack of plot shows and the book just disintegrates as a badly cooked souffle.
September 6, 2025
This sequel to The Darling Buds of May, originally published in 1959, just a year after the first book (H. E. Bates obviously knew he was on to a good thing with the Larkin family) sees Pop, Ma, Charley and the rest of the rambunctious clan take a month’s holiday in France. Unfortunately, Charley has sold the idea to a sceptical Pa with memories of pre-war holidays in Brittany with sun-soaked beaches, gorgeous food and simple but luxurious hotels which prove to be rather wide of the mark on arrival. Never mind, though, stormy weather, a down at heels hotel that smells of drains and the impossibility of getting either a good feed or (worse) a decent cup of tea can’t keep the Larkins down for long and their sojourn by the sea is soon transformed into a thing of joy and happiness. Bates once again shows himself as a master of light comic fiction with a beating heart and an eat, drink and be merry outlook on life.
August 31, 2023
Fabulous and so relaxing! Brilliantly narrated by Philip Franks.
March 21, 2012
A year has passed since the conclusion of The Darling Buds of May and Pop and Ma Larkin have added baby Oscar to their family, Charley and Mariette are now married (but no bun in the oven or little one for them yet) but otherwise the family remains the same as ever. Ma is depressed by the summer rains though and when Charley sees a little piece on France in the newspaper, he’s reminded of the summers he spent there as a child and how deliciously warm and sunny it was. Ma is immediately interested and tells Pop that she wants to go to France for a lovely holiday, the whole family. Pop is a bit startled but after a bit of language instruction from Charley, he’s on board.
Once they arrive in France though, all is not as they thought it would be. For a start, it’s literally pouring with rain. The hotel isn’t as Charley remembers it either, more run down and shabby. The food also isn’t quite in the volume or to the taste that the boisterous Larkin family is used to, with their voracious appetites. The hotel also has a little problem with Pop and Ma travelling on passports in different names, given they’re not actually married. Luckily Pop’s charm is able to get them out of that little problem!
A Breath of French Air is the next novel in the series after The Darling Buds of May and I was very much looking forward to reading it, having enjoyed the first one so much. Very different to books I’m usually drawn to and if I didn’t have to read The Darling Buds of May for an online book club I’d never have read it of my own accord.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this one anywhere near as much as the first one. I’ve never been to France so I know little about it, but it is well lauded for its food, culture and tourist spots so it was interesting to read a book that seemed to portray most of that so negatively. I know it’s English, and written in the early 60s, and I’m assuming it’s very tongue-in-cheek, given the whole first book is pretty much tongue-in-cheek but I felt this one lacked the fresh and charming humour of the first. I’m not sure if this series is just a one trick pony or if this book is just something that didn’t sit particularly well with me personally. There were flashes of good fun, but for a 137p book, quite a bit of it did drag. Weirdly, there’s a lot of obsession with breasts here, particularly Ma’s as she’s breastfeeding baby Oscar in this novel and we get this described to us in glorious technicolour detail many many times with the focus being on describing her breasts rather than the feeding itself. Then we get descriptions of Mariette’s breasts and even Pa noticing that their 11yo daughter is developing as well.
As in the first, this one is rich with description and characterisation, the story just fell flat for me.
Once they arrive in France though, all is not as they thought it would be. For a start, it’s literally pouring with rain. The hotel isn’t as Charley remembers it either, more run down and shabby. The food also isn’t quite in the volume or to the taste that the boisterous Larkin family is used to, with their voracious appetites. The hotel also has a little problem with Pop and Ma travelling on passports in different names, given they’re not actually married. Luckily Pop’s charm is able to get them out of that little problem!
A Breath of French Air is the next novel in the series after The Darling Buds of May and I was very much looking forward to reading it, having enjoyed the first one so much. Very different to books I’m usually drawn to and if I didn’t have to read The Darling Buds of May for an online book club I’d never have read it of my own accord.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this one anywhere near as much as the first one. I’ve never been to France so I know little about it, but it is well lauded for its food, culture and tourist spots so it was interesting to read a book that seemed to portray most of that so negatively. I know it’s English, and written in the early 60s, and I’m assuming it’s very tongue-in-cheek, given the whole first book is pretty much tongue-in-cheek but I felt this one lacked the fresh and charming humour of the first. I’m not sure if this series is just a one trick pony or if this book is just something that didn’t sit particularly well with me personally. There were flashes of good fun, but for a 137p book, quite a bit of it did drag. Weirdly, there’s a lot of obsession with breasts here, particularly Ma’s as she’s breastfeeding baby Oscar in this novel and we get this described to us in glorious technicolour detail many many times with the focus being on describing her breasts rather than the feeding itself. Then we get descriptions of Mariette’s breasts and even Pa noticing that their 11yo daughter is developing as well.
As in the first, this one is rich with description and characterisation, the story just fell flat for me.
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September 10, 2023This is the second in H. E. Bates' series about the Larkins and their larks. This time they are in France and their English exceptionalism might well make well travelled British citizens' hackles rise. The Froggies get everything wrong and the only positive events are when Pop bestows passionate kisses on ladies who are not his wife (because, as his wife knows, he needs a bit of variety from time to time). I didn't find the tale tedious and I can accept that stories written about the 60s will reflect different attitudes from those of today (although recent events in GB do make me suspect that there are still a good number of Larkins inhabiting these sceptred isles) but somehow bits of the story grated on me.
September 6, 2012
The second book of the series which starts with "The Darling Buds of May". You need to read these in order and you need to be very politically incorrect to enjoy the humor. I really find them funny - I am sorry to say! The description of the French resort in the middle of a storm with everyone filling up on "guillotined" bread for all they were worth was a riot - really. Give them a try.
March 4, 2012
Some of the same things that were charming in the first volume were not quite so when you take the Larkin's out of their natural environment
December 7, 2018
As wonderful as the British TV series!
March 2, 2024
The wet summer is beginning to spoil the Larkins' normally sunny disposition so, when Charley reminisces about his childhood holidays in France, Ma decides that everyone should go. Unfortunately, the reality of the hotel bears little resemblance to Charley's childhood memories.
A nice, fish out of water, comedy. Bates' rendering of the ultimate bon vivants makes this a nice way to spend a couple of hours.
A nice, fish out of water, comedy. Bates' rendering of the ultimate bon vivants makes this a nice way to spend a couple of hours.
July 19, 2024
Picked this up at Leakey’s secondhand bookshop in Inverness before a long weekend in France. 🇫🇷 It was the first book I saw when I walked in the door, seemed only right to pay the £4.50 and take it with me! Bit like a Carry On film lol
January 24, 2021
Not quite as charming as the first one but still very enjoyable because I love the characters so much. Bradley Walsh is going to be so brilliant as Pop in the reboot. Obsessed with Angela Snow - I also say “scream!” all the time. I hate Brexit!
January 5, 2022
A great little book, with all the wit you expect and some new adventures
May 28, 2023
A classic, funny Larkin adventure!
August 26, 2023
As jolly and happy as the first one can’t wait to read the next one
June 2, 2025
jovial but would like it if the author would stop writing about the daughter looking so hot (she is but cool it)
December 13, 2025
What can you say, except perfick, another fun outing with the Larkin family.
March 12, 2020
The Larkins head to France in this one, and while I wouldn't want to share an hotel, and certainly not a dining room, I did enjoy reading about them.
January 30, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/... back cover
The fun is the boisterous conviviality and relaxed joy in traditional "sins". Ma 36 p 15 hankers for France, heat. Pop wants grandkids. So all ten Larkins flee their beloved junkyard England home in chilly wet August. Son-in-law "Charley" Charleton primes all with bon mots phrases a bientôt from his childhood remembered sunny seaside, drunkenly bursts beachballs athletic suitors "float towards .. every five minutes" p 73" his topless tanning new wife Marriette. Air is first stormy cold, tea straw-color weak, food tough, beef outside "charred .. [bloody] icy blue inside" p 81, bills overpriced "breathing charge" p 83.
Ma's jolly bouncing bulk nurses newborn Oscar, squashes wicker chair, advises Pop "equal shares" p 182 among admirers, "variety" including elegant silk and cashmere clad Angela Snow, and custom sews her own bikinis. Pop admires landlady Mlle Dupont for black corset and Lily of the Valley muguet-scent. She notes Pop's bachelor passport and calls him "milord" for fancy monogrammed Rolls Royce, eccentricities. Attentive "golden and aristocratic" p 89 Angela encourages her to ask him about "his home is his castle" p 120.
French women and children are pallid, unkempt, spotty, unfeminine sticks, far from fashionable. Servers are "unclean, uncut .. belly both hairy and sweaty" p 80 rude, filthy, far from cultured. Pokes fun at "très snob" p 81. Then Exaggerated "young men .. magnificent .. tall, athletic, bronzed and lissom. Innumerable protruding knots of muscle .. hair was always perfectly crimped and waved ..middles wore nothing but skin-tight pudding bags tied with string .. tirelessly exercising" p 70.
Get drunk, amorous, and embrace physical pleasures. Pop concocts cocktails, improves "innocuous" looking punch, so everyone enjoys final "delectable" p 130 feast, 29 Aug Charley and Mariette's first anniversary festivities. Angela nearly kisses heads shorter hotel clerk Mr Mollett "bang in the center of the forehead" p 148, but "for keeps" p 150 Pop instead. Her strict preachy sister Iris, diet of anchovy paste on dry toast, claims "France is my mecca. Everything .. adored .. its food" p 143. On the moonlit beach, she "surrendered gladly" p 145. X-rating for topic, not delivery.
Book ends with feeding "a wide handsome spread of maternal bosom exposed, ready to give Ma decides to christen "Oscar Columbus Septimus Dupont Larkin a little drop of the best" p 159. Invited to attend christening as godmother, Mlle Dupont does, I remember. Precocious Primrose 11 stays with "boyfriend" Marc-Antoine 12 p 137. Re-reading Larkin may be saturated to excess.
February 21, 2016
Before I read this second novel in Herbert E Bates five book series about Pop Larkin and his family, I did the mistake of watching the DVD with the entire TV series from the early 1990s. The TV series was alright but when reading this second novel in the series, I realised that the TV series doesn't by half measure up. Bates has an extraordinary language! It is a true delight to read his description of places and people that is totally lost in the TV series. My recommendation would really be to stay away from the TV series unless one just is looking for a cozy fun series to watch on a cold winter night. Otherwise just stick to the books, they do not need to be visualised by Catherine Zeta-Jones and the like.
This second novel in the series, start out with Mr. Charlton sitting reading about France and reminiscing about his childhood summers in Bretagne and the fantastic hotel he had stayed in there. Since the summer has rained away, Ma starts wishing for a holiday, beaches and sun, so she listens carefully to Charley's rantings. Before he knows it, Pop has been persuaded to take the entire family to Bretagne and to the same hotel Charley stayed in as a boy before the war. Charley and Mariette Larkin has by now been married for a year and Pop is deeply disappointed that they have not produced a grandchild so he feels that a vacation in France might do the trick and decides that they will go for an entire month.
When the family arrive, the hotel is not so grand anymore nor as big as Charley remembered it. And the weather is ghastly for three days so that the family is close to returning home. Not only does Larkin's state of unwed couple meet with disapproval at the hotel, but Ma's body size and all the seven children as well. Because Ma has had a new addition during the year that has gone between the first book and the second.
When the hotel owner starts thinking that Pop might be aristocracy, everything improves for the family and they get some wonderful memories to bring home.
The book is hilarious at places like when a jealous Charley get very drunk and runs around on the beach puncturing all beach balls so that the "froggies" can't throw them Mariette's way and flirt with her.
Pop Larkin's admiration for the fairer sex can get get a little tedious to read about but luckily he has a very understanding "wife" and if she can accept his gazing, so must I as a reader. All in all, it is a fun book to read and as "shocking" as the first one since this is a very eccentric family. One ought to read them in order though since the build on each other.
This second novel in the series, start out with Mr. Charlton sitting reading about France and reminiscing about his childhood summers in Bretagne and the fantastic hotel he had stayed in there. Since the summer has rained away, Ma starts wishing for a holiday, beaches and sun, so she listens carefully to Charley's rantings. Before he knows it, Pop has been persuaded to take the entire family to Bretagne and to the same hotel Charley stayed in as a boy before the war. Charley and Mariette Larkin has by now been married for a year and Pop is deeply disappointed that they have not produced a grandchild so he feels that a vacation in France might do the trick and decides that they will go for an entire month.
When the family arrive, the hotel is not so grand anymore nor as big as Charley remembered it. And the weather is ghastly for three days so that the family is close to returning home. Not only does Larkin's state of unwed couple meet with disapproval at the hotel, but Ma's body size and all the seven children as well. Because Ma has had a new addition during the year that has gone between the first book and the second.
When the hotel owner starts thinking that Pop might be aristocracy, everything improves for the family and they get some wonderful memories to bring home.
The book is hilarious at places like when a jealous Charley get very drunk and runs around on the beach puncturing all beach balls so that the "froggies" can't throw them Mariette's way and flirt with her.
Pop Larkin's admiration for the fairer sex can get get a little tedious to read about but luckily he has a very understanding "wife" and if she can accept his gazing, so must I as a reader. All in all, it is a fun book to read and as "shocking" as the first one since this is a very eccentric family. One ought to read them in order though since the build on each other.
April 18, 2012
"Inside the cafe Pop found himself to be the only customer. Presently a waiter who looked as if he had been awake all night and was now preparing to sleep all day came and stood beside his table. 'M'sieu?' 'Three boiled eggs,' Pop said. 'Soft'. 'Comment?' Thanks to Mr Charlton, Pop knew what this meant. 'Soft,' He held up three fingers. 'Three. Trois. Soft boiled.' 'Ex?' 'Yes, old boy,' Pop said/ 'Oui'. With his forefinger he described what he thought were a few helpful circles in the air and at this, he felt, the waiter seemed to understand. In a sort of ruminating daze he went away, muttering 'Ex' several times. Two minutes later he came back to bring Pop a large treble brandy. 'Ca va?' he said and Pop could only nod his head in mute, melancholy acquiescence, deeply regretting that among the French words Mr Charlton had taught him there had so far been none relating to drink and food. It was an omission that would have to be remedied pretty soon."
A Breath of French Air sees the Larkin family deciding to take a holiday in France (surprise surprise!) in their Rolls Royce. But, as with many of the things that happen to the Larkins, things don't turn out *quite* as they expect. Pop has to learn French, the hotel is uneasy putting up Pop and Ma when they are not married, Ma gets stuck in a chair, the weather is not as ideal as they would have liked, the food is awful and the coffee pots need a hammering in order to pour properly. But as the holiday progresses, things improve - Pop sweet-talks Mademoiselle Dupont, Angela Snow AND her sister Iris; and Charley and Mariette celebrate their first wedding anniversary with a party.
It's a fun, light, comic book to read - especially on holiday!
A Breath of French Air sees the Larkin family deciding to take a holiday in France (surprise surprise!) in their Rolls Royce. But, as with many of the things that happen to the Larkins, things don't turn out *quite* as they expect. Pop has to learn French, the hotel is uneasy putting up Pop and Ma when they are not married, Ma gets stuck in a chair, the weather is not as ideal as they would have liked, the food is awful and the coffee pots need a hammering in order to pour properly. But as the holiday progresses, things improve - Pop sweet-talks Mademoiselle Dupont, Angela Snow AND her sister Iris; and Charley and Mariette celebrate their first wedding anniversary with a party.
It's a fun, light, comic book to read - especially on holiday!
July 3, 2014
The Larkin's are back, this time they have gone on holiday France, mainly as Charley who has now married Mariette, tells of happy sun filled days at the beach on family holiday, as a child.
So the Larkin family that has now expanded to 10,with the arrival of another baby Larkin, this time a son called Oscar, who is totally dependent on Ma for his liquid refreshment, sets of to the land where things are hopefully as Charley predicted.
They arrive in Brittany, and the weather couldn't have been worse, and their Hotel decrepit and in a bad state of repair, and their rooms sub-standard. And then there is the language where if not for Charlie's bi-lingual skills, they would be halfway up the Seine without a paddle.
Pop, who constantly thinks of food, gets a shock when he becomes acquainted with French cuisine, Snails & Fois Grois amongst all the rest. If he thought he was going to get a full English breakfast, he was in for a shock. Less of a problem was the Alcohol he could get, and he had more than his fair share.
Throughout the story Pop was dropping hints that were none too subtle hints about Charley's manhood and inability to have made Mariette pregnant.
This novel is a worthy sequel to the original ' Darling Buds Of May ', and maintains it standard of perficktion.
So the Larkin family that has now expanded to 10,with the arrival of another baby Larkin, this time a son called Oscar, who is totally dependent on Ma for his liquid refreshment, sets of to the land where things are hopefully as Charley predicted.
They arrive in Brittany, and the weather couldn't have been worse, and their Hotel decrepit and in a bad state of repair, and their rooms sub-standard. And then there is the language where if not for Charlie's bi-lingual skills, they would be halfway up the Seine without a paddle.
Pop, who constantly thinks of food, gets a shock when he becomes acquainted with French cuisine, Snails & Fois Grois amongst all the rest. If he thought he was going to get a full English breakfast, he was in for a shock. Less of a problem was the Alcohol he could get, and he had more than his fair share.
Throughout the story Pop was dropping hints that were none too subtle hints about Charley's manhood and inability to have made Mariette pregnant.
This novel is a worthy sequel to the original ' Darling Buds Of May ', and maintains it standard of perficktion.
May 7, 2015
In this the second in the series of The Darling Buds of May, the family travel to France, where they become fish out of water and are led by the new addition of the family, Mr Charlton. Pop and Ma's laidback attitude to life, love and relationships are highlighted further when they run into Pop's old flame and a love struck bed and breakfast owner falls for him. You don't get very much of a sense of where this book is mainly set because, as with the first book, it just revolves around the excesses of eating, getting pissed and throwing parties.
The Pop Larkin Chronicles are the quintessential feel good, detached country-bound romp. Well known by the popular tv series starring David Jason and the introduction of one Catherine Zeta Jones to the world, this series of novellas set in rural Kent depict a time of post-war relief and joy and with the Larkin family, a sense of openness, lassez faire and an eagerness to get on with life, enjoy nature and all it brings, not to mention the ability to eat, drink and be merry. As a whole, the series delights but can be rather disjointed and sporadic between volumes. They are a joy though and have you yearning for a spot at their table being force fed and watered.
The Pop Larkin Chronicles are the quintessential feel good, detached country-bound romp. Well known by the popular tv series starring David Jason and the introduction of one Catherine Zeta Jones to the world, this series of novellas set in rural Kent depict a time of post-war relief and joy and with the Larkin family, a sense of openness, lassez faire and an eagerness to get on with life, enjoy nature and all it brings, not to mention the ability to eat, drink and be merry. As a whole, the series delights but can be rather disjointed and sporadic between volumes. They are a joy though and have you yearning for a spot at their table being force fed and watered.
June 19, 2016
Another good read. This one, appropriately, is full of joie de vivre and sees the Larkin family uprooted en masse for a holiday for a month in France.... so it features them getting used to different climate, different culture, different customs, different language... lots of differences. As with the previous book, the writing is very evocative and conjures up great images and sensations of the scenes, the food, the drink etc.
Not a lot happens in this one, other than the family getting used to a different way of life for a while - but you're carried along with the flow of the book and the general lust for life and their wholesome outlook on life in general..... very much a book of it's times (late 1950s) and all the more wonderful for it!
Not a lot happens in this one, other than the family getting used to a different way of life for a while - but you're carried along with the flow of the book and the general lust for life and their wholesome outlook on life in general..... very much a book of it's times (late 1950s) and all the more wonderful for it!
February 9, 2017
Another good read with the Larkins.''
It's very rare for me to laugh now when I read a book, I suppose getting to ones mid eighties chages ones outlook. However this is the third Bates book I've read and he continues to amuse me so much. This book is such a super light and happy read, to me just the right length, and the reaction of Pop to events, discussions are quite hilarious. I look forward to a long and amusing relationship with other books by H.E. Bates. I thorougnly recommend.
It's very rare for me to laugh now when I read a book, I suppose getting to ones mid eighties chages ones outlook. However this is the third Bates book I've read and he continues to amuse me so much. This book is such a super light and happy read, to me just the right length, and the reaction of Pop to events, discussions are quite hilarious. I look forward to a long and amusing relationship with other books by H.E. Bates. I thorougnly recommend.
April 3, 2016
My first encounter with the Larkins family. (I never watched the tv series despite being a big David Jason fan). Here the family enjoy a holiday in Brittany. If at times the attitudes expressed are a little discordant then I'm happy to accept them as evidence of how far we've travelled as travellers in the 57 years since it was published and the 57 years since I was born. Things have changed.
An enjoyable read with engaging characters, a rosy complexion and a scattering of chuckles.
An enjoyable read with engaging characters, a rosy complexion and a scattering of chuckles.
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