My Four Seasons in France

A Year of the Good Life

By: Janine Marsh

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

A little over 10 years ago, Janine Marsh and her husband gave up their careers in London to chase the good life in the countryside of northern France. Having overcome the obstacles of starting to renovate her dream home - an ancient, dilapidated barn - and fitting in with the peculiarities of the locals, Janine is now the go-to expat in the area for those seeking to get to grips with a very different way of life.

In this book, Janine regales us with the delights and dramas of a year attempting to live the rural idyll. Each month brings to light a new aspect of life in the French countryside: snow in January, resulting in a broken arm, which in turn leads to an etiquette lesson at the local hospital; wild winds in February; cuckoos in March; and giant hailstones in July that destroy cars and houses and bring the villagers closer together.

Told with warmth and humor, My Good Year in France showcases a uniquely French way of life: where two eternally ambitious expats drag a neglected farmhouse to life, and deal with the accompanying disasters, learn to grow vegetables, discover how to cook, and stumble across the hidden gems of this very special part of the world.

©2020 Janine Marsh (P)2020 Tantor

I wanted to like it more

I really wanted to like this book more, but that was the issue. I kept wanting more, and was just left...wanting. I'm listening to her previous book, My Good Life in France, and I now realize that I should have listened to the books in reverse order. There is so much more detail in the first book that it's now filling in the gaps of this book. However, this shouldn't need to be the case. Each book should be able to stand on its own, and My Four Seasons in France is lacking. The slimmest part of the book is the final season. It feels like Ms. Marsh ran out of steam.

The narrator reads in a stilted, British news reader fashion, and tries too hard at French language pronunciation. This book lacks the feeling and inflection that My Good Life in France has. It's a shame that the books have different narrators.

Can’t wait to take a trip

I really enjoyed this trip through France, through Janine’s pen. I have heard only negative things about visiting France but I really hope our next trip to Europe will include the rural country side. I too am a chicken and cat lover.

loved the story

sadly a boring-voiced narrator for such a lovely story of a year in France. mispronounced French

Ruined by the narration

I LOVE Janine Marsh. Her writing is so sweet and engaging and I look forward to her emails every week. I so want to like this book, but the narration is SO AWFUL! Please, Janine, keep writing! And please, Janine, FIND ANOTHER NARRATOR! I feel disloyal not rating this audiobook higher, but I cannot. The reader’s voice sounds so affected, pretentious, and totally repetitive that I can barely listen for 30 minutes at a time before i blurt out unattractive commentary which I’m glad no one overhears. Hope I can finish listening, but I’m not optimistic. Bummed.

Makes you wanting to hear more.

Lovely book! So enjoyed it. Made my travels to France so much more memorable with her literary details. Makes you come back for more from this author.