Beginning French: Lessons from a Stone Farmhouse

Under a shared pseudonym, Californians Eileen McKenna and Marty Neumeier regale readers with the tale of their purchase of a 400-year-old “completely restored” farmhouse in France’s Aquitaine region, the challenges they faced to their lengthy marriage, and the gourmet meals they indulged in. Studded with recipes for duck burgers, sangria, and more, the book chronicles multiple disasters in their long-distance homeownership of le Rêve (the Dream): a boiler flooded the house, appliances overloaded the electrical system, and the ceiling threatened to collapse. However, those ordeals are resolved too handily, defusing the tension, and the only real threat to their long-term happiness arises a stone’s throw from the end of the tale. Neumeier, the author of several books on branding and creativity, waxes elegiac about countryside and cuisine with the practiced joviality of a salesman. Though some of his banter charms (such as labeling the purchase of a kitchen table straight out from under the broker’s family dinner as “a steal”), his narration is marked by paternalism, even when he believes he’s being generous (“Mark my words,” he says of his wife after she agrees on an issue, “women will one day rule the world”). To his credit, he seems aware of this tendency, interpreting one of McKenna’s glances as a warning not to “give [her] that marketing hoohah.” Minimal reflection and scant backstory make the book less memoir than brochure, but Francophiles and foodies will find plenty to feast on. (BookLife)