Life in a Postcard: Escape to the French Pyrenees | 
| Author: Rosemary Bailey
Publisher: Bantam Books
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £5.99
You Save: £2.00 (25%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 88821
Media: Paperback
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0553813412
Dewey Decimal Number: 914
EAN: 9780553813418
ASIN: 0553813412
Publication Date: April 1, 2002
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Many of us share a daydream. In idle moments, we delight ourselves with the thought of leaving Britain's grey climate behind and making a go of it in some sultry foreign locale. And if we're really ambitious with our daydreams, we think about transforming some exotic ruin into a splendid place to live. Rosemary Bailey and her husband, however, did more than just daydream. The beguiling Life in a Postcard tells how the couple were travelling in the French Pyrenees in 1988 when they were smitten with a crumbling medieval monastery which they later bought. Surrounded by peach orchards and snow-capped peaks, the area was rich with traces of the long-vanished monks: the sunken crypt, the stone arches of the cloister, the frescoes in the 13th-century chapel. Whenever they could, the couple visited Corbiac over the next few years, until they finally summoned the courage to relocate from urban London to rural France with their young son. With only the earnings from their freelance writing careers to support them, they performed the Herculean task of restoring the monastery to its former glory. Reading this utterly unputdownable account, it's easy to share the dream that drove the couple. But this isn't just aspirational wish-fulfilment; Bailey is mercilessly frank about the considerable strain put on their relationship, as well as the various horrors of living in a leaky, run-down property. But despite all that, the enjoyment of Life in a Postcard comes from our sharing this vivid evocation of the beauty of French Catalonia (with its famous cooking), and the tempting possibilities that (with the kind of determination that Bailey and her husband possessed) we too could be living a life like theirs. And if we can't, this book is a highly diverting substitute. --Barry Forshaw
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Padded April 26, 2008
If this was a sunday times best seller then the competion must have been dire. Writing style is amateurish, a reminder of all those school essays entitled "What I did on My Holiday". It was repeatitive in places and over padded with excesssive use of "How the Monks Lived", from my point of view that was covered in junior school history lessons and it provided inadequate account of village life.
 I felt it never really got going September 6, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love the genre of people taking on the challenge of moving to a new place and setting up, dealing with the local culture and people. I really was looking forward to getting into this, but I felt it never really caught my attention. It's a nice, light read - but usually all I want to do is to be able to go over and have a drink with these authors and chat in more detail about their experiences. This time, I felt I didn't have anything more to ask the author. It's a fine book from her perspective - she can look back in years to come and remember these times fondly, but I don't think it will be a classic of the genre for other people.
 A wonderful book January 28, 2004
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this - the author paints an alluring picture of her extraordinary life in a tiny village in the Pyrenees, and the real sense of community there. Rosemary Bailey writes very well indeed and there's a nice balance of inner dialogue and honesty with the strong sense of place. Really makes you want to go there...
Yet another....! April 28, 2003
21 out of 25 found this review helpful
I bought this book with high hopes, having read some of the reviews, but was disappointed. The author writes well about some of the scenery and culture of the region, but if I had wanted a history lesson I would have bought a history book! The passages where the thoughts/feelings of monks were imagined were just embarrassing padding. I would have welcomed far more detail about the building, the region, timescales, costings, and future plans. I'm a sucker for any book about France/Spain/Italy, but this was a real disappointment, hence my first ever review for Amazon! I think Peter Mayle's crown is safe.
INSIGHTFUL & INCISIVE - A STUNNING READ November 26, 2002
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
I would give it 10 stars if I could. I bought it with some cynicism. I enjoy the genre but was not interested in yet another book about French delicacies, lavender, scenery and climate. Rosemary has struck a brilliant balance in Life in a Postcard. There is something for everyone. It is a frank account of the challenges in setting up a home away from home in a country that is riddled with hurdles and difficulties that few of us will come across on casual visits.
Rosemary writes beautifully about her beloved monastery, about the trials and tribulations of bringing up a child largely on her own and doing her best to ensure that he is well integrated and happy in his new environment. For all their qualities the “Driving over Lemons” of this world lack the depth of historical knowledge, insightfulness and incisiveness that you will find in “Life in a Postcard”. I cannot recommend it enough.
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