Karen Wheeler

Tout Sweet is a memoir of author Karen Wheeler's spur of the moment idea to buy a house in the French countryside and then move there to renovate the house. I, of course, loved it. Especially since she moved to the same region of France that I used to live in, Poitou-Charentes, and she talks about some cities I know. Like, for instance, La Rochelle, where I lived. She had unhappy experiences in La Rochelle though, mainly because it reminded her of happy times spent there with her show more exboyfriend. Still, what's not to love?!

This was a quick, easy read and if you love memoirs about people quitting their day jobs and moving to France, you will love it, like I did. I loved how honest Wheeler was about everything. She knows she has flaws, and she writes about them and how they affect her when she first moves to the tiny little village in France from London. For instance, what's a former fashion writer going to do with all of her insanely high and impractable designer shoes? Or her designer clothing? I was laughing when reading about the day she moved in to her new house (which needed a ton of work!), because she didn't even own the right kind of clothes for doing housework.

It was interesting as well to see how her relationship developed with the other locals, French and British expats alike. It seems she ended up making a lot of really great and close friends who she probably still sees regularly. There was also some drama with a few of her friends while she was renovating the house. It was hilarious, but also kind of sad, since, ya know, the drama probably really did go down, since this is, ya know, a memoir. But hey, she's got some entertaining friends in that tiny little French village.

I did get a bit annoyed at how much she referenced her exboyfriend throughout the book. She just could not seem to let him go. But honestly, this is a real person we're talking about who had real feelings for this guy who really broke her heart. And honestly, I would probably act the same way and think about my ex as much as she does, especially when she first moves to France. That's one of the things that I have to learn with memoirs. If I'm getting annoyed because the writer is talking a lot about a difficult time in her life, I need to remind myself more often that, hello Kelly, this really happened and it's a real person who has real feelings. I also kept waiting for a super happy ending where expat meets Prince Charming and lives happily ever after. But, as I stated up above, this is a memoir. So things don't always go smoothly and happily like in novels. And I love happy endings. Though while there may not be a Prince Charming waiting for Karen at the end of this book, there is a home. She does feel like she belongs with her new friends in her new village. And that's worth the read, and it's worth all the trouble she went through to renovate her house.

This book made me so homesick for France, but it also made me reflect on the great times I had there, so I had a really happy, warm feeling inside while reading it. But what I didn't like? Karen needs to stop talking about eating her pain au chocolat from the local boulangerie every. single. morning. Because that's just too painful for a girl who used to do the same. exact. thing. *sigh* show less

After my trip to France this past summer, there isn't much about this book and cover that doesn't appeal to me. There is that certain passion for life in all of its facets that one can readily recognize in the French, and something that is very romantic--on the surface. Don't get me wrong, it is very romantic, but Karen Wheeler's memoir reminds us that there are drafty, run-down homes to be fixed, bug bites to cure (with nary a 24-hour drugstore in sight), and a lack of eligible bachelors to show more be found. Nonetheless, grabbing at life when she could is an appealing ideal for many readers, including this reader.

One of the things I loved about this memoir was the full disclosure of both Karen's self-possession and Karen's self-doubt. It was an interesting inside view of the person who took the journey. Maybe it was because of this unique inside look into her life that then had me fully vested in finding her true happiness, in whatever way possible. I loved watching her transform her rundown home into something all her own. From stripping floors to sealing and painting walls, it was so engaging to actually follow her process of remaking her little French home into one she could reside in.

One thing that had me on edge for her were the discussions of her romantic relationships. We start the memoir with a gripping heartache that propels her to France, that I think we all hope will be resolved with great friendships--which I'm not sure the assortment of people she meets fit--or with a love interest--which is hard when they have other motivations. Throughout the book she discusses looking for "suitors" in anyone from her neighbor to the baker in town. There does seem to be this build up to a relationship or sorts, only to have it dropped in the course of about three sentences--literally. For me, the build up of friendships and suitors to a startling resolution left me a bit out of sorts. If we were to spend 200+ pages dropping mention of the importance of relationships, I would hope that we would have a balanced explanation of their place in her life by the end.

Karen Wheeler is a marvelous writer, with an ability to recall her own life story in a novel-like fashion. I was so easily sucked in that my care and concern for her could match any fictional character I've been introduced to. Having said that, the philosophical end to the book felt very unsatisfying and left me sad for Karen, and not upbeat about the entire "finding of oneself" and slowing down that I think I was supposed to take away. On the whole, I have been recommending this memoir right and left, in the hopes that I can come to grips with my own reaction to its ending. It's not possible for me to spell out all the details, but I will say that the reality of it cuts through all that feels escapist or romantic. In short, I loved it and I hated it, both at the same time. I can't say that I've responded so strongly to a book in a very long time, and I'm still left trying to grasp how I felt. Honestly, you really have to read it to find out how Karen wrapped up her memoir. For this reader, I'll admit to wishing that maybe (like in my own life) there was just a bit more fiction to finish it off. show less

This was the wonderful sequel to Tout Sweet! Following up on Ms. Wheeler's life in rural France, her home is finally complete and she is adjusting to life in the small town.

Now that her house is done, she can start concentrating on her love life. In the previous novel, she had a number of disappointments, but things were looking up towards the end. This is real life though, and nothing ever happens the way we think it will. This is not to say that Ms. Wheeler is sitting around pining for a show more lover. Not at all, she gets out there and learns to dance!

Now, I was raised in the Prairies, so I grew up on Country music. I can't say that I ever felt the need to learn line dancing though, and the fact that it's such a trend in France frightens me a little bit. Nonetheless, it was interesting to read about her adventures as an amateur line dancer.

Like Ms. Wheeler tells us, life happens when you stop waiting for it to happen. The novel has a happy ending, which I always love. It was as bright, self-depreciating, and clever as her first memoir. While I enjoyed the discussion about renovating her house more than line-dancing, this was still a great summer read. I absolutely recommend this book! show less

The writer of this book was witty, smart, and very very funny. She pokes at the idealistic view we get from writers like Peter Mayle, talking a great deal about the fact that her part of the France seems to be absent any sort of culinary greatness. Regardless, I delighted in reading about her eventual settling into the French village - making friends while navigating the refurbishment of her little home.

This book would be perfect with a good glass of wine (I went with red!) in the garden show more during a late summer afternoon. I don't have a garden, so I had to improvise - I have to admit that Ms. Wheeler's description of her lovely French garden had me yearning to buy a house though! I unconditionally recommend this book, and I hope you will delight in it as I have. show less