My Wish List

Manchmal braucht es gar nicht so viele Worte, um eine wirklich gute Geschichte zu schreiben, wie dieses gerade einmal 120 Seiten umfassende Buch zeigt.
Jocelyne, 47 Jahre, verheiratet, zwei erwachsene Kinder und eine Leiche (wie sie selber meint), Besitzerin eines Kurzwarenladens, führt ein so unaufgeregtes Leben, dass man es praktisch langweilig nennen könnte. Doch sie ist glücklich: Sie liebt ihren ungehobelten Mann, ihre Kinder, ihren Laden und ihre Kundinnen - sie ist (kaum zu fassen) ein glücklicher Mensch, obwohl ihre Träume nicht in Erfüllung gingen. Eines Tages füllt sie das erste Mal in ihrem Leben einen Lottoschein aus - und gewinnt 18 Millionen Euro. Ob sie jetzt noch glücklicher wird?
Diese Frage stellt sie sich im show more Mittelteil des Buches. Welche Wünsche könnte sie sich erfüllen, was würde es mit ihr machen? So bildhaft und nuanciert wie sie im ersten Drittel ihr Glück beschreibt (in diesem unnachahmlichen französischen Sti), das sie auch ohne die Erfüllung ihrer Träume erreicht hat, fallen auch ihre Fragen zu diesem einschneidenden Ereignis aus, das ihr widerfahren ist. Man spürt ihre verhaltene Freude, auch das Nochnichtglaubenkönnen, aber auch ihre Zweifel über diesen überraschenden Gewinn. Es geschieht nicht viel in dieser Geschichte, aber spätestens nach der Bekanntgabe des Lottogewinns (was recht früh geschieht), liegt eine anhaltende Spannung in der Luft. Während ich las, wartete ich die ganze Zeit auf eine Entscheidung, einen Knall, es musste etwas passieren. Das tut es auch, aber völlig anders als gedacht.
Es ist ein kleines, aber sehr feines Buch über das Glück und das Unglück, die Freude im Leben aber auch das Leid. Am erstaunlichsten fand ich jedoch, dass diese Geschichte, die überzeugend aus der Sicht einer Frau erzählt wird, von einem Mann geschrieben wurde. Diesen Autor muss ich mir merken :-) show less

We all have dreams about what we’d do if we won the lottery. In my case, it’d involve a lovely house in a garden square in Kensington, with enough room for a proper library; and even more travelling. We like to imagine that these things would make us happy and finally allow us to become the people we’re meant to be. But is that really so? What would it really be like to find our bumbling, workaday lives transformed by the sudden influx of riches? This bittersweet little novel is based around the eternal truth that wealth and happiness don’t always enjoy a positive correlation. With its modest heroine and cosy small-town air, it’s a moral fable with a surprisingly bleak sting in its tail...

For the full review, please see my show more blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/05/24/the-list-of-my-desires-gregoire-delacourt/ show less

This is a wonderfully engaging and very well written story of disappointment and loss. I read it in two short settings and loved every moment of it. My recollection of it is more like having listened to a really good radio play rather than having read a book, such was the evocative nature of the writing.

What would you do if you won the lottery big style? Perhaps the euro lottery, where it is possible to win more money than you could possibly need This is the situation for Jocelyne. She is a woman approaching fifty who has a settled life in Arras; a fairly non-descript town (according to Delacourt) in Northern France. She is in love with her longstanding partner, she has two children, she is the owner of a haberdashery shop in the centre of town which is doing well. She has recently started a personal blog on all things to do with the materials she sells in her shop, which has attracted a large following and so she is leading a happy life with new interests. Her son who plays the lottery every week cajoles her into buying a ticket for show more the first time and she wins over 18 million euros. Fortunately she has ticked the non publicity box and so she secretly collects her cheque to give herself time to consider what to do. Who should she tell? what should she buy?. She has received advice and counselling from the managers of the lottery company.

Grégoire Delacourt who went to the same school as Emmanuel Macron was a publicist and manager of an advertising company, he published his first novel when he was fifty and has written five other novels since then. It is not surprising that an ex-publicist with his educational background has managed to become a best selling novelist. In La Liste de Mes Envies he has chosen a popular situation on which to base his second novel. The title refers to Jocelyne's secret list of the things that come to mind, that she can buy after she has collected her winnings. It is no surprise that she does not live 'happy ever after' after collecting her winnings. This short novel is in the realms of a beach read. Well enough written as you would expect considering Delacourt's education and background, but instantly forgettable. The principal character in the novel is Joceleyne and Delacourt brings no starling insights into the wants or needs of a working class women in a town like Arras. This little moral tale is so light that when the wind blows on the beach you would have to hold it down firmly to stop it blowing away. 3 stars. show less

I'll admit I was influenced by this book cover, anyone else love it too? The eye-catching button design prompted me to check out the blurb and I was glad I did.

The List of My Desires by Grégoire Delacourt is translated from French and is set in a provincial town in France. It's the story of Jocelyne, middle-aged and married with two adult children who runs her own dressmaking shop. Jocelyne faces a turning point in her life though when she unexpectedly wins $18M in the lottery.

Should she tell anyone she won the millions? Should she cash in the cheque? The win forces Jocelyne to reflect on what she really wants in life, and she writes a list of her desires. She re-writes the list at the end and it's quite interesting to see what's show more changed.

I won't give any of the story away, you'll just have to read it to find out. The List of My Desires is a wonderful little hardback book, and I was grateful for the chance to imagine it was me who'd won the lottery. show less

This interesting little book asks that perennial question: what would you change if you won the lottery? Jocelyne Guebette faces just this dilemma when she wins over 18m Euros after she is talked into buying her first ever ticket in a lottery. What should she do with all that money? She has been married for 22y and although her marriage has had some problems she and her husband get on well now. He has a good job and she has her own fabric and haberdashery shop and a successful blog encouraging women to knit and sew. Her life is not perfect but she has trouble imagining what she could do with all that money. Her wish list of what she could buy to make her life better is full of trivial items. She has two grown up children, a son who is show more estranged after dropping out of University and a daughter living in London who makes strange little films. Should she help them out with some money? What about her husband who desperately desires a flat screen TV, a complete set of James Bond movies and a Porsche? She also wants to do something to help her two best friends, unmarried twins in their late thirties who will never marry because they can't bear to be separated.
While she is procrastinating on what to do with her huge windfall, the story takes a surprising turn and Jocelyn is forced to decide what she really wants to do with the rest of her life. show less

I choose this short novel to listen to during the Readathon last weekend thinking it would be an uplifting fantasy. Instead, it was a bit of a downer. Initially Jocelyne dreams about all the nice ways the lottery winnings can change her life, but when her husband discovers the check and realizes she has been keeping this huge secret, things begin to go wrong. While she outwardly believes her marriage is fine, there are many problems beneath the surface.

The ending was unexpected and not necessarily to my liking, but the majority of the novel was an interesting reflection on life, relationships, marriage and asks the question – does having more money and more possessions make life happier, or is there more to the equation?

Audio show more production:
The book was narrated by Jilly Bond. Nicely paced and easy to listen to with the right amount of emotion and tension in the conflicted Jocelyne’s voice. show less