French Fried: One Man's Move to France with Too Many Animals and an Identity Thief

This is an exceptionally funny and entertaining book. It outlines one couple's move to southern France from England in about the year 1995. This particular couple not only moved themselves but an entire menagerie of animals including a lurcher puppy, 2 horses and 2 cats. The book outlines their exploits during their move as well as all the stuff that happened after they actually finally got into their home. The description of them trying to get their vehicle "tax license" as it's called in France was very funny. Then to top it all off they end up in an identity theft scam that threatens their life savings. I couldn't put the book down. It was captivating and I loved the writer's descriptions of his own and his wife's characters. This is show more usually not the type of book that I would read, but it was made available to me read and I'm glad that it was. I highly recommend it. show less

"French Fried" is my first Early Reviewers eBook, read on my MacBook with no problems. I found it to be a warmly entertaining book, often resulting in loud chuckles. This story of Chris and Shelagh Dolley's move to France in the mid 90's could easily have been one of those tiresome moving-to-another-country tales which usually end up poking fun at the locals, but instead, it is a very amusing and often painfully funny account of the horrors of unpredictable fate. Chris Dolley's writing style is easy and undemanding and I particularly like the way he personifies the animals, so that we empathise with the effects of the chaotic move from both the human and animal viewpoint . Later in the book, when recounting the drama around his stolen show more identity, Dolley keeps up the suspense well, alternating between tension and relief, often ending a chapter with a hint of the mystery to come, though it's a device which he tends to overplay a bit. There are some very funny accounts of the difficulties and misunderstandings associated with language differences, and his tussles with the French bureaucracy are so true - I know as it's happened to me! I think we sometimes forget that learning another language as an adult takes many, many years if not a lifetime to be truly fluent so his grasp of French may have been adequate in many circumstances but not in encounters with the rapid-fire French of so many people. His descriptions of the French countryside are quite evocative and it's a pleasure to travel around the foothills of the Pyrénées and into Spain with him, his wife and the wonderful Nan. Reading about dinners in the village square made me want to book a plane ticket immediately and he conveyed the sense of community and citizenship that is so appealing about living in France. This is an easy and enjoyable book to read. show less

French Fried tells the story of Chris and his wife Shelagh as they make the move from England to France. Along with them come their three cats, two horses and the impossible, yet lovable pup Gypsy. Basically, everything that possibly can go wrong does. Sometimes several times even. When the couple discovers that someone has stolen their identity and used it do some pretty suspicious stuff, this humorous travel anecdote quickly becomes a equally humerous whodunnit, where everything that can go wrong keeps on going wrong. The road to finding the culprit is long and full of obstacles.

Will they ever be able to life the peaceful countryside life they dreamed of moving to France?

Despite a bit too many of the books sentences starts with show more either "We" or "And", I quite enjoyed this read. It was funny and entertaining, and as I got more involved with the story these minor annoyances quickly faded away. As a petowner myself, I found myself nodding along and laughing even at the antics and quirks of the pets - I know what it's like! A quick, cute and funny read. :) show less

Books about English escaping to France seem to be divided into two camps - those who seek to escape the evils of English winters for sunny France but then make no effort to learn the language and social mores and continually mock the vagaries and idiocy of French bureaucracy, to those who make the effort to enculturate, but still mock the vagaries and idiocy of French bureaucracy.

French Fried starts off heading towards the second camp, but then launches into a second story that involves the detection and investigation of a case of identity theft.

I found the the second story more engaging. I feared that the first story would lapse into the hapless and bumbling sort, particularly as the confessed language skills were barely adequate. show more However they seem to make the effort to come up to speed.

At times I thought that the slightly jokey story telling style worked overly hard to turn thin material into something more substantial. show less

When I downloaded this book this morning, having one is as an Early Review copy, I had every intention of putting it on my phone and reading it in dribs and drabs. Oh, I thought, I better just load it on Adobe Reader, just to make sure I've got the right file format. I'll just take a look at the first few pages, now it's open.

And now I appear to have finished the book!

The best thing about 'French Fried' is it's sense of humour; warm, self-deprecating, and very British. Literally laugh out loud in several places (I'm glad I'm the only one home!). The writing is very evocative of the French countryside and culture. Honestly, the scenery sounds amazing, and the food made my mouth water. Of course, it's not just a travel story; the show more confusion that confronts the ex-pats is only confounded by the realisation they've been defrauded, and thanks to French bureaucracy the number of potential suspects is endless. The mystery aspect feels a little strange at first - real life detection lacks the neatness of fiction - but it underlines the reality of the situation.

I feel terrible for the author and his wife, that they had to go through so much, but the resulting book is such a treat I'm afraid I can't feel too sympathetic! I'm going to be pushing this novel on everyone I know. show less

This book is proof that even the most well-planned moves can end in total chaos through no fault of your own. When the Dolleys up sticks to rural France they have it all planned: the house is bought, their old house sold, the horsetrailer is rented and the paperwork taken care of. Yet as soon as they set foot on French soil everything goes pearshaped: the trailer breaks down, the house was previously owned by a DIY lunatic but it's the paperwork that takes the cake. After seven months of (hilariously) chaotic adventures during settling in they discover that their identities have been stolen. It quickly turns out the thief must be someone close to them and as they receive little help from the officials they have to catch him on their show more own.
I would highly recommend this book. I found Mr. Dolley's style of writing very enjoyable, if somewhat wordy. His sense of humor reminded me of Bill Bryson but was decidedly more over the top. It's one I'll surely re-read this winter. I sincerely hope this will not be his only book. show less

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. One of the main reasons I requested it to begin with was because of the couple's need to move horses as well as their "smaller" pets over a distance. As I have had to haul horses (and dogs & cats) across the country, I figured this would be something I could relate to. And I did relate to this story in many places. Anyone who has to deal with pets - large or small, will get a kick out of this book. Anyone who has had to MOVE will get a kick out of it. It was very humorous and the mystery was even a fun part of the plot. This was a very easy, quick read that made for an enjoyable afternoon.