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

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

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

I won this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewer and it's the first book I've read on my husband's Nook. It's a great find on both. I won't give my opinion of the Nook here except to say I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Now on the "French Fried". I'll start by saying it's not my favorite book title and that's the only negative about this book.

Chris and his wife Shelagh have decided to move from their farm in England to a farm in France. If you've ever moved from one side of town to the other you know it's a stressful process. I think moving is right up there with divorce and death in the amount of stress involved. Now imagine moving from one country to the other, when you're not fluent in the language, and you're bringing along show more two cat who don't get along, a puppy with all the energy a puppy has, and more then one horse. Add on horrible weather, the need to take a ferry with a giant horse trailer, and a series of, well, let's just say events and you'll never want to move again.

Sadly things don't get much easier as they settle in. Funnier, yes easier, not so much. Whether it's trying to buy a used car or getting mistaken (and signed) for a soccer pro by the local football team thins are definitely not boring for the Dolleys. Oh, and through in a house that was apparently built by Rube Goldberg. Their pain is our laughs.

Throw in a mystery involving identity theft that will keep you guess and "French Fried" makes for a can't put down read. At one point (my favorite part of the book) Chris says about having his identity stolen that he's not the person this kind of thing happens to only to realize he is exactly that person. (Trust me, his realization is much funnier than I've just stated here) With apologies to the poor Dolley family and very happy they're the kind of people this happens to because I had great fun in their misery. show less

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

I read this book as an early reviewer. The first half of the book was hilarious. I read it quickly and looked forward to reading it in bed each evening. The book documents their mishaps as a husband and wife tries to move to France, with small and large animals. I actually laughed out loud several times, which caused my husband to roll over in bed muttering about "What was I reading?" The second half of the book was harder. It was not so much funny as just depressing. Identity theft and the struggles they had to get through to solve it were amazing. Start with the horror of having your life savings stolen and add in major language barriers and you have an idea of the second half of the book. I had to quit reading it as I went to bed. show more Reading about money problems right before bed is guaranteed to cause sleepless nights. Overall it was an okay read. 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

This is another book that I received through the LT Early Reviewers program and of course I requested it because it was about living in rural France. (Yes, one of my fantasies LOL).
I liked the book: it's kind of like chick-lit for grumpy old men...
Chris Dolley and his long-suffering wife decide to pack up the farm in Devon and settle in rural France and the book is a droll retelling of their travails. Although their adventure took place in the mid 1990s, and Dolley & Co seem not to play on the internet, their story begins with a very contemporary disaster - the theft of his identity and his investments. (Which just goes to show that identity theft is nothing new).
Dolley then retraces their move, complete with a menagerie of animals show more and a veritable catalogue of disasters including the roof blowing off a horse-box in a gale and the perils of staying in a hotel with a constipated lurcher. He pokes fun at the French bureaucracy when he goes to buy a car, but he also paints an affectionate portrait of his neighbours. There are comic tales of rustic plumbing and heating, language difficulties, getting lost and a mother-in-law I'd rather no have but I must admit that he lost me a bit with a long chapter about football. However my interest was quickly refocussed when he started to write about the identity theft. Even though his style his comic the mystery of his stolen identity is quite compelling and it's hard to put down till The Great Detective has solved it.

I'd be lending this one to my friends if it weren't an eBook (Kindle edition). I can think of a fair few friends who'd really love it. My dad will, when I upgrade to the next Kindle and he gets my old one! show less