French Spirits: A House, a Village, and a Love Affair in Burgundy

by Jeffrey Greene

Book Overview

When Jeffrey Greene, a prize-winning American poet, and Mary, a molecular biologist and his wife-to-be, discover a moss-covered stone presbytery in a lovely village in the Puisaye region of Burgundy, they know they have to live there. In lush, lyrical prose, Greene recalls their experiences turning the 300-year-old stone building -- a ch teau in miniature that the locals believe houses numerous spirits-into a habitable refuge. He brings to life...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060934107
• ISBN13: 9780060934101
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

a poetic and personal memoir of life in France

I am beginning my third reading of this memoir of creating a life and finding a world in Burgundy...and that should say how highly I think of Jeffrey Greene's writing. I feel as if I too moved to the old presbyterie with its hundreds of empty wine bottles left by the last, somewhat alcoholic priest/resident. The people and the place are so personally described. Love, life, leaky roofs and fascinating neighbors all wound together by a poet! We are fortunate readers!

A memoir in France

I just finished reading this book. I have never wriiten a review , but I do feel compelled to after reading some of the other reviews posted here. For me, this is a memoir, not a travel guide. I admire anyone who is willing to share his life experiences with me--I find it a most generous act. I feel like writing to the author to thank him for his book. He brought the area and the people to life for me. I am studying French; so the sentences in French (don't be alarmed, he supplies a translation just following) were fun for me to figure out. I liked learning about Henri IV's locks, and learning about the author's childhood. I love a good memoir--and particularly, one by someone who is not famous except in his own circle. I would encourage anyone who feels the same to buy, or borrow this book--and order "Eyewitness France" if you want a travel guide. This book is a lovely eyewitness to a man's life.

review of the reviewers

This book combines the best of both the travel AND memoir genre. The reviewers who found fault with this book have critiqued the book based on expectations that the book is exclusively a travel book or a "romance." The book should be evaluated on its own merits. What is described by one reviewer as "vanity" on the part of the author is a positive aspect to me; it's the very thing that elevates the book beyond the run-of-the-mill travel piece that rarely dares to delve beyond the superficial. It is also difficult to understand how a reader can expect a "romance" in the Gothic tradition; this is a book about a love affair that is real and mature and satisfying.

A charming and spirited look at la belle France

I have read just about every book on restoring homes in France and Italy. (Non, I'm not a voyeur or dreamer.... I have done something similar in SW France & wanted to check out others' experiences.) In my view, Jeffrey Greene's poetic and self-revealing (without being self-centered) memoir of his experiences with his neighbors (as well as his family members) and his presbytery is simply the best of the genre. He treats his new acquaintances in the Burgundy village in the same way he approaches his building restoration: with delicacy and good will.Greene's vignettes (e.g., one can SEE the car secured with boards and covers by the village square and the woman who leaves it there)add up to a loving portrait of a place and a time. Greene is a poetic observer who gives us, his readers, a feeling -- and understanding -- for his world. Thank you!!!

Living in France Vicariously

It's not often that a poet buys a run-down presbytery in France and shares with his readers the total experience of adapting to a new way of life. In this book we meet the charming, eccentric villagers of Rogny; we relate to the frustrations that come with any renovation; and we share in the plans for the wedding that miraculously takes place amid the rubble of reconstruction. This book is beautifully and entertainingly written, and this reader hopes for a sequel.