Light French reading - 5 more enjoyable books

If you’re back at school, you may be looking for some light French reading to relax in the evenings. I’ve been reading a lot over the summer months – when it’s 110 outside, the early afternoon is the perfect time to just stay inside and curl up with a good book. These are all pretty light reading, but I learned something from each of them.

It’s interesting to see how things seem to move in cycles. Last summer, my library was full of novels that took place during World War 2. There were lots of books about life under the Nazi occupation and the French characters were usually involved in the resistance in some way. The year before, the books were about the French Revolutionary period. This year, I saw more books about World War 1- but not nearly as many as there were World War 2 books. I didn’t finish reading all of the books on my library wish list, so I’m sure I will be returning to those soon!

I generally read two books at any time – one fiction, one nonfiction. I also try to alternate between challenging and easy books. While I really like reading fiction about France, I don’t find nonfiction to be as interesting for some reason.

Light French reading - 5 more enjoyable books

Cooking for Picasso – Camille Aubray

This book is the story of a young woman who becomes the cook for a secret guest – Pablo Picasso. He takes advantage of her, and there is quite an age difference between them. There is a second story that takes place in the present, with a descendant of the woman spending time in a cooking school – but she has an ulterior motive.

I enjoyed the story, but it definitely does not leave Picasso looking very good. I suppose it’s accurate in that, but if you’re a fan of the painter and don’t want your image of him ruined you might not want to read this one.

Note Quite Nice – Celia Imrie

This novel takes place entirely in the present day. It involves a divorcee who is trying to make her way in a new post-divorce life. The characters can be a bit confusing as there are quite a few.

The story was a quick read, but the one thing that stuck out to me was how unpleasant the daughter of the main character was. It was almost a caricature – although such people surely do exist!

Beyond the Lavender Fields – Arlem Hawks

I very much enjoyed this book. It takes place during the French Revolution and involves a young couple with political differences. It is set in Marseilles, where the main female character lives with her family and runs a luxury soap factory. The male lead is a Jacobin and has philosophical differences with her. Eventually, he has to make some difficult choices.

The Porcelain Moon – Janie Chang

This one was particularly enjoyable because it was a time period and a group of people that doesn’t get a lot of attention. It involves Chinese immigrants to France during World War 1. I had no idea that Chinese workers had been brought in, so this was a learning experience for me as well as an enjoyable read.

The story starts in China where we meet the main characters. They move to Paris and make a new life in France.