Review: 'One Summer in France'. An unputdownable book about an unforgettable holiday
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 11, 2013
`One Summer in France' is one of those books of reminiscence that rewards the reader on so many counts. It comes across like a novel but is obviously an accurate first-hand recollection as well. It was written recently as a prequel to the very successful `Bunny on a Bike' but avoids the mistake of applying mature `wisdom' to the experiences of just post-teen years. It is, as a result, modern, funny, occasionally outrageous, atmospheric, nicely descriptive and very fast-moving. We travel with Bev as she obtains a grant to fund a trip to France as part of her university degree and, accompanied by her friend Carol, takes up residence at a camp site on the French Mediterranean coast near the Spanish border. Bev is undoubtedly very pretty - you don't graduate and end up working for the Bunny Club otherwise - and in no time she and Carol are having a string of hilarious adventures as they find their feet in the campsites, bars and beaches of southern France, fighting off men, dealing with their jealous partners and struggling with rented mopeds. Their visits to the nudist beach or over the border in pursuit of Salvador Dali are absolutely hilarious. But Bev Spicer is a highly intelligent observer of the human condition who does not exclude herself from her ironic and anatomical eye. The consequence is a story that I simply couldn't put down - it's a 'Laugh Out Loud' book with pure nostalgia lightly laid on the narrative and it is so very well written! I'm glad I read `One Summer in France' first. It will be a pleasure to take the story further in `Bunny on a Bike'.Roderick Craig Low. Author of a number of books including, `Rewards and Dilemmas'.