The summer of 1979 was the best summer ever! Pretty, blonde and dangerously impetuous, Bev and Carol head for the sun, lucky beneficiaries of a generous university grant.
They are full of enthusiasm and the dazzling spirit of adventure that only seems possible when we are young. Essential swimwear is selected and Lipton’s vegetable oil is perfumed with patchouli for the perfect tan.
…
They end up in Argelès-sur-mer, on a campsite close to the coast and not far from the border with Spain. Every day brings new challenges: how to hold a meaningful conversation on a naturist beach, what to do about a precocious teenage stalker, how to transport a gallon of port on a moped… all of which they meet head-on, with dubious philosophy and irrepressible optimism.
‘One Summer in France’ is a humorous tale based on a three-month study break the author took as part of her languages degree course at Keele University in 1979.
‘Would you do it all again?’ asked Carol.
‘Like a shot!’ I said.
And I would.
Author’s Note: There are three Bev and Carol adventures, which are all stand-alone books. For those who would like to know the order, here it is: ‘One Summer in France’, ‘Bunny on a Bike’ and ‘Stranded in the Seychelles’.
Download a free sample to your Kindle and join Bev and Carol in the South of France on the best holiday ever.
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This was a crazy, interesting story
A pleasant return to a simpler, happier time – or at least so it seems in this pleasant read. It is good, fast reading relaxation. Not wonderful character creation, and no deep literary points being made. It’s just your basic fun read.
Two British girls wangle a grant from their university to spend the summer term in France immersing themselves in the French language and culture. There are hilarious scenes of their first foray onto a nude beach, riding scooters in bikinis, chatting up various male characters. The girls spent 3 months in a 2 person tent in a campground in the south of France and it seriously made me wish I were 20 again and footloose and fancy free!
A fun, fresh and feel-good read-LOVED IT!
This was a fun adventure from the author’s student days. It has nice short chapters so it was quick and easy to get into. Just glancing through the chapter titles before I started the book, they looked such great fun! She tells of living on-campus, the communal fridge etc. There had already been a few chuckles only a few pages into the book.
There are many ‘moving to France’ memoirs, particularly retiring and moving to France: this is something different; in the book, Bev and Carol are young students and this is a memoir about their three month trip to France all those years ago. It’s a fun, fresh and feel-good read and is very fast-moving. Oh-the nostalgia! I remember that perfume and didn’t we think it was something great at the time! There’s further nostalgia as more brand names from the time are mentioned-I enjoyed this. I love Carol’s expressions! I also love the refs to Yorkshire Tea and Dave’s accent coming through the writing-hilarious! And yes, I’m from Yorkshire too!
This was so enjoyable I just had to go straight on and read the follow-up. (Loved this one too!) Great fun, sort of like memoir crossed with humorous chic lit. Loved it.
Two young British girls win a prize to spend a summer in France. They choose the south of France and stay at a campsite, hoping to save that way some money. While especially the one student does do some reading of French literature, they are mostly out to have fun, including going to an all nude beach. I myself won a scholarship to study one whole year in Poitiers, France but I was an older student an so my experiences were rather different. Anyway, it has the lightheartedness of two young students who are quite different in character but have a very good friendship.
A step back in time to college years.
I laughed so hard, so much reading this entertaining memoir. The mental images created by the author were just side-splitting! I will reread this book more than once!
I thought the main storyline was very good. The author threw in a romance that wasn’t fleshed out at all…they met, she didn’t want to date yet, they do, and it practically skips to them marrying without much in between. But all in all, a good read.
Love reading books about France. Thoroughly enjoyed and would like to be able to spend an extended visit in France. Good read with a love story thrown in.
What a stupid book. Those girls don’t have any sense . I would have locked my 3 girls up until they could make better decisions
Sophomoric. Don’t waste your time.
This book was immature and silly, hopefully not indicative of current college students.
not my kind of book
Pretty thin story about two flaky college girls, expecting a free ride from everyone around them. Best thing about this book is that it was a quick read, therefore didn’t take up much of my life.
Didn’t get very far into this one. The beginning was pretty frivolous, so I gave up.
Skanky. Waste of time. Useless information. Borderline activities.
Horrible. Poorly written, repetitive, inane. Don’t waste your time. and there’s a sequel?? oh, please.
I found this book boring and couldn’t make myself finish it. Superficial and self-absorbed life experiences.
just could not get into this story , probably won”t finish it .
I do not recommend this book.