This is a memoir recounting an English couple’s post retirement move to a village in Spain. Victoria, tired of the cold and rain in the UK, convinces husband Joe to move to Spain. Joe agrees, on condition that the move is for five years only. At the end of that time, they would reassess and decide if they will stay permanently.
Thus we are introduced to a delightful cast of characters, including a lucky meeting with a British expat and her mother, who soon become the couple’s good friends. There are minor mishaps and missteps along the way, some of which are pretty funny, as the couple struggles to learn Spanish and local customs.
The story is engaging and beautifully drawn in a very down-to-earth, refreshing style. This is exactly the kind of tale that captivates me and feeds my interest both in travel and cross cultural issues. I read it in one greedy gulp over two days and hated to see it end. The good news is that the author is planning a sequel!
The one thing I found a bit jarring was the insertion of recipes at the end of nearly every chapter. They were always something that had been eaten during the course of the story, but without a lead-in of any kind and my extreme lack of interest in cooking, I felt they unnecessarily interrupted the flow of the story. If the author had provided a bit of a backstory on her interest in cuisine, it would have made a better tie-in. Better still if the recipes were all put at the end of the book.
A paperback edition is for sale at Amazon, and e-book versions are available both at Amazon and Smashwords. I bought the Smashwords edition. It would have been nice to have a book cover image at the beginning of the e-book. Other than that, there were no formatting issues.
A great read, highly recommended.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Hello Marie,
I’m the author of ‘Chickens’ and surprised and delighted to come across your review. I’m very grateful for all the nice things you said about it. ‘Chickens’ was just a joy to write, so hearing people say they enjoyed reading it is a HUGE thrill for me. ‘Chickens’ took me a year to write, and I’ve been absolutely astonished at how popular it already is. When it reached #1 Bestseller on Amazon Memoirs I nearly choked on my vino.
Saying you read it in ‘one greedy gulp’ made me laugh, and was a lovely compliment.
I’m sorry you weren’t keen on the recipes. Most people love the Spanish recipes and I’ve had many emails from readers who have tried them out. As you know, it’s hard to please everybody!
Your other criticism, that there was no Book Cover, puzzled me. I submitted one, so I have no idea why it didn’t show up. I don’t own a Kindle, so I don’t know how ‘Chickens’ looks as an eBook. Also, perhaps that’s why you felt the recipes intruded, as they are often down the side of the page in the Paperback Edition.
Yes, you are right, the sequel is underway. It’s to be called Two Old Fools – Olé! and many of the same characters appear, plus some lively new ones…
Thank you again for choosing ‘Chickens’ and the praise,
Victoria Twead
Hi Victoria.
I enjoyed your book immensely! Stories of how expats find their way in their new surroundings are always interesting to me, so it was right up my alley. I’m really glad you are happy in your new home and new life.
I really like your writing style. It was so natural, and you drew such pretty pictures with your words that it was easy to visualize your village and the people in your memoir. I was also grateful that it was so well edited. There’s another memoir I’m struggling with reading right now. The story is interesting, but it’s so badly formatted and there are so many sentence fragments that I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through it. Your book was flawless in those respects.
Am looking forward to your sequel!