If it’s Friday, it must be France …
Oh, this has been SO much fun for me!
Once I’m on the homestretch with a manuscript I’m writing, there’s barely enough time to read my own work let alone other books. That’s the case at the moment as I complete the first draft of my next novel, a sequel to The Promise of Provence, in response to tremendous reader response.
When my online friend Emma, who organizes the exceptional France Book Tours, approached me about participating in this blog tour, she knew I was deep in my own writing cave. She also knew this was a book I would love to read … and not simply because it is set in France. She was right!
My review is going to be short and sweet as I would not want to give away anything more than is included in the synopsis. I’m so glad I took the time to read this delightful novel (really a novella length) and I hope you will read it too. Well-written and fast-paced, you will fall in love with unassuming Jocelyne Guerbette from the beginning of the book. Not only does the story contain well-developed characters and unexpected twists, it also encourages us to examine our values and consider what truly matters in life. Not a literary tour de force, this is a compelling and quick read and I could not put it down!
The author has offered to give away a print or ebook to residents in the US and Canada. If you would like to try and be the winner (it’s our own little lottery draw!), simply leave a comment below. All the names will go into random.org selection software and I’ll announce the lucky winner on my blog next Friday, March 29th. Good luck!
SYNOPSIS
A cathartic, charmingly tender, assuredly irresistible novel, MY WISH LIST imagines one answer to the question: If you won the lottery, would you trade your life for the life of your dreams? With sales of more than half a million copies in France alone, rights sold in twenty-five countries, and a major motion picture in development, this slim yet spirited tale has sewn up the interest of the literary world.
Jocelyne Guerbette is a forty-seven year old who runs a modest fabric shop in a nondescript provincial French town. Her husband—instead of dreaming of her—wants nothing more in life than a flat-screen TV and the complete James Bond DVD box set. And to Jocelyne’s two grown-up children, who live far from home, she’s become nothing but an obligatory phone call. Perpetually wondering what has happened to all the dreams she had when she was younger, Jocelyne finally comes to terms with the series of ordinary defeats and small lies that seem to make up her life.
But then Jocelyne wins the lottery: $25,500,000! And suddenly she finds the world at her fingertips. But before cashing the check, before telling a soul, she starts making a list of all the things she could do with the money. While evaluating the small pleasures in life—her friendship with the twins who manage the hairdresser next door, her holidays away, her sewing blog that’s gaining popularity—she begins to think that the everyday ordinary may not be so bad. Does she really want her life to change?
MY WISH LIST is an essential reminder of the often-overlooked joys of everyday life and a celebration of the daily rituals, serendipities, and small acts of love that make life quietly wonderful. (Provided by the publisher – Penguin ISBN: 9780143124658 $15.00)
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at Viking and Penguin Books ISBN-13: 978-0143124658
“A runaway bestseller that looks set to follow the success of The Elegance of the Hedgehog.” — Elle (France)
“Delacourt has hit the jackpot… [He has a] knack for finding exactly the right words and for evoking feeling” — Le Nouvel Observateur
“Delacourt has a keen eye for everyday life and for the extraordinary challenges that ordinary people face” — Le Parisien
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grégoire Delacourt was born in Valenciennes, France, in 1960. His first 
novel,L’Écrivain de la Famille, was published in 2011 and won five literary prizes. MY WISH LIST has been a runaway number-one bestseller in France; publication rights have been sold in more than twenty-five countries. Delacourt lives in Paris, where he runs an advertising agency with his wife.
Patricia Sands 
Just can’t wait! I am so glad we have just a click of a button, when you finish! Your books are a vacation in themselves. I love to go, but I go hide when I take a trip wherever you story takes me!
Thanks so much, Susan. Your words are always inspiring!
I have pre-ordered Grégoire Delacourt’s My Wish List, and I only have to wait five more days to get it. Thanks for the tip! I refer t leave the free copy to others who may need it more than I do.
When are we going to be able to pre-order your next novel? I am waiting, and waiting. In the meantime I have reread The Promise of Provence and The Bridge Club. What else can I do???
P.S. Please excuse the typos. I tried to edit it but couldn’t… ” I prefer to leave the free copy…” And at the end I had written “Please help!;)”
No worries – I knew what you meant. I’m writing as fast as I can! Thanks for being so encouraging and do let me know how you like My Wish List.
thanks so much for taking time to share your enthusiasm for this book
Thank you for suggesting I read it! Your tour looks like it is another great success, Emma. Bien fait!
merci
Looking forward to reading this book!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. There are surprises.
This sounds like a fun book. I used to pass the megamillions billboard on my way home from work and would dream about winning the lottery every time i passed it depending on the size of the jackpot 🙂 Thanks for the chance to win it.
Your book sounds perfect for me!!
Oh, this sounds like a delightful read and I’m going to buy it, if I don’t win it (!). Thank you for telling us about it. We have all entertained thoughts of “what we would do” if we won so much money. I look forward to reading this novel.
Good luck with the giveaway, Patricia!
Sounds great. Thank you for the giveaway.
Oh yes…I too have dreamed of a lottery win. What would I do with the money. My day dream for it seem to change weekly. One thing I would definitely do is return to France and to Italy for a visit. To me the village life seem to show a simpler way to live. A life I need to embrace now, while I haven’t won the lottery. I will be very interested to see what the character in this story does.
Lin, many of us share your dream! Isn’t great that we can at least have a little escape now and then through the books we read?
This sounds like a great premise! Nice to meet you!
Congrats on the demand Patricia!
BTW- you can change your settings so readers have to click to your blog instead of reading from the email or reader. 🙂
Thanks, Susie! I sent your comments to my tech person and we are not quite sure what you mean. Would you mind emailing me about this? Thanks!
I don’t understand it either, as I always click on the blog and read it from there, rather than from the email…
Change your settings from full text to summary in general settings— reading. That way readers can’t read your entire post in the reader or in the email. Look at mine. It is set on “summary.” 🙂 I make them click “read more” to come to my blog. That way I get at least one view Nd more if they click to other posts.
Sounds like a great read, Patricia. And the reviews are written by some of my favorite writers. Thank you for sharing.
Oh yes, Evelyn, of course you would be very familiar with those writers. Do you find you read more in French or English?
Ooh, this book sounds like a great read! I love shorter novels, too. I think winning the lottery and where all that money could take us is a universal daydream. Thanks for sharing this. I’d never have found it on my own.
I might not have found it had it not been for Emma asking me to read it for the book tour. I think you will enjoy it!
I already got it, even though it is still the 24th!
Order Details
Order #D01-3470826-4744815
Placed on Thursday, March 20, 2014
My Wish List: A Novel
Sold by Penguin Group (USA) LLC
I can now start reading it. Thanks again for the tip!
I cannot thank you enough for having recommended My Wish List: A Novel by Gregoire Delacourt. I spent this afternoon reading it, and I am still feeling the emotions it inspired. Strong emotions, indeed. I tried to read it in French, but my vocabulary is limited. Still, Anthea Bell has provided an impeccable translation.
I also tried to get Albert Cohen’s Belle du Seigneur, but it is not available in translation. However, I saw there is a DVD available through amazon.com, but the cost is exorbitant: Belle du Seigneur (2013) DVD – 6 new from $88.99 1 used from $80.09. Netflix does not list it, and who knows what it’s like. It doesn’t say much…
Back to My Wish List – I must say that it is truly brilliant. I could not tell what was about to happen, as it is not predicable at all. And if we go by Mozart’s aria from Le nozze di Figaro/The Marriage of Figaro that plays a big part towards the end when Jo sings it together with the record, we may be somewhat misled (http://www.roh.org.uk/news/accessible-arias-dove-sono-i-bei-momenti)
Now I need to go back and read it again slowly, savoring every chapter, without the anxiety of a first reading, when we want to know what will happen. Please do not think I am exaggerating if I say I have been left reeling from emotion. I assure you it is true!
I love your comments and so pleased you took as much enjoyment from the story as I did! Thank you for taking the time to share these thoughts with all of us!
Of course, I meant “predictable” – Sorry – the meds I am taking are making me dizzy!