Welcome to ‘France et Moi’ where this week I am talking to author Vanessa
Couchman about what France means to her.
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| Vanessa Couchman |
Vanessa Couchman has lived with her Swedish husband in an 18th-century
farmhouse in Southwest France since 1997. She works as a freelance writer and
also writes fiction. Her first novel, The House at Zaronza, set in early
20th-century Corsica and at the Western Front during World War I, was published
in 2014. (Click here to read my review). She is working on two other novels and
also writes short stories. When she’s not doing all that, she’s very fond of
singing, walking, yoga and restoring a 15th-century chapel with a
group of local volunteers.
Firstly, I think France is a special place and it is famed for many
things including its cheese, wine and diverse holiday locations plus, dare I
say it strikes and dog poo littered streets. What do you think makes France so
very unique and ‘French’?
Vanessa: We live in la France profonde and, for me, it’s the
slower pace of life and the privilege of living in such lovely surroundings that
appeal. The French have a deep attachment to their rural past and it has been a
revelation to me to learn about how people lived here in the not very distant
past. I love that feeling of connectedness with time immemorial, although one
shouldn’t romanticize it. French rural life was often hard.
I also like the fact that there is so much regional variation. Although
France is a unified country on the face of it, there is a lot of local
individualism that is reflected in the different dialects, dishes and
architecture. For me, there is no “one” France. It’s a mosaic of so many
different influences.
2) What is your first memory of a trip to France?
Vanessa: In the 1960s before
motorways, my father took the scenic route to the south of France over the
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Unfortunately, coming down the other side the car’s
brakes failed, although he didn’t let on, so he put the car into reverse. When
he stopped at the bottom, the tyres were smoking and, in the absence of water,
my mother poured orange squash on them! We limped along to the nearest village
where we sat in the café while the local mechanic spent hours making temporary
repairs and the other villagers turned up to inspect the odd foreign car – and
us. Luckily, the rest of the holiday passed without incident.
3) Having lived in France and spoken French for many years do you have
any top tips for my readers on how to learn French?
Vanessa: Despite learning it
at school, my French was hopeless when we arrived – not assisted by the
impenetrable local accent. What saved me was taking lessons in a group for four
years. That’s probably the key tip I can give. But I’d also suggest reading as
much as you can in French to expand your vocabulary and not being afraid to
speak to French people, even if it’s daunting at first. Also, getting involved
with local associations and clubs is a great way not only to improve your
French but also to integrate further into the local community and make friends.
4) With plenty of space and lovely scenery, France is a great place to
explore. If you were to take a day off from writing where would you go?
Vanessa: Gosh, that’s a
difficult one. I have a bucket list as long as my arm! Since we live en pleine campagne, I’d choose a day
trip to a city. We live 1 ½ hours’ drive from Toulouse, the pink city, but very
rarely go there, despite the fact that it’s steeped in history and full of
things to do. I’d wander around the streets and have coffee in the magnificent
Place du Capitole before visiting a museum. I’d certainly have lunch in one of
the restaurants above the market halls, where you sit on benches and carve
chunks off the bread before passing it on. (FVD: Toulouse is on my bucket list too).
5) Every region in France has its own culinary specialty; do you have a
favourite regional dish? Do you attempt to make it yourself?
Vanessa: We live in duck
country and I’ve eaten every possible permutation of recipes that include duck!
However, a speciality of the Aveyron (the next department to ours) is aligot, a mixture of mashed potatoes,
young Tome cheese and plenty of garlic. You beat it with a wooden spoon until
it’s elastic and unctuous. It goes very well with grilled sausages or meat and
is traditionally eaten at local fêtes because it’s best made in large
quantities. In view of that, I’ve never tried to make it and you can buy very
good ready-made aligot. A little goes
a long way.
6) France has many different cheeses, a silly question, but which French
cheese are you? A hard and mature Tome, a soft, fresh and lively goat cheese,
the creamy and rich Camembert or maybe the salty and serious Roquefort?
Vanessa: I love smelly
cheeses; the smellier the better. But I’d hesitate to describe myself as one of
those! So I’ll choose a Brillat-Savarin, named after the savant of that name. It’s a creamy but flavoursome cheese, so it
combines sophistication with earthiness (I have my tongue firmly in my cheek
here...)
7) Imagine you are sitting outside a French café at 10.00am on a sunny
morning watching the world go by, what do you order from the waiter?
Vanessa: Mmm. Too early for a
kir, my favourite apéro. So how about a café noisette, strong coffee with a
dash of milk? Or, if I’m feeling slim, a hot chocolate.
8) Do you think the French have a different attitude to food than the
British and if so, is it a healthier one?
Vanessa: I think they do, but
it’s changing. There is still the attachment to the main meal at lunchtime
(something I have never got used to), which is said to be healthier. But few
office workers these days indulge in the two-hour lunch break. And obesity is
on the increase in France because of snacking and grazing.
In my experience, French people are very proud of their local dishes but
are not very adventurous when it comes to trying different types of cuisine (a
generalization, I know, but I’ve seen a lot of examples). And, of course,
there’s the paradoxe français, which allows people to eat large quantities of
cheese and foie gras and quaff red wine with impunity. Local French people buy
far more cheese and meat than we do but they live to a ripe old age.
9) Best French tipple, and yes I know there are many to choose from?
Vanessa: It has to be
champagne but I’ll settle for a good Sancerre, a flinty, dry white from the
Loire.
10) How does France inspire your writing?
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| The House at Zaronza |
Vanessa: Where do I begin? I’ve
lived here for so long that I feel a fraud writing about the UK, where I now
feel a bit like a fish out of water. Most of my short stories are set either in
France or on Corsica, the beguiling Mediterranean island that has belonged to
France since 1768. I set my first novel on Corsica, which we have visited six
times. It’s a place apart, with a fascinating history and culture and I find it
incredibly inspiring. But there is also so much history in my own locality that
I draw on that a lot, too. Writing historical fiction is my preference and
there’s no shortage of subjects in France.
Do you have any current projects you would like to tell my readers about?
Vanessa: I’m working on two
novels. One is set on Corsica in the 18th century, and is based on a
true story. I’ve written about half of that. The other is a spin-off from The House at Zaronza, following a minor
but interesting character into World War II in SW France. And I still intend to
write the sequel to The House at Zaronza!
Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions about France and
you.
Vanessa: Thank you for asking me,
Jacqui. It’s been fun!
You
can read more from Vanessa and follow her writing via the following social
media links.
I
thoroughly enjoyed her novel set in Corsica, so I have included a link to
Amazon below. For a limited time The House at Zaronza is reduced to only 99p on Kindle UK.
by Laurette Long, the first in the French Summer novels series.
are both reduced to only 99p on Amazon UK. Don’t miss
out on these great summer holiday reads.
Kristin tells us how passion and love led her from
the US to Kenya, Uganda and then Paris as a trailing spouse prepared to put
aside her dreams in pursuit of her husband’s career as a doctor with the French
organisation Médecins Sans Frontières. She immediately finds herself alone in
Kenya in an area with many problems that include poverty, health issues and
violent crime and finds settling into her new life a challenge. She shares the
great work undertaken by organisations like MSF, but she also witnesses many
things that leave her in a fragile and anxious state. Camping trips with scary
beasts in the night, car jackings and worms that attach themselves to drying
clothes and then burrow into your skin, to name just a few. Kristin also learns
a lot about herself, but at times it was an uncomfortable journey.
as I was keen to find out what had happened to this
very international family, who had settled in Paris. This was an important move
for Kristin as most of her life has been spent moving from location to
location, first with her Father’s work and then her husband’s. She is happy in
Paris. They have an apartment, a sense of belonging and an extended family
relationship with the other families that live in the apartment block. Kristin
has her own practice and more importantly, financial independence and a sense
of worth. The children are settled at school and happy and all is well in their
relationship.
is published by Velvet Morning Press and is
available in ebook and paperback format. Amazon links to this novel and others
by Adria can be found below.