Skip to main content

George’s Grand Tour by Caroline Vermalle: book review




George’s Grand Tour (2009, English version 2015) is set in western France in 2008.

Adele Montsouris is 23 years old, living in London as an unpaid runner in the film industry. Her 83-year-old grandfather George Nicoleau lives in Chanteloup, western France, but she hasn’t seen him in ten years.

George, whose wife had died five years ago, has planned a ‘grand tour’ – the Tour de France – with his 76-year-old friend Charles Lepensier, but he did not want to tell his daughter, Francoise, who was holidaying in Peru, nor his grand-daughter Adele. Charles, on the other hand, had no problem telling his wife Therese and the whole family.

The grand tour is 3,500 kilometres over two months by car: a metallic blue Renault Scenic. It was to follow the 21 stages of the 2008 cycling Tour de France exactly – without Stage 4 (the individual time trial in Cholet). Three extra stages had been added to take them from Chanteloup to the starting point, Brest. It was to be ‘a stroll, rather than a sprint.’ They’d been waiting for 40 years to do this journey.

During the journey, George sends text messages to his grand-daughter Adele. He writes about the hotels, food, wine, and sights. He begins to see ‘the enjoyment in small talk.’ This octogenarian travel story is about life-long friendships and family relationships.

It is a gentle tale that often comes across as too slow, with not enough details about the actual travel. The disagreements between George and Charles are not well articulated and easily resolved. And the explanation of text messages is condescending and annoying. However, readers may like the descriptions of the rural settings, the food, and the inept way families have of avoiding the obvious. 






MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...