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).

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