I See London I See France

There were so many aspects of this book that I fell in love with. First, I identified with the main character. I also have a terrible passion for traveling but have not been able to do much traveling lately. Just like Caroline, I am absorbed with taking care of my family and put my needs behind. I lived vicariously through Caroline and her story. I sympathized and empathized with her and her need to re-establish herself as a woman, mom and wife. I loved the very human and real interactions that these characters had with one another. They felt like real people living real lives and I was witnessing them on their journey. I found the authors writing style to be so engaging that I lost track of time and delved into Caroline and her family’s world. That this story takes place in France was the icing on the cake. I’ve visited France many years ago, and plan to go back. The author’s vivid descriptions made me feel like I was back in France and seeing it all again. Aside from relating to Caroline and her station in life, I thought that she was such a great character. She was complex and imperfect and very human. Aspect of this story felt like “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert and “Wild” by Cherly Strayed. Just like these women, Caroline had to find herself and her way. There definitely many bumps in the road but she was ultimately able to achieve her identity. I highly recommend this book to really anyone. Anyone that loves to travel or anyone that has had the yearning to find explore and find. I wanted to hug Caroline and cry with her! This was a fantastic adventure filled with laughter, sadness and fulfillment.

Travel and find yourself! Just like in her previous novel, The Summer of France, Paulita Kincer has the knack to pull you along with her characters into a challenging and refreshing adventure. In I See London I See France, you follow Caroline. Super busy with her kids and her own requirements to have everything as perfect as she can, without any support from her work-alcoholic husband, one day she really has enough, and decides to reconnect with her past and her love of travel, hoping to discover new outside and inner landscapes where she could really enjoy life to the full again. She takes her kids with her, and here we go, to Europe, to London, Scotland, and then to France, Paris and Provence. I really enjoyed the plot, and the characters, all so real, from the kids to the parents and friends. Paulita’s dialogues are really great, you feel really like you are there, witness to what’s going on in the characters and between them. Her writing flows, so lively. It was fascinating to see how Caroline evolved through her trip, in her relationship to her old self, to her kids, and others, including her husband. You will have to read the book yourself to see how travel can help you mature. And of course yes I enjoyed the elements of travel; the passages on the Loch Ness were kind of cool, and of course, when you get to Paris (Monet’s Garden!) and then Provence, what is there not to enjoy? I felt like I was right there, enjoying the sun and the smell of baked bread, and not in this hellish Chicagoan cold… VERDICT: If you like travel (Ah, Paris! Provence!), family issues, strong women trying to find their real place in life, and a touch of romance, don’t hesitate a second, this book is right for you!

I think I enjoyed this story mainly because I wanted to have the courage that Caroline showed: chucking it all in and heading to Europe to just travel  and escape the reality of a situation at home that feels untenable.  Looking for a fresh start, yet unwilling to leave it all behind, she packs up her children and returns to a time when her dreams were fresh and potential was limitless: searching for answers to questions she hadn’t realized existed until recently.  There is a saying that ‘life is what happens when you are busy concentrating on something else’, and Caroline is really a woman who epitomizes this phrase.  With a marriage that is, from her husband’s perspective, not working, and three children under 10, the daily challenges to get through a day often overtakes personal dreams and plans made when we were younger.   Getting to visit Scotland, London, Paris and Provence with Caroline as she shows the cities and countries off to her children brings a new and modern feel to those areas.  With her retracing of her steps from her au pair days, we also are treated to a look back on her experiences and feelings from those years.  What develops is a richly detailed tapestry, full of layers and potential, as Caroline has a choice to make, and the lure of the sort of man she once thought she wanted may just tilt her decisions.  While I often wondered at just how she managed to pack kids and head off to Europe with a loosely defined itinerary, I also was able to see that perhaps Caroline was much more passive in her life, waiting for decisions to be made for her, instead of making those choices. During her trek, she had the opportunity, and took the chance to confront that more passive approach to life, allowing herself to be subjugated and last in the equation.  While not always comfortable, her growth and willingness to take accountability for the situation she is in, as well as the steps needed to make a change that will decide the next decade of her life was the perfect climax point for her story, and made the ending all that more satisfying.  I received an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review for a stop with France Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.