Double Crossings by Yvette Rocheron

Double Crossings

Yvette Rocheron

William and Francoise are all set for a rural idyll in their lovely old house in a small village in the Languedoc. Their move from Leicester is a dream come true – until it degenerates into a nightmare of sex and violence. Well worth a read for its insight into Occitan culture and inventive narrative. A different take on the usual ‘move to rural France’ type stories.

Extract
When Francoise came back to my study, she hugged me tight. We have paid big money to settle in. All said and done, this Saxo business is not over although we are off the cliff edge. Love the woman, that's what matters.
We were sitting on the lower terrace, too lazy to go in and make love, in the depths of dusk, when you can't tell 'a wolf from a dog' (as they say here), squadrons of swifts sweeping the valley, and the hour voluptuous.
Parallels
  • Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
  • Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
  • English Correspondence by Janet Davey