Allons Enfants - A New Zealand Family in France
Linda and Robert Burgess had their first taste of France during the 1970s, when Robert, a former All Black, was playing Rugby for Lyon. Twelve years later, they wanted to share something of that experience with their growing children. Allons Enfants is an engaging and entertaining portrait of a family living in Montpellier. Novelist Linda Burgess's clear eye details in the civilised charms and colourful flavours of France, the quirky idiosyncracies of Madame Libidineuse and Monsieur Benevolent.She also reveals the often comic, sometimes touching, reality of being a foreigner far from home. This is a story about daily life; visits to the boulangerie, the scheming landlady, the chauvanistic butcher, the absurdities of the French banks and the intensity of the school system. It is also a celebration of family and friends, and an endearing love story - the love that parents have for their children.