Husband, father, goat wrangler
—
You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Yes, then multiply that by about a thousand, add more men—well, a half-French wife and children—mice, dogs, cats, hens, any other animal wandering by that looks like it’s in need of a home, and you might have some sense of Moore’s life in rural France, which he still hankers for when he’s forced to tour the world’s expat communities doing stand-up in order to keep the whole kit, kaboodle, kith, kin and menagerie (sorry, ran out of k alliterations) in food, utilities and running water.

You might already know Moore from his stand-up or even from his cosy crime fiction, but here you get to meet the man: as grumpy as any Englishman in France has any right to be, but with a family that loves him and will gang up against him if an opportunity presents itself. Part two of his memoirs of life as an expat part-time stand-up and full-time harried husband and father. Recommended.

This was perfectly reasonable – just not for me. Way back when, Ian Moore had two books of his light-hearted memoirs out, about his life as someone juggling both stand-up work in Britain and globally and a menagerie of kids and animals on a farm in France. They had titles punning on the guy being a Mod, but those have been dropped, much like most other memories of them existing. This is the second book then – the first was re-presented as "Vive le Chaos" – and I might have stuck with this more firmly had I had that one to read first. I hadn't, so with this being a lot older than I thought, with this being fixated on the animals, and the whole "it might have been funny had you actually been there" feel – it wasn't what I was looking for. Certainly, too, there is a strong sense that all this was very avoidable chaos, further making me less disposed to spend the day witnessing it all second-hand.

Another episode in the life of a mod abroad - and yet although some of the material was familiar, I nonetheless enjoyed reading this book.
I found this one a little sadder than the first, yet the pathos had a certain realism which worked. However, there were plenty of amusing anecdotes to balance it out.
If the intention was to make the reader feel as though he knew the characters, human and animal, it worked.

An interesting take on an English family living "The Good Life" in the Loire Valley in France... it contains the usual mishaps - the mis-communication with the locals, the embarrassing mix-ups and quarrels.. but it also contains the good things about French Life and the food, the wine, the weather etc.. really makes you think about getting out of the dreary life one can feel like in the UK..

There was also lots and lots and lots of writing about the constant having to travel back to the UK to earn some money and the mishaps with the animals and this, for me, started to get a bit grating and a bit samey towards the end (hence the one star loss)..

Other than that, it was a very easy and amusing read that often left me dreaming on living a different life abroad.. and that's what, i think, the book is delivering in bucket loads..

Thanks to NetGalley and Summersdale for the chance to read this ARC

Really easy, humorous read about the exploits of a Mod Comedian in rural France. Would recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it.

I think I see a lot of myself in Ian Moore: the tendency to see flaws in organisation, the irritation when obvious things are not done, the just being a general grump… and so, when someone who thinks like you, pokes fun at a troubling situation and by extension at themselves, they are also in effect, poking fun at the reader, or me at any rate, which saves me the trouble.

This really works for me and I have enjoyed his gently humorous expounding of the author’s tribulations, I just wish I had come to this series of memoirs in the ‘right’ order and started with the first one, rather than the second. But that is only a minor quibble (c’est la vie, you might say) as although the reader may have acquired more of an understanding of the setup by starting at the beginning, it really doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of what is found in this book. Tres bien!

Book Review: C’est la Vie: Adventures of an English Grump in Rural France by Ian Moore
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

If you’ve ever daydreamed about trading your busy life for a slice of pastoral paradise in the French countryside—then C’est la Vie is your charming wake-up call… served with a side of goat chaos and British wit.

Ian Moore, comedian and reluctant rural hero, brings us another installment of life in the Loire Valley, where serenity is the dream—but reality often involves runaway animals, oddball neighbors, and laugh-out-loud misadventures. The Moore family’s writing retreat, Les Champs Créatifs, may be finished, but the chaos is just beginning.

Moore’s dry, self-deprecating humor shines through on every page. His keen observations of village life, local customs, and the sheer unpredictability of country living are both hilarious and oddly comforting. Whether it's battling stubborn goats, dealing with eccentric locals like the Christmas Pudding Man, or navigating French bureaucracy, Moore delivers it all with comedic timing and heart.

At its core, C’est la Vie is more than a memoir—it’s a love letter to family, resilience, and the messy beauty of following your dreams (even when they come with a lot more animal poop than expected).

Verdict: Equal parts travelogue, comedy, and heartwarming family saga, C’est la Vie is a delightful escape to rural France. Fans of Bill Bryson or Peter Mayle will feel right at home. Just be warned: you’ll laugh, you’ll cringe, and you might just want to pack your bags for the Loire… goats and all.

This is a very funny book about Ian Moore and his family life in rural France. It covers an unspecified length of time, his commuting to the UK and other countries for work. We hear about the animals the family have adopted and how much Junior, one of their horses, appears to hate Ian and treats him with the highest level of distain that it can muster.
How his children and his wife gang up on him when they want to adopt more animals and his fears of performing in French.
It's very readable and I loved it.

I'm not sure if I would be happy to live in a house in the French country (just sold one in Italian country so go figure) but I think some of the most funny book i read are set in the French country.
Like this one: well plotted, witty, clever
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Excellent!

By the time of this, the second book in the series, Ian and his wife Natalie have been living in France for 7 years. They have three sons. Samuel moved out there with them, and Maurice and Thérence were born in France.

Ian is a well-known stand-up comedian. Although the plan had been initially to just do gigs in the UK at the weekend, then back to France, he was becoming more and more known, around the world, not just in the UK. Money was good..... but he was seeing less and less of his family, and their home in France.

They have plans, and have made renovations for their intended activities to make some income in France.

But there were to be setbacks. In the other book, where everything is comedy, this is more like a memoir, we're seeing his real feelings, he's not covering it all up with laughs. I enjoyed this one even more than his previous book. This one was more like a moving abroad memoir in that it was chronological (whereas the first wasn't-that tended to be chapters about certain subjects related). Anyway there's more about France, French way of life, and the family's lives in France in this book than his last one.

Some darker times in here, so the worrying was here, he opened up more, the emotions came through his writing, rather than just turning everything into comedy, which was sort of what his other book was like. I enjoyed this even better. There's still plenty of humour in here too though-I think this is funnier than the first book.

A fabulous read all the way through.