{"product_id":"2026200017034-secondhand-a-breath-of-french-air","title":"A Breath Of French Air","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere are holidays, and then there are the Larkins — and when Pop, Ma, and their wonderfully chaotic brood descend upon Brittany, the French countryside will never be quite the same again. A Breath of French Air is H. E. Bates' irresistibly comic sequel to the beloved The Darling Buds of May, transplanting England's most gloriously exuberant family to rain-soaked Normandy, where warm wine, dubious plumbing, and the stubbornly grey Atlantic weather conspire against their continental adventure — yet fail spectacularly to dampen their indomitable spirits.\n\nBates, a master of warmth and gentle satirical wit, chronicles the Larkin family's collision with French customs with an affectionate precision that illuminates the comic gulf between expectation and reality. His prose carries that distinctive golden glow of postwar English pastoral, celebrating abundance, family, and the sheer, unquenchable joy of being alive. Rich with sensory detail — overflowing tables, chaotic campsites, and Ma's magnificent equanimity in the face of all disasters — the novel leaves the reader both laughing and curiously hungry for a glass of something cold and a seat at the Larkin table.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49269356167387,"sku":"2026200017034-SECONDHAND","price":10.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/a25c25ba-5f29-48af-8d9c-971b72cbc8cf.png?v=1788999377","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200017034-secondhand-a-breath-of-french-air","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}