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![By G. Delacourt La Liste de Mes Envies (French Edition) [Mass Market Paperback] by Grégoire Delacourt](https://cdn.thestorygraph.com/0orbt3fr1jkkoaac069f91f2fn8x)
223 reviews for:
By G. Delacourt La Liste de Mes Envies (French Edition) [Mass Market Paperback]
Grégoire Delacourt
3.44 AVERAGE
223 reviews for:
By G. Delacourt La Liste de Mes Envies (French Edition) [Mass Market Paperback]
Grégoire Delacourt
3.44 AVERAGE
A woman wins the lottery but keeps it a secret while making a list of all she could do with her newfound fortune. Along the way she realizes she already had a rich life. Lovely tale.
Thought-provoking story of a woman whose life is changed in unexpected ways when she wins the lottery.
Ovu sam knjigu pročitala po preporuci prijateljice. Prema njenim dojmovima mislila sam da je knjiga romantična komedija, lagana, zabavna, lepršava. Ajme koliko sam bila daleko od istine. Govori o problemima u braku, o bolesti, smrti, prevari, krađi, a sve kroz prizmu ideje što bi sve čovjek mogao napraviti s 18 milijuna eura. Dobra je knjiga i mogla bih ju preporučiti dalje, samo nemojte se zabuniti kao ja. Ozbiljne su to teme i mene nije razveselila nego rastužila.
I received an ARC copy of this novel as part of a book blog tour hosted by France Book Tours. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/03/27/review-my-wish-list-giveaway/
My Wish List is a slim but introspective novel about Jocelyne Guerbette’s life, both before and after the impact of winning the lottery. It’s a quiet life but she’s perfectly contented with it. It’s introspective in that she reflects on her life’s ups and downs, the decisions she’s made, the dreams she had. Faced with the cheque for 18 million euros, she finds herself wondering what more she wants of her life–and what she already has. The book is a quiet reflection, which was nice, and had some great quotes here and there that one can reflect on.
Without going into greater detail, it is also rather triste and the last third of the novel was a bit of a sucker-punch: I did not expect that to happen at the end (I was anticipating something else, but that did not come to pass). My Wish List overall is short but interesting and raises some questions about life and what would you do with a winning lottery ticket.
My Wish List is a slim but introspective novel about Jocelyne Guerbette’s life, both before and after the impact of winning the lottery. It’s a quiet life but she’s perfectly contented with it. It’s introspective in that she reflects on her life’s ups and downs, the decisions she’s made, the dreams she had. Faced with the cheque for 18 million euros, she finds herself wondering what more she wants of her life–and what she already has. The book is a quiet reflection, which was nice, and had some great quotes here and there that one can reflect on.
Without going into greater detail, it is also rather triste and the last third of the novel was a bit of a sucker-punch: I did not expect that to happen at the end (I was anticipating something else, but that did not come to pass). My Wish List overall is short but interesting and raises some questions about life and what would you do with a winning lottery ticket.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Jocelyne is married, has two adult children, one infant dead at birth, a father with a 6 minute memory, and a business in a small town in France. Perhaps she is a little bored, things are a little routine; perhaps she wonders if this is really the life she dreamed of as a young woman.
Urged by her friends, she casually enters the lottery, and ends up winning 18 million euros. Rather than scream in excitement, she keeps it to herself and goes in silent anonymity to claim the check.
While waiting for the check to be printed, she meets with a government psychologist, who congratulates her on her luck, and condoles her for her great misfortune. For while she now has enough money to buy whatever she wants, she has also become the favorite contact of everyone looking for money: the mother with a child with her name suffering from cancer, an abused/neglected dog in need of a fairy godmother, a child with musculodystrophy tumbling down the stairs for lack of a chair lift; long lost relatives, bankers, investors, everyone who now wants a piece of her money.
And it gets worse: she has children? She is now their rich mother, expected to bankroll their lives, pay out, give them their share. Her husband? He'll need to quit his humdrum job to manage their fortune. Suicide, depression, plots, murder- ". . .this script is written in advance, Madame Guerbette, written long ago, greed burns everything in its path."
Jocelyne keeps her good fortune secret while she decides what she wants to do with her new found wealth, what her dreams are, what she wants most.
"I loved my life deeply, but the moment that I won the lottery I knew that the money would wreck it all, and for what?
"For a bigger vegetable plot? . . . A larger, more luxurious house?. . .Breast implants? A nose job? No, no and no again. I already had what money can't buy but can only destroy.
"Happiness.
"My happiness, anyway. Mine. With all its flaws, its banalities, its petty drawbacks. But mine.
"A huge flaming, unique happiness."
If I ever wanted to win the lottery, this book gave me serious pause. It highlighted how happy I am in my small, simple, unexotic life. I will light no skies with my brilliance, beauty, talent or (whatever). But I am content with the life I have, the people I know, and the blessings I have received. Maybe the trick is to not ruin a good thing by wishing it were something else.
Urged by her friends, she casually enters the lottery, and ends up winning 18 million euros. Rather than scream in excitement, she keeps it to herself and goes in silent anonymity to claim the check.
While waiting for the check to be printed, she meets with a government psychologist, who congratulates her on her luck, and condoles her for her great misfortune. For while she now has enough money to buy whatever she wants, she has also become the favorite contact of everyone looking for money: the mother with a child with her name suffering from cancer, an abused/neglected dog in need of a fairy godmother, a child with musculodystrophy tumbling down the stairs for lack of a chair lift; long lost relatives, bankers, investors, everyone who now wants a piece of her money.
And it gets worse: she has children? She is now their rich mother, expected to bankroll their lives, pay out, give them their share. Her husband? He'll need to quit his humdrum job to manage their fortune. Suicide, depression, plots, murder- ". . .this script is written in advance, Madame Guerbette, written long ago, greed burns everything in its path."
Jocelyne keeps her good fortune secret while she decides what she wants to do with her new found wealth, what her dreams are, what she wants most.
Spoiler
Jocelyne writes lists of what she wants - small things, gifts to fulfill her husband's dreams, plans to provide for her children and father, and realizes in the end -"I loved my life deeply, but the moment that I won the lottery I knew that the money would wreck it all, and for what?
"For a bigger vegetable plot? . . . A larger, more luxurious house?. . .Breast implants? A nose job? No, no and no again. I already had what money can't buy but can only destroy.
"Happiness.
"My happiness, anyway. Mine. With all its flaws, its banalities, its petty drawbacks. But mine.
"A huge flaming, unique happiness."
If I ever wanted to win the lottery, this book gave me serious pause. It highlighted how happy I am in my small, simple, unexotic life. I will light no skies with my brilliance, beauty, talent or (whatever). But I am content with the life I have, the people I know, and the blessings I have received. Maybe the trick is to not ruin a good thing by wishing it were something else.
I'm struggling to pinpoint why I can't in good faith give this five stars because it was a lovely read - touching, slightly whimsical, and compelling enough that I read it in a mere two sittings, a miracle for me these days. There's just ... something missing. Possibly a loss of sophistication in the translation, or possibly just a lack of sophistication in the original, I can't tell. Maybe I just wanted a little more, of Jocelyne's thoughts and backstory, of life in Arras, the locals and the minor characters. It's close to a Julian Barnes style read but not quite there, so four (and a half if I'm honest) it is.
A quick, easy read. Very French in flavour, though I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was that made it feel that way. I did find it engaging, but I was disappointed with the ending. I think the pretty button cover had led me to believe this would be an upbeat, life-affirming story...which wasn't quite the case.
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy