On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town

Beautifully written, descriptive, colorful and informative; the best thing to being there!

This started out really good but bogged down toward the end -- it seemed she was trying a bit too hard to find things to write about by the last few chapters. But most of the book is very entertaining. I found her chapters about the discovery of the old convent, the process of purchasing it, and the restoration quite wonderful. This was actually a bit eerie for me because, in the story, Susan ("Suzanne" to the locals) and her husband Michael, a sculptor, move from Maine to France, and buy an old convent that Michael proceeds to renovate. I wrote a novel in which, Maggie, a sculptor, moves from France to Maine and buys an old convent that she renovates.I very much enjoyed her descriptions of village life and learning to get along with the quirky, eccentric neighbors. Her discussions of food are the best part of the book and a few of the recipes included at the end of each chapter sound extremely appealing. I loved her chapter on Paris as well.I had just read  I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany  which is also about an American who moves to France and buys a dilapidated old house in a quaint village, so the comparison was interesting. Mark Greenside is by far the better writer but Susan Herrmann Loomis had a more interesting story to tell. I sort of wished they had combined efforts!Definitely worth the read though.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Every step of the author's experience made me admire her more, developing her culinary expertise and the work she and her husband put into restoring her historic home. I hope I can attend her cooking school.

Why do we read this type of text except for a vicarious thrill and the gleaning of little details of French life? I can't understand the sometimes negative reviews here. This isn't a work of fiction and these people seem to be reading it in the wrong spirit if they expect it to be. For what it is, a chronicle of one woman/family's life in France, I found it enjoyable and would recommend it. If a few readers are by now jaded thinking it yet ANOTHER Peter Mayle, Ann Barry, et al. tale, well then they need to move on and read something else instead of expecting to find magic over and over in sameness. Enjoyable. And it has some recipes. Buy it.

I savored each chapter in this book not only for the recipes but for the story and how it progressed from a student year in Paris to the family move to renovating the house to starting a new life in France. She talks about how culturally the day to day life in France is so different from living in the USA, challenging yet magical. She writes about how she adapts to the daily life, the market, the butcher, the conflicts and resolution of having an adorable centuries old former convent with restriction of the deed and rights of way established long before the Pilgrims arrived in the New World. Her recipes she shares at the end of each chapter are not necessarily hers but of the various people in town that she has befriended. Recipes that are passed down from generations tweaked for modern day preparation. I loved this book. I also was amazed that her husband did the entire renovation of this house, saving the aggravation of finding reliable labor and craftsmanship. A true labor of love, both of them, he with the house renovation, she with her books and cooking school. She is living my dream!

This is a charming memoir of the author/foodwriter's time spent in France. She ventures from her cooking class at the famed La Varenne in Paris to a small village in France. After falling in love with France, French cuisine and making friends in and out of Paris, she eventually returns to France with her husband and child. They lovingly restore a historic home in the center of town of a small village. If you are a foodie and a Francophile, you will enjoy this memoir as it evokes the way of life in a small French town, the friendliness, the bureaucracy, the beauty. It is a bit dated but that is ok. A smattering of recipes is always an added bonus!

Came quickly--as described--no issues--happy customer.

This is a lovely book. Let me tell you where I am coming from. I'm, let's say, older & live on an island in Washington state, USA. We're 5 1/2 hours from Hawaii, double that from France. For a somewhat ordinary person my age, Hawaii was a dream and France, well almost unthinkable. England and France are our nation's grandmothers, sister cities. A grand heritage in many ways we have from England, but a more delightful one from France. Susan Loomis has captured all that delight in this little book. She and her husband bought a 15th century house in a little city in Normandy, restored it, and nicely but briefly told the story. She is also a mom, there are joyful scenes of this. She is an excellent cook & includes a few choice recipes. Now, as I understand from a little research, she runs a cooking school in this place, but I am getting ahead of the book. Read it and be delighted as I.

Interesting with recipes. Easy quick read

Loved this book and how they restored the old parish house. Would not be fun trying to get locals to understand that they can’t congregate in your yard. The recipes are wonderful and I look forward to making many of them. Louviers sounds like a wonderful village. I too love Normandy and especially Rouen.

Read this many years ago and loved it. Somehow it left my library and I had to buy it again. I look forward to reading it when I am in between good books. Loved her recipes and made the Tarte Tatin this last Christmas to rave reviews. Looking forward to making it again in the fall when the apples are again available. I also loved her account of all the renovations and how she got the people of the small village charmed.

I bought this one to read with In a French Kitchen and glad I did. The book gave valuable insight into the life and career of Susan Herrmann Loomis the author. Beautiful book with great recipes as well. The recipes were a joy to make

Book is great.