Georgia Kostopoulou
I like reading stories set in Scotland. I also love reading stories set in France. So this one having both these elements was bound to be a book I’d definitely read! And you know what? I really enjoyed it!
Joe is a young plumber from Edinburg, working in the building industry, or at least that was his field of work until he found himself to prison. What led him there was his drinking at the time and a terrible, fatal car accident. He was the driver and he went to jail to pay for his crimes. Apart from paying for his crimes, and losing five years of his life, this also meant that he lost five years of his daughter’s life as well. They didn’t really had a chance to get to know each other, since, once he was locked up, his wife requested for a divorce, refused to seem him ever again, and she had all rights to do so according to Joe. Now, Joe is finally out of jail, after having served his sentence, and he is trying to piece his life together. He is lucky enough to have a good friend from the old days that invites him to stay at his house until he founds his way around. He also find him work as well as an old laptop he could use to endure his dream, which is nothing else than writing movie scripts. This was his dream ever since he was a young boy, but he was also a very realistic person and chose to follow his father’s footsteps and make living as a plumber.
Joe loves films, but his Irish friend loves singing karaoke at a local pub. Joe hates karaoke as much as his friend hates films, so they make a deal to attend a Film Festival and then go to the pub and spend a karaoke night. A night they will both do something they love and something they hate! But that night, as they attend a French Film opening, Joe meets one of the actresses of the film, who is also the screen play writer of said film. Her name is Audrey, she’s a bit older than him and she is amazing! After a wonderful night they spent together, Audrey leaves for France without saying as much as a goodbye, only to call him a few days later and invite him to Paris with a proposal. She had read his manuscript and has a film proposal for him by a producer. That’s an offer Joe cannot refuse and he finds himself on a plane to Paris the very next day.
The story continues with the time they spend in Paris, not as lovers, but mostly as friends. Audrey shows Joe around Paris and they have a great time walking the streets and going to places a tourist would not know to visit. She shows him her Paris, along with the sights and she even gives him her spare room to stay while he is in Paris. A wonderful friendship blossoms between them, with Audrey teaching him all he should know about the movie industry in order for him to make his own choices based on facts he could not otherwise know.
The story is very well written and very close to reality. It’s not a magical romance one would dream to live, although not everyone has Joe’s luck to get a chance to the filming industry. Apart from that though, it very well like something anyone could go through. It was a story that I really enjoyed reading!
