Gregoire DelacourtMy Wish List: A Novel

What a great story. I couldn't put the book down. I've let friends read it but, I say...please return when finished as I want to read it again. I don't say that about other books I've read.

"My Wish List" is a very short novel by French author Gregorie Delacourt, and translated into English by Anthea Bell. (Bell must be a linguistic marvel as she also is widely appreciated as a translator of German into English.) The book seems to have been translated into a variety of European languages and was previously published in English as "The List of My Desires". And here's where it gets a bit confusing; "List of My Desires" has 240 pages, where as this book, "My Wish List" has only 176 pages. I don't know if one has larger print than the other or if the first book was longer. I suppose it doesn't much matter...Anyway, getting back to "My Wish List". Have you ever wondered what you'd do if you won the lottery and became wealthy overnight? Or if your spouse left you and you wanted to get on with your life after suitable period of mourning? I bet in both cases you'd make a list. List the things you'd buy or change about yourself or your family and friends. List what you'd do differently for the rest of your life. Just the very act of making a list is very liberating and thought provoking. And making a list is what Frenchwoman Jocelyne does when she wins a respectable amount of 18,000,000 Euros. Jocelyne, who is married to a man called Jocelyn, has two grown children, a store selling sewing needs and fabrics, and a website that is becoming a fast-developing success. She has the husband and a somewhat stale marriage. She also has a secret; she tells no one that she has won the lottery. In fact, she hides the check in her shoe...So the book is an almost-fable about what you might do if you 1. Won the Lottery, and 2. Didn't tell anyone about it. Is it right in a marriage for one partner to keep such a secret to him/herself? And what happens when/if the other partner finds the hidden check? Of these facts does Gregorie Delacourt wrap his story around.Delacourt writes his nuanced characters as ordinary people who are confronting the extraordinary. With these ordinary people come their desires - both of a material and emotional nature - and how much can they be made happy by the money? Delacourt's book is a good introduction to these thoughts. As if WE'D ever win the lottery...

This little book, about a woman who bought a lottery ticket, won and then didn't share the news with anyone, prompted me to think quite a bit about what is important in life. The main character is well-drawn and interesting - clearly a survivor. I gave this only 3 stars because the author dropped the ball with the ending. The husband was not a full character, and his actions seemed at odds with their relationship. But...worth reading!

I had to re-buy it as my first copy got lost. As the heroines name is the same as mine, in French, how could I NOT have bought it? Besides, who doesn't dream of winning a jackpot and then think on what to do with it." How different do I want my life to be?"Have a fun, short read.

Our lives have two dimensions to them--what they have been, what they are and what we wish they could be. Does getting what you wish for fulfill your life or bring it to an end?This isn't your typical "person wins the lottery and everything changes" story. This is one woman's honest reflection upon her life as it has been, as it is and as it could be. When her ordinary and unfulfilled life suddenly has the chance to become something different, she wrestles with the choices she now can make. Do we lose everything we have when we seek to have more? What is harder to win--the lottery or the love of another person? A beautiful novel that lingers after its final words...

I thought the idea could have been a wonderful book, but this one is not it. The main chacter has such a low self esteem it is pitiful. I tired of reading how she was unloved and under valued. She had no life to her. I put this book down more than half way through. I only got that far because I kept telling myself it had to get better.

A celebration of the ordinary, of sadness, struggle and heartache, and the beauty resulting therefrom, against the backdrop of the lure of a winning lottery ticket. About the gifts that only people can give one another. Makes you want to get up from reading and hug your spouse.

The condition of the used book I bought on Amazon was great! The story itself was alright for me but I was in the minority with my book club. Most of the members really enjoyed the book.