To This Northern Shore – the first title under our new imprint, VOICES
To This Northern Shore
- 352 pages
- paperback
- 198 x 130
- £12.99
- ISBN 9781904737636
From a small Scottish seaside town a man looks back on his life, from a boyhood in Algiers, through provincial France and Paris to Brighton, London and Oxford.
He acknowledges that he had to come to terms with being born and raised on the wrong side of history during the bloody tail-end of French colonialism. In so doing, he writes candidly about what it meant to be a pied-noir, exiled from Algeria, unwelcome in France, and about the indelible imprint a childhood in a time of war has left on him.
As a student in Paris, he was eye-witness to, and participant in, the May 1968 protests that almost toppled President de Gaulle’s government. He then moved to England, making it his home for almost half a century. This not-Algerian man from Algeria and not-quite-French man from France fell in love with Britain and its culture. He soon chose to take up British nationality.
This puts him in a privileged position to make perspicacious observations about the much commented on, but in his view often misread, relationship between the British and the French.
We follow his experiences as a teacher, to a long career in book publishing, from editor to director, ending up in the digital world of content providing, with life-affirming experiences as a volunteer psychotherapist along the way.
Following Brexit, there is a final move to Scotland as a more congenial environment. He finds himself attracted to the positive aspect of the bid for independence, and a potential reconnection with Europe.
The journey between what was then and what is now incorporates bitter-sweet coming-of-age stories, not a little hilarious humour, as well as tales of adventurous travel in Western Africa.
The author touches on themes that will resonate with many: the sensual pleasures of cooking, the romance of wine, the place of music in our lives, the need for friendship and conviviality, the importance of human resilience, especially in the face of ageing.
It is a story about embracing life fully and also reflecting on it, told with verve and lucidity, in clear and often elegiac language that will entertain, move and inspire.
Here are just some of the very many readers’ reactions to Jean-Luc’s book.
The author has conjured out of his own well-travelled, well-lived life a story that holds up a mirror to the world over the span of seven decades. During his years in Algeria, France, England and, now, Scotland, he was eye-witness to tumultuous events. He views these through the prism of his personal memories as he seeks to come to terms with a childhood over which he had no control.
He was born and raised on the wrong side of history as a so-called pied-noir during France’s colonial overlordship in Algeria. Yet, as an exile, he felt alienated in France. By contrast, England offered him a friendly berth. It’s no wonder therefore that the not-Algerian man from Algeria and the not-French man from France choose to obtain British citizenship.
By embracing the country, he felt confident enough to become a friendly critic, particularly of the decision to take Britain out of the European Union, witheringly referring to “the absurdity of Brexit” and registering his disgust with the man responsible, whom he calls the “buffoon-in-chief”. He praises instead Scotland’s outward-looking pro-EU stance.
This journey between what was then and what is now incorporates bitter-sweet coming-of-age stories, culminating in a romantic encounter on a Greek island, and includes a spell an Israeli kibbutz and an eye-opening trek through Liberia. As with Proust, reminiscence is triggered by food, be it “les chips”, raspberries and chorizo “paste” in Algeria, or his liberal use of parsley as he develops his love for cooking. And then there is his lifelong romance with wine.
Along the way, he discovers the joys of British pubs. Initially surprised and delighted by their warmth and conviviality, he extols their contribution to a sense of community and laments their gradual disappearance. For what emerges in these pages is his deep appreciation of community spirit, of the value of the collective.
It informs his politics, his understanding that paying tax, for example, is not some kind of unacceptable burden but one of democracy’s greatest benefits. This is not, however, a rant. His political insights, while intensely felt, are sensible and sensitive. We perceive them between the lines as we follow his career from school teacher, book publishing editor and digital content executive working with Microsoft, plus a diversionary spell as a psychotherapist.
This is a wholly uplifting immigrant story because it offers an unrivalled insight into what makes Britain special enough for a man from elsewhere – in a sense, a stateless man – to select it as his haven.
Roy Greenslade, London, journalist and author
I’m writing to say how much I enjoyed and appreciated it.
I was particularly struck by how the main themes of the book gave it a structure and a ‘narrative arc’, rather than being merely a collection of interesting, often amusing, anecdotes.
Right from page 1, you write about your feeling of estrangement since leaving Algeria – I loved your phrase about ‘the ache of an amputated limb’ – and the book conveys the sense that your life since Algeria has been a journey in search of a place in which you could feel rooted, and one which has a strong sense of community.
One thing that makes the book exceptional is your vivid evocation of place. There are many memorable instances of this, particularly from your childhood, such as the memory of eating ‘chips’ in Algiers and the view from Notre Dame d’Afrique, as well as in your description of your return to Algiers in the chapter ‘Time for a Last Goodbye’. Your childhood experiences of Frontenay and your disappointment at the changes that had occurred there, when you returned there whilst you were looking for a place to buy in France, are also powerful.
Your desire for community is also very powerfully conveyed, starting with your exchange visit to the ‘Hogwarts’-style school in Shropshire and the sense of belonging that you felt there, which contrasted so much to your experiences in France. The lack of sympathy towards your experiences in Algeria and the unwillingness to talk about them, which you felt when you came to France, made the ‘Suitcase or Coffin’ chapter especially moving and your dislike of the rigidity of many aspects of life in France does much to explain why you found the informality of life in England, and subsequently Scotland, so attractive.
I was also impressed by your pen portraits of people, particularly of your parents – the Jack the Lad chapters were a stand-out.
The warmth of your feeling towards Scotland, and especially North Berwick, comes across very well. I liked your phrase about finding a ‘consonance between location and time of life’ and I am glad that your journey is coming to a happy ending.
Mike Joseph, London
I wanted you to know that I had much pleasure in the reading.
Your writing is very evocative, sometimes quite lyrical, even luminous.
I warmed to all of this, and very much to the process of growing up, and the personal, social – and sexual – challenges which came with this – even if, at times, I felt almost prurient in the discovery of your progress!… I learnt much too, not least through the personal reflections on Paris,’ 68. All in all a great read.
I loved the book… So many aspects I could refer to. But particularly luminous were those moments on the beach – and against the adversity – the sense of ebb and flow of the tide, and so, of nature. Funny that the final word in the memoir is ‘resilient’.
Dr Mark Levene, Emeritus Fellow in History at the University of Southampton
I have enjoyed [it] immensely. It was fascinating to read about such an interesting life spent in a number of different cultures. Above all, you have a most pleasing prose style which constantly engages the reader. I note that you adopted a non-linear approach which is not easy. Interestingly our daughter uses the non-linear approach in her novels.
I really enjoyed your reflections and insights about life in Britain and especially North Berwick. To hold such a range of themes, locations and reflections together is a true tour de force and something that I would find really challenging!
An insightful and utterly charming memoir.
Patrick O’Farrell, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Heriot-Watt University
I am writing to you as I have just read your wonderful book ‘To This Northern Shore’. I so enjoyed it and felt I had to get in touch to tell you. Your writing was so entertaining and funny and I loved reading it. Your love of Britain came through so well and was beautiful to read. Your issues re your name made me laugh out loud.
Jane Gray, former pupil, Lewes
I am completely in awe of the author’s ability to write about his memories and musings without making them seem either pretentious or mundane.
D.T., Isle of Skye
Having read this book twice, finding as much to enjoy and stimulate the second time as I did the first, I unhesitatingly recommend it. The author reminds us that a well-lived life is fragmentary rather than linear, and all the richer for it.
R.G., Brighton
I found it flowing, engaging and charmingly honest! I loved the gentle yet deep reflective spirit throughout. I also had a good laugh!
C.C., Oxford
It’s much more than just an autobiography. Bittersweet as it’s described in its blurb, but with laugh out loud incidents along the way. Others are poignant, historically, politically and socially insightful… Overall, it’s a thoroughly engaging piece of writing.
N.D., Lewes
This is a beautifully written book, and I fully recommend it – it takes readers on a journey that is easy to read yet elegantly complex.
Z.W., Stockton-on-Tees