Henry Bravo, a successful engineer from Paul Revere, Pennsylvania, buys a farmhouse in southern France with the intention of fixing it up and, in the process, coming to know his true self and perhaps find the special friend the way those young women did in self-salvaging books. The price is ridiculously low, so he buys the farm sight unseen over the internet. He leaves his family, weighted down with books on house repair, and heads to Provence. But when he reaches the house he finds that it is not in need of repair. Indeed, it is "Marie Claire Maison" perfect. But Henry will not be taken for a fool. He must meet the local artisans and masons and plumbers for the story to work. So, in town, after buying groceries, he purchases a sledgehammer and goes about trying to damage the house. But he is stopped (then joined by) the first of many people who show up at this farmhouse for no apparent reason. Hervé uses the pool. Mary Katherine and her daughters move in and cook and clean. Three Muslim women, looking identical in burkas, show up, as does Michel who is perhaps Mary Katherine's brother, his friend, Neils, a gentleman with no name who Henry calls Whatnot, and a couple of villagers who are called upon to help when Henry is in need of a saw or a some masonry. Henry is apt to accidents. He breaks his leg, he falls through the ceiling and dislocates his shoulder, he runs face first into a clean glass door. He makes friends with a paramedic named Jean Jacques who comes to his first rescue. Back in Paul Revere, Pennsylvania, Henry Bravo's wife, Carlotta Bravo discovers that Henry has absconded with all of their money including their 401K nest egg. Furious, she flies to Paris to find him and meets a Senegalese man named Bashir. Carlotta asks Bashir to accompany her on a search for the lousy Henry and he agrees. Bashir is a very romantic man who has recently lost his idealized wife. He finds that Carlotta is a passionless, cold woman and he wants to educate her in the ways of ideal love and romance. He wants to teach her history and help her to understand why man is so devoted to his deities. Carlotta wants nothing of it, but agrees to see a few things, such as the American Cemetery in Normandy, Mont St. Michel and a couple of famous chateaux. Because they have constant transportation issues and because she is the only one with money, they stay in places Carlotta wouldn't normally consider and travel in a fashion she finds basically offensive. But, it takes a very short time for Carlotta and Bashir to fall in love. There is a plot in the mind of one T. Perzinski, a resident of Copenhagen, to overthrow the government of Denmark. Perzinski has been involved in these activities previously and is being investigated by an Inspector and his lovely assistant, Honeysuckle. The Inspector and his waiflike secretary arrive at the farm to talk to Henry. But Henry does not know why and is simple baffled at the number of people visiting the farm. Michel and Neils insist on planting grapes in the old vineyard. It is through a coincidence that Carlotta and Bashir meet Jean Jacques. Carlotta has been calling her daughter in Pennsylavania and knows that the FBI is searching for both her and Henry and that her daughter, Beverly, must have her college tuition money as soon as possible. Carlotta is determined to find Henry. Who are these people at Henry's farm and what do they want? What does it have to do with him anyway? Is Mary Katherine really in love with him? Is Michel her brother? And who is this British Neils and why is he there? What is The Inspector looking for? Why does the farm have a chimney but no fireplace? Why was the farm so damn cheap to begin with?
About the Author: Pattie Leo Krohn has written three previous novels as well as poetry, essays, and reviews. Rabbit Stew is a fanciful account of a man who wishes to change his life by moving to southern France. French language is used throughout the book but does not require translation. Pattie Leo Krohn lives in southern California which she hears is very much like Provence in southern France.