Sloughing The Skin

Whilst breathing new life into the renovation of an old stone cottage the central character of the story penetrates the minds and lives of people in a small, rural community in Brittany, and in so doing morphs into a new sense of self. She and her husband, accompanied by an enigmatic artisan, work with stone, wood, water, and clay reshaping a new home, a new life.Among their new friends are an American couple who have international business interests in antiques and Fine Art. On the other hand, their neighbours Michelle, Bernard, and Claude are farmers, like their ancestors who worked the land for centuries. For Michelle 'C'est le destin' is her constant refrain, her philosophy. For others in the story their focus is often more on the shaping force of human intervention.Often filled with humour, drama, as well as the mysterious, poetic 'pull' of the Breton land and culture, the novel unearths some of the 'dark' sides of human nature. The voice of Death whispers all around. Sometimes the deaths are natural. At other times an age old story of crime and violence seeps into the pages.The novel is full of surprises; evident in its unfolding is also a sensitivity to the skills, the sorrows, the hopes, the dreams of people.