Vegetarian in France

Michele Roberts writes enticingly about France, and equally enticingly about food, and this story from her newly published collection brings two of her favourite subjects together in a tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale about the dangers of being fussy about food in a country that regards vegetarians with the scorn reserved for a lesser species. It was not easy, being a vegetarian in France, Larry found, when he and his wife Nicolette finally settled there in their retirement. Their hunting, fishing, butchering, gutting, stuffing and pickling neighbours tried to understand, but their sympathies were all with Nicolette. Larry didn't stand a chance. The reader is Siobhan Redmond.