Rating: 
Summary: A Year in Provence
Review: This book was thoroughly enjoyable. It transports you to a year in Provence, France, where the normally-conservative Brit learns life in the French-lane. I haven't had such a good time with a book in a long time. If you've ever been to France, you can easily relate. This one is great.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful trip to the continent
Review: I'll admit I've never been to France, let alone Europe, but this book fosters the dreams I have of visiting and experiencing the culture of Provence. The author masterfully pulls you in as a witness to the wonders of living in this quaint region, particularly as life is driven by the palate. Written month-by-month, you'll find the year passes quickly. I look forward to reading another of his accounts.
Rating: 
Summary: A Bothersome Weakness
Review: Mayle's description of the Provencal food and culture was fine, no problem there; but I was regularly distracted by his invocation of numerous English "friends" who just happened to "invite themselves" to his slice of Gallic heaven. Mayle is proud of his self-restraint and tolerance of guests who are supposedly friends, but rarely bothers to explain why he left a trail for them to follow. My guess is that they're used by Mayle as literary foils, as contrast against the French rustics. I don't recall him saying he didn't leave word as to his whereabouts; why didn't he simply excuse himself from hosting duties by pleading temporary absence? Mayle's experiences weren't rich enough to carry a book, so he relied on the foibles of others for copy? Otherwise a pleasant, if eventually predictable, read.
Rating: 
Summary: Provence here I come !
Review: Hilarious recounting of the author's attempts to settle in the south of France. Plenty of colourful anecdotes, insights into the peculiarities of the French locals and anglo saxon attempts to cope with them. Also a remarkable account of the things that attract people to France in the first place, food, wine, and a huge joie de vivre.... It's a book that has spawned a miriad of imitators both in the literary world as well as a literary sense.
Rating: 
Summary: C'est magnifique!
Review: If you can't afford a vacation this year, don't fret. On a warm sunny afternoon, just pack up a French picnic of fruit, French bread, croissants, cheese and wine -- sit down with this book and it's just as good as being there (well, almost).A British couple (author and his wife) decided to move to Provence permanently, so they bought a house. He takes us through their first year in monthly installments. You'll meet some of his new neighbors, listen to mouth-watering descriptions of meals he has enjoyed and hear about the trials and tribulations of home improvements and weather in the south of France. Quite enjoyable :o)
Rating: 
Summary: Where does this guy live!?
Review: As a current American ex-patriot in southern France, I have no idea where Peter Mayle thinks he's living. All he describes are peasants on bicyclettes - I don't think so! Mayle writes a fantasy of what people *think* living in southern France is like. It's not real. If you're looking for a fun, realistic reflection of the joys and hardships of living abroad, read Tim Parks or Frances Meyer. Peter Mayle is a snob and he patronizes his neighbors. I really wanted to like his books, but I don't.
Rating:
Summary: When you need a vacation and don't have money for the trip..
Review: I first read A Year in Provence several years ago. I loved it so much that I have read it several times since. Mayle makes the people, the sites and the smells come to life for the reader. He is funny and genuine and you will love the people he introduces you to. At the end of the book, I felt like I do after a wonderful vacation...glad I went and anxious to visit again.
Rating:
Summary: a year in provence
Review: This book was a great idea (and had great cover art), but it killed the dream of provence in me and left me cold and bloodless... I do not recommend it as an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: A loquacious dinner guest.
Review: What lingers after reading "A Year in Provence" is certainly a positive impression. Peter Mayle has an aptitude for deftly producing, here and there, a memorable description or turn of phrase. Moreover, I know a lot more about the Provençal temperament and milieu after reading this book and, I must admit, experienced not a small amount of envy during some of the passages. However, do not approach this book with the lofty prepossessions that some of the reviews attempt to inspire. Reading "A Year in Provence" is like entertaining a well-informed, loquacious dinner guest who can transform the minutiae of his domestic details and incidental observations into an amusing, undemanding narrative. Expect nothing more. But also nothing less.
Rating:
Summary: A book to re-read.
Review: You'll read this so quickly that you will forget the details. Thus, within days, weeks or perhaps months you will be drawn back and it will be like reading the book for the first time - trust me! A truly wonderful narrative - impossible not to enjoy.
|
