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Summary: CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF PROVENCE--PERFECT IN EVERY WAY
Review: I was born in and grew up in Provence. In this book, Peter Mayle does the seemingly impossible--he captures the essence of a place so perfectly the reader is almost transported. Far from being a travel book, A Year in Provence is a timeless classic, both beautifully written and hilariously funny. Mayle is a genius when it comes to Provence. His characters are lively and full of fun, the situations (e.g., German campers) real, and the tone of book so perfect it's a dream. Read it for enjoyment, read it to learn about Provence. Either way you will be entertained and you certainly can't go wrong.
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Summary: wonderful book
Review: This was a very enjoyable book. Mayle's descriptions of France are intricate and his humor profusely evident. The books takes the reader through all aspects of the Provencal life--from cooking to farming to hunting and even to a goat race. Perhaps Mayle's most amusing character is Massot, a fox-hunting, trespasser/camper- hating neighbor who is perpetually seeking someone to buy his ramshackle farm. In every chapter there is plenty to keep readers amused and amazed--as in the rich variety and emphasis in the culture regarding food. The descriptions of the work on the narrator's newly acquired house may have been a little too frequent and extensive--but overall, a wonderful book.
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Summary: If the truth be known......
Review: this book is hilarious, because it is actually an accurate account of life in France for an ex-pat. Having lived in France for 5-years there isn't a chapter I do not relate to in some way. And, with fond, fond memories. I read this book in the second year of my residency in this incredible country, and enjoyed it even more the second time around having left France 4 years ago. I had never thought of it as a travel book before, except it makes me yearn to return also.
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Summary: Accordion-a-flowing-a-humourous-delicacy
Review: Every chapter of this book presents a vignette that brims with unpredictable hilarity. It has the sheer charm to make you reluctantly nod yet more or less agree why the fame and fabled South of France is all at once riveting, alluring, loungy, laidback and the quintessential respite to pamper people from all over the world. Its unharried glamour all the more becomes real and felt once you start with even chapter one. It's like going through a travelogue where encounters will not stupify yet mystify you. And you will just really laugh! Then you slowly reckon why and how its denizens's lifestyles, annotations, conceptions and the French culture become simply irresistible to many while being puzzling to a few.Like a laiback yet long string of circuitous coil, every event is connected and funny and serious at the same time. I read and follow the detailed records of Peter Mayle in what I can describe as his sojourn to Aix-En Provence and I am left charmed and delighted. Particular house, street, get-together scenes in sun-drenched hillsides, gardens and stream banks just fill my imagination. My eyes cannot avert from these picturesque visions. Then they're perfectly admixtured with Mayle's records of the perplexing yet funny experiences the characters get into. This book is a dear and a delicious feeder with or without the aperitif!
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Summary: Amusingly Interesting Book
Review: This book is one of the rare travel books that I heartily recommend to all adults.
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Summary: A healthy and hilarious lesson in how to shrug-it-off.
Review: While Peter Mayle's style may not be described by some as literary, his skill at recording the humourous details of daily life in a new culture made me laugh out loud. The people of Mayle's adopted country are represented with respect, something that is not always found in the travel genre, and there is the strong feeling that Mayle loves the country because of it's inhabitants. For me, like many others, this book has inspired travel plans.
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Summary: If you get the chance to read this book, DON'T
Review: Rarely has a book received so much critical acclaim for so little reason. One year in the life of a boring snob, even worse, a food snob. Peter Mayle does nothing to help us understand another culture. No truffles of wisdom here. Read this book if you want twelve chapters of the eating habits of an elitist snob. My advice - if you get the chance to read this book, don't.
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Summary: Very fine escape from the mundane travel writing we see now.
Review: Mayle presents travel escapism at it's best, although this book should be digested in small portions to avoid the feeling that you've eaten too much candy. Mayle's Provencal lifestyle and the true, colourful characters he encounters in his day-to-day life are just the ticket for the hordes of stressed-out office workers who are still three months away from vacation who seem to read his books. In all, a book to be celebrated. Much better than Frances Mayes insensitive, griping, shallow "My important vacations in Tuscany" series.
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Summary: Beautiful evocative writing. Very entertaining!
Review: Even if you've never been to Provence, Mayle's book is so descriptive that you can practically smell the lavender and taste the French cuisine. Full of charming anecdotes and wonderfully eccentric characters. This book truly captures the feeling of being in the French countryside.
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Summary: Makes you want to go to Provence
Review: I enjoyed this book trememdously. Although it was presented to us as a journal, I loved his rather subjective descriptions. I have never been to Provence, but have been to France several times, and if you've had the opportunity to interact with the French people, you're bound to get a good laugh at some of Mayle's stories. Highly recommended, even for the sake of picturing life among the French.
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