A Year in Provence (abridged)

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Summary: The best combination yet: funny and mouth watering.
Review: Filled with buoyant wit and peculiarities that is the South of France, this is a portable get-away. One might even learn a thing or two about the famous (or infamous...) French cuisine.

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Summary: Sets you in the mood for relaxation and pleasure.
Review: For anyone who has traveled to Provence or wishes to do so, this book brings out some of the greater enjoyments. Would recomment this story of Peter Mayle's life to anyone.

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Summary: Wonderfully charming and witty..both the book and the author
Review: A charming story about an English couple who vow to someday move to Provence. The story captures their first year experiences of life as know in Provence, and the comedy of life in the French countryside. The writer is clever and the book incredibly charming and funny; I could not stop laughing.

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Summary: Mayle popularizes Provence to the masses
Review: I thought it a bit odd that a man who dislikes tourists would write a book to popularize his favorite place to tourists the world over. I enjoyed the book but thought Peter Mayle is a bit of a hypocrite.

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Summary: clever, sweet, enchanting
Review: This book was a joy to read. Month after month, Peter Mayle recants the adventures he and his wife have after making the decision to move to a place they'd visited on vacation - and always dreamed of living in. Once they arrive, things aren't quite - well, smooth. This is a charming book - one that is even more fun when you share it with a friend "over lunch"!

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Summary: Twee, boring and patronising
Review: Who could imagine that such a dreary book could come from such a delighful place. It reads like the diary of an incompetent who fails to understand the people who he deals with and then puts this down to their being foreign. Avoid it at all costs!

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Summary: This book was endearingly accurate and hilarious.
Review: My wife and I just returned from a 7-day visit to Provence. A few weeks before, a friend sent me Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. Not only was the book a real delight to read, it put us in the provencal mood before we arrived at our initial destination in Avignon. The book made us appreciate the sights, smells, tastes and idiosyncracies of this wonderful part of the world. Mr. Mayle's descriptions of the locals, their villages and their customs are "attachantes" and very accurate. Since this was a second honeymoon for us, I am sure that I will return to Provence by re-reading portions of the book on a cold winter night in order to re-create the special thoughts and feelings that our visit left in our minds.

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Summary: Absolutely Hilarious!
Review: It took a little bit of prodding from my friends before I actually picked up this book to read it, but it has to be the most hilarious book I've ever read. I was practically rolling around on the floor laughing it was so funny. But then I was studying overseas at the time so I could totally relate to Peter Mayle's story of adjusting to another country's culture. But still, I think that this is a worth-while read for anyone.

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Summary: A great read at bedtime ...
Review: I encountered this book in Florence, Alabama at a B&B in which I spent a restful and rewarding weekend a little while ago. This book was on the shelf just above the lamp table. Having spent a little time in Provence, I picked it up, and immediately got involved with the author's delicious mastery of turning impossible Provencal denizen doings into vivid and often hilarious English. I intend to continue to read this fine author's works in future.

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Summary: Touching, entertaining, well acted, stunning, poignant.
Review: It was a wonderfully produced English video. The characters were realistic and human. The story demonstrated the ability of man separated by language and culture to become a catalyst for peace and love. No matter whether your a communist, capitalist, or socialist. This story will be enjoyed by all and watched over and over again.