Rating: 
Summary: Clean up your plate and skip the script.
Review: As a fan of Peter Mayle's previous, sensual, shared experiences of the food and atmosphere of Provence, I had great hopes for this book as I tucked it into my pack for a hiking trip. Alas, I was dreadfully disappointed. Scattered remembrances of wonderful wines and food are plopped on top of a pathetic outline for a bad action movie. It is as if Mr. Mayle's literary agent said..."Peter...enough of the wine and food, give me a superficial vehicle for Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock, and Pierce Brosnan and I'll give you enough money to re-roof that monstrosity of a house ten times over!" Please Peter. Come back to us. We don't need ham-fisted attempts at action or movie sex. Your thoughtful, amusing insights into French life were wonderful; we miss you
Rating: 
Summary: Very, Very Good
Review: At first, I got the book to hear Tim's wonderful voice, just as background noise. But, then, I actually lisstened to the book. It's a very good story of a man willing to do almost anything, but get married. That takes the man to a weathly "Poe" who has a plan to get away from paying taxes. I recommend it, highly.
Rating:
Summary: Peter Mayle.....always considered!
Review: Being a fan of Peter Mayle's Provence series I was slightly apprehensive about his diving into the work of fiction but at the same time looking forward to his offerings. And, since after reading "Hotel Pastis" I was certain that he was still the author that I had come to enjoy so very much. With the addition of "Anything Considered" his literary skills, at least for me, remain intact! Thank goodness! This book simply catches all of the magic of his previous offerings. A mystery, love story and comedy I can think of fewer books that I enjoyed so much that I picked up a copy in hardbound to keep and read again...and again. Set, once again, in the French country-side plus Monaco our protagonist Bennett, an English expatriate,lives out his meager existence until placing an ad in the Intl. Herald Tribune where he's offered the chance to live the "high-life" by providing services to Julian Poe, who delves into the illegal truffle trade. What ensues is truly high-comdey with a sprinkling of romance and French travelogue thrown in for good measure. Overall, the characters are well-thought out and brought fully to life...plus, who could not enjoy a novel where the author is simply having such a wonderful time as Mr. Mayle obviously is! Highly recommended this is...and is there any chance of having this made into a film or BBC series? A generous,delicious serving of Mr. Mayle!
Rating:
Summary: Peter Mayle.....always considered!
Review: Being a fan of Peter Mayle's Provence series I was slightly apprehensive about his diving into the work of fiction but at the same time looking forward to his offerings. And, since after reading "Hotel Pastis" I was certain that he was still the author that I had come to enjoy so very much. With the addition of "Anything Considered" his literary skills, at least for me, remain intact! Thank goodness! This book simply catches all of the magic of his previous offerings. A mystery, love story and comedy I can think of fewer books that I enjoyed so much that I picked up a copy in hardbound to keep and read again...and again. Set, once again, in the French country-side plus Monaco our protagonist Bennett, an English expatriate,lives out his meager existence until placing an ad in the Intl. Herald Tribune where he's offered the chance to live the "high-life" by providing services to Julian Poe, who delves into the illegal truffle trade. What ensues is truly high-comdey with a sprinkling of romance and French travelogue thrown in for good measure. Overall, the characters are well-thought out and brought fully to life...plus, who could not enjoy a novel where the author is simply having such a wonderful time as Mr. Mayle obviously is! Highly recommended this is...and is there any chance of having this made into a film or BBC series? A generous,delicious serving of Mr. Mayle!
Rating:
Summary: Ian Fleming beats Peter Mayle every time!
Review: Goldfinger and Dr. No are alive and kicking...Peter Mayle borrows shamelessly from both, substituting truffles for gold, a Japanese henchman for a Korean one and on and on. Loved A year in Provence (though the TV version of it was dreadful): Peter Mayle, you should stick to what you know best: all the atmosphere and the charm of Provence is there -- even truffles -- and its so much better
Rating: 
Summary: Breezy Fun
Review: Had I realized this book was by the author of the wildly popular "A Year in Provence" I probably would have passed it by, but as it was, I didn't, and the retro jacket caught my attention. This book probably exemplifies light reading to me, an airy comedy with a likable hero and love interest on the run from picaresque international villains. The plot revolves around an unemployed Englishman living in the south of France who gets unwittingly involved in a mastermind's attempt to corner the global truffle market. The book will hold more resonance for those who have traveled in the south of France and are interested in gastronomic delights, but even the rest of us can enjoy the silly story as it floats by.
Rating:
Summary: Better at non-fiction, but interesting just the same
Review: Having thoroughly enjoyed Peter Mayle's best-selling non-fictional (mostly) account of life in Rural France (A Life in Provence), I long meant to give his fiction a try. I'm not a real dog-lover, so A Dog's Life didn't intrigue me, and the jacket copy for Hotel Pastis didn't lend it to immediate reading, either. But the cover for Anything Considered, showing a cast of characters straight out of a CLUE game, and the premise--an Englishman in France, desperate for a job, places an advert in the international paper saying that he was looking for employment and "anything considered"--sounded so close to a Wodehousian experience, that I could not resist it. Even the title was similar to Wodehouse. Unfortunately, while comic and filled with mistaken identities and misunderstood intentions, Mayle's touch with the material is quite different. I enjoyed the novel, but there's something missing to it, as if Mayle had all the ingredients at his fingertips, but didn't turn the temperature on the oven up high enough. There's no faulting his craftsmanship--the words flow smoothly enough, and nothing is so jarring as to ruin the plot--but the art seems forced, rather than organic. Bennett is the Englishman who is desperate for anything, who finds himself hired by a fellow who simply wants him to live in the style to which Bennett has become accustomed, with the slight deviation of returning a different name than his own when asked. He goes to Monaco, using this man's credit cards, living in this man's apartment, basically enjoying the life of Riley. But there's trouble lurking, something to do with the truffle market and the Mafia. It's all grand fun, but Mayle never quite convinces the reader that his world is an innocuous one, and so the reader keeps expecting the worst to happen, rather than just another close shave. Rereading the above, it sounds like I hated the novel, which I did not. In fact, I bought Hotel Pastis based on my impression of this book. I just had expected more from Mayle, and was letdown by my expectations, not by his actual book.
Rating:
Summary: A different side of Peter Mayle
Review: He took the Provence that he learned and wrote about in A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence, added a little Cote d'Azur with a whimsically mysterious plot. Peter Mayle's style is clearly evident, but he proved that he can conjure up a mystery/novel as well as non-fiction. A light enjoyable read; I just loved it. I can't wait for the movie
Rating:
Summary: A Rollicking Good Time
Review: I ADORE Peter Mayle. My family and I have a house in the south of France close to Mayle's so I'm familiar with the locales in his books. His description couldn't be better, the characters are zany, and he offers little surprises in every plot. Philosophical tomes can be great at times, but when I need to relax I look for Peter Mayle. He never offers us less than a rollicking good time.
Rating:
Summary: Relaxing, bedside reading nolonger!
Review: I picked up "Anything Considered," expecting a light enjoyable read (ie. "A Year in Provence"). Although somewhat surprised, I quickly started loving Mayle's newest thrill. In fact, I couldn't put it down. It must be said, however, that "Anything Considered" will not leave the same lasting, vivid impressions as did other words by Mayle.
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