Anything Considered : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Should be sold as a script.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which was my first introduction to Peter Mayle. It has caused me to go and purchase all of his other books...non-fiction as well. I think this would make a great movie, provided that the producers stuck to the manuscript.

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Book !
Review: If you love the Riviera, then I suggest that you read this book straight away. The plot is stylish and intelligent, two adjectives rarely used to describe most books today. It would make a fantastic film in English or French. A J Coles London, England

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Summary: Can't afford to visit France? Buy this book instead.
Review: Into reading Booker stuff? Forget it. However, if you like an easy going read that does not demand , I can recommend this as one of the best Peter has crafted. I could not put it down and managed to hoover up all of it's pages in less than one beach-day. You will be able to see, hear, smell and touch France if they read it. If you can't afford to fly to France , buy this book and save some money!

Rating:
Summary: Knopf's Work, copyright 1950
Review: Let me first say that I have enjoyed reading Mayle's books on Provence. His description of the area is to be admired. However, a book that I read subsequent to his earlier works but before reading Anything Considered raises questions regarding this author's creative skill. Or at least questions regarding Knopf trying to cash in on a popular writer who may possess a gift for observation but little for origination. The first book to note is "Elephant's Work" by E.C. Bentley. Like Mayle's AC, it was published by Knopf, but 46yrs earlier in 1950. Instead of a Brit in France operating under a pseudonym (Bennett, aka Poe), we have an American in the UK suffering amnesia (Severn, aka Taylor). This character w/o known identity becomes involved in the affairs of an affable crime boss who has developed the secret recipe for manmade diamonds. Wait a minute, if we just change that to truffles... Give the boss a loyal friend/bodyguard (Dr. Barlow becomes Mayle's Chou-Chou), a worthy opponent (Ketch becomes Enzo Tuzzi), a secret laboratory, and a motherly housekeeper/maid (Mrs. McBean turned Georgette) and, as they say in Provence, voila. Interestingly, the charming crime leader in Bentley's novel was called The General. (Hey, that sounds familiar. Ever read Hotel Pastis?) Two stars for Mayle and his editors.

Rating:
Summary: Knopf's Work, copyright 1950
Review: Let me first say that I have enjoyed reading Mayle's books on Provence. His description of the area is to be admired. However, a book that I read subsequent to his earlier works but before reading Anything Considered raises questions regarding this author's creative skill. Or at least questions regarding Knopf trying to cash in on a popular writer who may possess a gift for observation but little for origination. The first book to note is "Elephant's Work" by E.C. Bentley. Like Mayle's AC, it was published by Knopf, but 46yrs earlier in 1950. Instead of a Brit in France operating under a pseudonym (Bennett, aka Poe), we have an American in the UK suffering amnesia (Severn, aka Taylor). This character w/o known identity becomes involved in the affairs of an affable crime boss who has developed the secret recipe for manmade diamonds. Wait a minute, if we just change that to truffles... Give the boss a loyal friend/bodyguard (Dr. Barlow becomes Mayle's Chou-Chou), a worthy opponent (Ketch becomes Enzo Tuzzi), a secret laboratory, and a motherly housekeeper/maid (Mrs. McBean turned Georgette) and, as they say in Provence, voila. Interestingly, the charming crime leader in Bentley's novel was called The General. (Hey, that sounds familiar. Ever read Hotel Pastis?) Two stars for Mayle and his editors.

Rating:
Summary: Mayle's Adventure Not a Truffling Affair
Review: Light, amusing tv movie of the week fare from Peter Mayle. I had never read Mayle before and was delighted with this cheeky, sly caper. I can picture Pierce Brosnan as the down-on-his luck but still suave Englishman Bennett trying to figure out how to avoid the bad guys but keep the money and the girl. A great romp.

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Summary: Adventure in paradise
Review: This is a frothy, fun, food-filled adventure suspense story set in the author's deliciously described Provence along the Mediterranean littoral. An end-of-his-wits ex-pat Britisher accepts an innocuously luxurious job helping to dodge a rich crook's taxes and then his life turns potentially ugly. Mayle never realizes the ugliness; despite the ominous events no one is actually damaged, for the tone and intent is an appetizing entertainment rather than engrossing suspense. The villains are sinister and smooth, the locals are crotchety, while the victims are an engaging couple in love and on the run...and as larcenous at heart as any of the crooks and cops. Peter Mayle has an urbane light touch, almost tongue-in-cheek, but precisely expressed in crystal-clear prose and well-turned with finely crafted sentences. The pb is pleasant to hold, with a flexible letherette feel and generous typography, a true trade pb rather than a pulp novel, although ultimately no more satisfying than a meal of meringue.

Rating:
Summary: Mayle strikes again, another winner!
Review: This novel has the same enchanting characters that all of Mayle's books have, with a bit of drama and intrigue thrown in to spice things up. If you've read "A Year in Provence" or any of the other Mayle classics, you know the importance of food, wine, women, cafes, and gourmet restaurants. These are all here, as well, along with truffle hunters, the high-life of southern France, lots of nasty characters to despise, and a lovable hero and sidekick to root for. I love Mayle's work (fiction or non-fiction), and quickly snap up everything that comes out. This work is no exception: very fun, lively, enjoyable reading.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable lightweight suspense
Review: This was my first experience reading Peter Mayle, who is best known for nonfiction about Southern France, the setting for this novel. The title comes from an ad placed by English expatriate Bennett (who only uses his last name). Bennett finds himself short on money as his real estate business falters. A sybarite without any particular direction in life, he advertises for unusual employment, adding "anything considered but marriage." One of the replies to this ad is from Julian Poe, a rather sinister English aristocrat whose wealth comes from unspecified sources. Bennett is told all he has to do is live in Poe's apartment in Monaco. This will enable Poe to avoid French taxes and allow Bennett to live in luxury. Things quickly become complicated, of course. Poe is actually part of a scheme to produce truffles,a frightfully expensive but apparently delicious (but all but impossible to grow) fungus. The plot from here turns into an unlikely, tongue-in-cheek spy thriller. Bennett finds an assistant and ally in Anna, a beautiful and resourceful ex-soldier. The two are pursued by several competing gangs of criminals as well as the French police. There is never a fear that anything really bad will happen to the pair. In many ways, the plot is secondary to the lush descriptions of the countryside and the gourmet meals favored by Bennett. I enjoyed it with some reservations. This is the sort of light reading favored by the highbrow set. Mayle is obviously very much enamored of a slow-paced, leisurely life where no one works very hard and the countryside is the material for landscapes, or at least postcards. The town where Bennett lives, Saint Martin le Vieux, is a rich person's idealization of the simple but robust rustic life. The book is very readable and the plot, though deliberately improbable, unfolds smoothly. I enjoyed it, and those not afflicted with my modern urban cynicism will probably enjoy it even more.

Rating:
Summary: Shallow Tale Of Scamps & Models In European Truffle Caper
Review: While I found the story and the characters to be sexist and ridiculous, I really enjoyed Mayle's style of prose. He seems a clever chap, writing bad American genre fiction for motivations that I hope are merely financial. Tim Curry's voice livens the tale up a bit as well, doing right-on accents (except the Japanese one) of every sort of ethnicity, and adding a definite verve and maybe an itty-bitty smirk to the text. Overall, listening to this story on my walkman as I drudged away at work brightened up the day considerably.