Rating: 
Summary: Passport to Pleasure
Review: French Lessons may sound like something that should come with a syllabus, but it is in fact the latest witty look at French culture from British advertising executive turned writer, Peter Mayle. Page after delicious page, this book is pure enjoyment!Even if you haven't read Mayle's other wonderful books (which I highly recommend), this is a great read for anyone who loves French food, French wine and has a good-natured sense of humor about the people who both produce and consume it. It's like a trip to France without the inconvenience of transatlantic travel. If you're a Francophile like I am, you'll be laughing hysterically and pulling out your passport at the same time! If you are planning a trip to France, get the book as reference material, and a great way to get excited about your trip. On our honeymoon, my husband and I used Mayle's books as a guide to Provence and had a great time on our pilgrimage. If you are going to Paris and not the countryside however, I recommend reading "Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik. Mayle is in love with the real French, not the Parisians (and if you've ever traveled both places you know exactly what I mean) so he spends his time in Burgundy, Provence and other countryside areas. One warning to the serious reader though, you'll be done in a couple of hours with this book. You'll fully enjoy those hours, but it is very much a quick read. I think of books like French Lessons as a vacation for the brain. It's great fun and not much thinking. So give that big brain a rest and pull up a fork for what I consider one of the best books about life in France published to date.
Rating:
Summary: An informed and engaging guide to proper etiquette
Review: French Lessons: Adventures With Knife, Fork, And Corkscrew by Francophile and culinary expert Peter Mayle is an informed and engaging guide to proper etiquette with respect to the French culinary culture. From what to wear, to instructions on gracefully wielding dining utensils, to the author's personal and anecdotal stories of gourmet delights, French Lessons is the next best thing to enjoying sumptuous French cuisine itself! Also highly recommended are Peter Mayle's previous books on French culture and country, A Year In Provence; Anything Considered; Chasing Cezanne; Toujours Provence; and Encore Provence.
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Summary: Delightful gastronomic tour of France!
Review: Here's a book that entertains in many ways. It succeeds as a travelogue, as a food book, and as humorous writing. One can almost see the expressions of offended Fenchmen, revel in anticipation of bountiful and unusual food exquisitely prepared by some of France's fine chefs, as well as end up with an almost belly-ache or hangover. It's great fun to learn about French food and beverage favorites such as truffles, escargot, and burgundy with such an entertaining tour host as the British Peter Mayle. He tells about the quirks of the French with such devotion, one cannot help but love them despite their elitist behavior regarding the preparation, celebration, and enjoyment of food and drink.
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Summary: What's not to like? Surely not french food!
Review: I have read and enjoyed most of Mr. Mayle's books on Provence and was eager to read this one, especially since I was traveling to Provence the following week. Yes, at times the stories (a different event per chapter) may seem a bit "too cute", but in my limited experience from two trips to France, he is right on the money. The French have such a passion for food that it spills over into all parts of their lives. Food (and of course drink) is always a celebration - whether it's a simple lunch at a roadside cafe or a 5-course meal. The final chapter is about the Guide Michelin and his visit to the restaurant at the Hotel D'Europe in Arles - which has been rated for more than a hundred years now. Days after reading this chapter, my wife and I were dining there. One of the best meals of our lives. Read the book, laugh, shake your head and then plan a trip to France!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing: Is Mayle Running Out of Ideas?
Review: I have read every Mayle book and thus eagerly bought French Lessons with the hope that the downward trend of Mayle's efforts would be turned around. It was not, and it is getting worse. Mayle has been coasting on the extraordinary A Year in Provence for many years. He seems to have lost a good deal of his wit and cleverness in French Lessons. One gets the impression that he was pressed for another volume (which would certainly be a best seller irrespective of its merits due to Mayle's prior successes), had neither inspiration nor energy to maintain his prior efforts, and figured he might as well arrange for and then write about a few potentially enjoyable--and tax-deductible--excursions in France. He may have had fun, but the reader really doesn't receive his or her proper share of it. For a much better book of this genre, try Pasquale's Nose, Extra Virgin, or Driving Over Lemons.
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Summary: We need farmers with aristocratic chickens and cows
Review: I listened to "French Lessons" on tape, the unabridged production read by Simon Jones. What pleasant few days of commuting those were! I had never read any of Peter Mayle's books before; I had never even read this genre. I found this book in our local library by a complete coincidence and truly enjoyed every minute of listening to it. I liked the combination of the entertaining style and the array of very interesting facts. I share with the author the pleasure in eating good food. I agree whole-heartedly with Peter Mayle's opinion on the critical importance of the quality of the ingredients you use in the cooking process. For example, the chapter on "Aristocrats with Blue Feet" brought to my mind the memories of my childhood summer vacations and specifically how my grandfather's cows "respected themselves". Every evening, before the cows came home from the pasture (where they were all day with all the other cows from the village grazing on the shamrock), my grandfather prepared a pail of fresh icy cold water straight from the well for each cow. The pails had to be super clean and nobody was allowed to drink from those pails (which we, city kids, loved doing - pretending we were cows; and which the farm dog loved doing as well). If a cow as much as smelled that someone drank from her pail, she would shake her head, look at our grandfather with her beautiful eyes, and - without having a sip - go straight to her barn. Those cows' walk was almost as "stately and deliberate" as Peter Mayle's chickens' and even though they did not "pause between steps, holding one foot in the air", they respected themselves and expected the same from their farmer. The point of my story? My grandfather would never even think about offering them the feed made from dead cows' bones and other parts. That would be unimaginable. No wonder the cows all over the world are getting mad. I wonder if the following two situations could have happened to me in France. At a major North-American chain café I asked a lady behind the counter if the pastry presented behind the glass was fresh (unfortunately, I had doubts just by looking at it). Her answer: "Let me check. O yes! It is fresh, it was delivered yesterday." Or in a major North-American sports lounge, we were offered frozen chicken breast in tomato sauce, and after complaining to the waiter, we had it reheated in the microwave (talking about insult to the stomach). Peter Mayle's book is a true breath of fresh air in this world of the contaminated food and the appalling standards in some of our "good reputation" restaurants and cafés. I wish more people understood what he is talking about so that one day I will find quality food at my corner grocery store rather then having to drive 20km one way to a European bakery and 25 km in the opposite direction to a European meat store to find edible food.
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Summary: This is a great travel book!
Review: I loved it. Peter Mayle is funny, adventurous, witty and blends right into the French lifestyles. He is game to go anywhere and try anything and he takes you along for the ride. I enjoyed every page.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great travel book!
Review: I loved it. Peter Mayle is funny, adventurous, witty and blends right into the French lifestyles. He is game to go anywhere and try anything and he takes you along for the ride. I enjoyed every page.
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Summary: Just the beginning!
Review: I read this book by Peter Mayle before I discovered any of his previous writings and was hooked immediately! French Lessons is the latest by this engaging author on his life and experiences in the South of France and is necessary reading for anyone interested in French fare, life in France or just an incredible experience (vicarious or literal) in International travel. I love this book, as I did all others by the same author, bought many copies this last holiday season for all of my friends and family and Everyone felt the same way as I! You really need to read this book, as well as "A Year in Provence" and all the other wonderful editions by Peter Mayle. The only complaint I can voice is that there are not enough other volumes available today, as this is one of those books that you do not wish to ever end and you just can't get enough of Peter Mayle!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but not as good as the Provence books
Review: I returned with hope to this latest book by Peter Mayle, since the previous ones have been about the best drive-time listening I've found. This book isn't quite up to the previous standard but is well worthwhile. Instead of life in Provence, this tome focuses on dining throughout France, covering areas from snails to frog's legs to truffles to the world-famous Michelin guide. Mayle isn't short on anecdotes, but the book reads a bit more like a collection of restaurant reviews, albeit very entertaining ones, than a memoir.
Simon Jones was initially a jarring change from the voice of David Case that I had previously considered the voice of Peter Mayle. Jones lacks the precision of Case but has a folksy, conversational tone that Case's "snooty, cruel voice" lacks.
As I said, still an enjoyable book but not quite the marvelous collection of stories and anecdotes that the Provence books are.
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