Rating: 
Summary: so bad I returned it after 3 chapters
Review: Skip this one. I am very, very disappointed. Mr. Mayle...next book please take your time
Rating:
Summary: Rerun Provence is more like it
Review: I really enjoyed several of Mayle's previous books. This one was just awful.... erratic, pointless, seemingly-rehashed material from some of his earlier books. It must have taken him at least a week to write it. This book should be used if you need to get to sleep.
Rating: 
Summary: A pale comparison to its predecessors
Review: I enjoyed Mr. Mayle's previous books on Provence. He has a wonderfully witty sense of humor, and his portrayal of human foibles is accurate and at the same time warm-hearted. However, not much of these qualities appeared in this book. He has flashes of the brilliance that appeared in the previous books, but those flashes are few and far between. Instead we get a lot of rambling thoughts and story-telling based on speculation rather than actual incidents, resulting in a watered-down version of the previous books. It appears to me that Mr. Mayle is counting his previous successes to carry him through this one. It may work this time, but I'll be a little more cautions before I jump at the next book he puts out.
Rating: 
Summary: This is Good Stuff
Review: Alright, so this isn't the first time that Mr. Mayle has written about Provence. Authors tend to write about the regions they adore--William Faulkner comes immediately to mind. The point is that Mr. Mayle writes terrifically well. He makes the reader (or at least me) laugh out loud. This book is especially nice because Mr. Mayle gives us some of his own opinions on things (could it be that he is becoming less English and More French?) In any event, this is an exceptionally well written book and I heartily encourage any and all to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Peter Mayle Strikes Again (almost).
Review: Peter Mayle's new book - Encore Provence, is worse than his brothers (A Year in Provance, Toujores Provenes), but is still one of the best books that I've ever read. You can see in this book that mr. Mayle is already tired from Provence. That's why he left to the States. I even flew to Provence (Because of his books) in July, and even after he told us in the book that it was a "folly" to live in the States, I asked about him, and some people told me that he went back to the states... But after all - Peter is Peter, and his stories are full of humor and charm. If you have to buy one book - Do not buy this one. buy "A year in Provence". But if you have the all series of Peter's books, Buy it. it's worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, though mebbe a few outtakes?
Review: Mr Mayle's love affair with Provence is alive and well in his latest book, "Encore Provence," which perhaps lacks some of the sparkle and charm of "A Year in Provence" and "Toujours, Provence," because there is not much that can be startlingly new to those who enjoyed the first two. I have a distinct feeling that some of the material included is material that amount to outtakes.But I enjoyed the book anyway, especially the chapter on truffling, and, of course, the story of the unsolved murder of the handsome butcher. I wonder if it is Mr Mayle's quirky humor that does not sit well with those who have panned the book. As always he takes aim at a few sacred cows, and many of them, this time, are located in America (he had lived a few years in New York). I doubt that he will ever be a fave rave of the politically correct crowd. And there is, of course, the chapter devoted to refuting the published word of then-New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl, that, "Provence doesn't exist." As Ms Reichl formerly worked at the LA Times, where her oh-so-precious reviews nauseated me for years, I think a something like this was long overdue, and rather than Mr Mayle's gentle roast, I would have preferred a genuine hatchet job by, say, Hunter S. Thompson on very dangerous drugs.
Rating:
Summary: Done in the typically humorous and insightful Mayle style
Review: I surely enjoyed this third work of Peter Mayle's, however his field of study does seem to be getting a little aged. Sometimes I could have sworn I read the same anecdote in his first two memoir/travel dispatches. I still believe in Mayle's ability to relive his world in stunning realism and wit, though. Generally another good book, but maybe he could transfer to some other remote area of our world.
Rating: 
Summary: An Enjoyable Read
Review: Mayle's earlier works prompted us to explore the Provence area in 1993 and helped to encourage us to purchase a home there in 1995. His latest endeavor, Encore Provence, will provide the reader with further insights into why this region of the world is so very special to Mr. Mayle and to us.
Rating:
Summary: I felt submerged in the culture of Provence.
Review: I have read Mayle's first two books about Provence and was eagerly awaiting this one. As I began reading I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a "story line"-- but after the first chapter I was fullly ensconsed in the book. Mr. Mayle presented a slightly different twist this time--not as much dialogue but much cultural information in an informative, entertaining manner. I LOVED IT AND COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!!
Rating:
Summary: Not Mayle at His Best
Review: As an avid reader of everything Mr. Mayle's written, the Provence books and novels, I was very disappointed in Encore. There was little depth and warmth to the stories, little of Mr. Mayle's brilliant humor and a general feeling of lack of enthusiasm. The stories are more in the nature of reports than humorous tales. Everyone's entitled to a bad day--I hope Mr. Mayle writes another on par with his earlier Provence works and that he's not running out of steam.
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