A lively month-by-month account of a British expatriate's first
year in the Provencal region of southern France. When Mayle (a GQ
columnist) and his wife decided to move into a 200-year-old
farmhouse in the Vaucluse, they entered a world as different from
London as sunshine is from rain. Entertaining visits from a plumber
with a theory about everything (e.g., why "Mozart would have made a
formidable electrician"), inventing methods for luring elusive
masons back to work (the most successful ploy: invite them and
their more-conscientious wives to a champagne party), and attending
a foul-smelling midsummer goat-race (as explained by an experienced
bettor, "An empty goat is faster then a full goat") are just some
of the diversions that became commonplace to their lives. In
addition to local color, Mayle re-creates the Provencal countryside
- as well as describes meal after mouthwatering meal - with a flair
for seductive detail that never becomes offensively florid. And a
keen eye for the eccentric - along with a good-humored ability to
offer his own gaffes for entertainment - counterbalances a slightly
less appealing tendency to refer to "peasants" and scoff at other
less-genteel visitors to the region. Funny, evocative, and
perceptive - Mayle's first book is a delight. (Kirkus Reviews)
Enjoy an irresistible feast of humour and discover the joys of French rural living with Peter Mayle's bestselling, much-loved account of A Year In Provence.
Peter Mayle and his wife did what most of us only imagine doing when they made their long-cherished dream of a life abroad a reality: throwing caution to the wind, they bought a glorious two hundred year old farmhouse in the Lubéron Valley and began a new life. In a year that begins with a marathon lunch and continues with a host of gastronomic delights, they also survive the unexpected and often hilarious curiosities of rural life. From mastering the local accent and enduring invasion by bumbling builders, to discovering the finer points of boules and goat-racing, all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life are conjured up in this enchanting portrait.
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