A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
Adult Non-Fiction
"Peter Mayle tells what it is like to realize a long-cherished dream and actually move into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the remote country of the Luberon with his wife and two large dogs. He endures January's frosty mistral as it comes howling down the Rhone Valley, discovers the secrets of goat racing through the middle of town, and delights in the glorious regional cuisine."
This book was an all-expenses-paid vacation to Provence, France, without the annoyance of standing through security, enduring a long, claustrophobic plane ride, and memorizing how to say the 'lady's room' from a tiny French guidebook. The best way to travel, in my opinion. And what a trip it was.
We get to see the back-roads, forests, and restaurants of France that a normal tourist wouldn't know existed. But it's really the characters and the narrator who are the heartbeat of this novel. In his witty, warm way, Mayle introduces us to his lecture-loving, humorous plumber, the inexperienced hunters who dress like they're experienced, and the various aspects of truffle-hunting.
Mayle has an entertaining way of sharing an anecdote about something that seems like an ordinary event, like a celebratory dinner, and shaping it with humor until it settles on your mind like a cozy blanket that you don't want to take off because it feels so good.
The author gives us a rich and real picture of Provence without dipping into criticism or dull facts. He takes you, month by month, through the year in this perplexing, wonderful place until you feel like it's your home as well. The only aspect in this book that I had a hard time with was the usage of French words. I didn't have a problem with him sprinkling them in, since he is in France, after all, but several times he didn't mention the meaning of a particular word, leaving me in the dark about the point he was trying to tell. This did not occur often, however, so I still award this novel a 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it for 16 year olds and up.
Also, bring an empty stomach to A Year in Provence, because many of his anecdotes revolve around food!
*Mayle has also written a novel titled, My Twenty-Five Years in Provence, which I will definitely find and proceed to devour. Another cheap (if not free) trip to France!
