In this work for armchair and actual travellers alike, the author records the events of a year in Provence, from foie gras and burst pipes in January, through the Tour de France preparations and the influx of tourists, the grape "vendange" and the mushroom season, to the Christmas gastronomie splurge.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Who hasn't dreamed, on a mundane Monday or frowzy Friday, of chucking it all in and packing off to the south of France? Provençal cookbooks and guidebooks entice with provocatively fresh salads and azure skies, but is it really all Côtes-du-Rhône and fleur-de-lis? Author Peter Mayle answers that question with wit, warmth, and wicked candor in A Year in Provence, the chronicle of his own foray into Provençal domesticity.
Beginning, appropriately enough, on New Year's Day with a divine luncheon in a quaint restaurant, Mayle sets the scene and pits his British sensibilities against it. "We had talked about it during the long gray winters and the damp green summers," he writes, "looked with an addict's longing at photographs of village markets and vineyards, dreamed of being woken up by the sun slanting through the bedroom window." He describes in loving detail the charming, 200-year-old farmhouse at the base of the Lubéron Mountains, its thick stone walls and well-tended vines, its wine cave and wells, its shade trees and swimming pool--its lack of central heating. Indeed, not 10 pages into the book, reality comes crashing into conflict with the idyll when the Mistral, that frigid wind that ravages the Rhône valley in winter, cracks the pipes, rips tiles from the roof, and tears a window from its hinges. And that's just January.
In prose that skips along lightly, Mayle records the highlights of each month, from the aberration of snow in February and the algae-filled swimming pool of March through the tourist invasions and unpredictable renovations of the summer months to a quiet Christmas alone. Throughout the book, he paints colorful portraits of his neighbors, the Provençaux grocers and butchers and farmers who amuse, confuse, and befuddle him at every turn. A Year in Provence is part memoir, part homeowner's manual, part travelogue, and all charming fun. --L.A. Smith
They had been there often as tourists. They had cherished the dream of someday living all year under the Provencal sun. And suddenly it happened.
Here is the month-by-month account of the charms and frustrations that Peter Mayle and his wife -- and their two large dogs -- experience their first year in the remote country of the Luberon restoring a two-centuries-old stone farmhouse that they bought on sight. From coping in January with the first mistral, which comes howling down from the Rhone Valley and wreaks havoc with the pipes, to dealing as the months go by with the disarming promises and procrastination of the local masons and plumbers, Peter Mayle delights us with his strategies for survival. He relishes the growing camaraderie with his country neighbors -- despite the rich, soupy, often impenetrable patois that threatens to separate them. He makes friends with boar hunters and truffle hunters, a man who eats foxes, and another who bites dentists; he discovers the secrets of handicapping racing goats and of disarming vipers. And he comes to dread the onslaught of tourists who disrupt his tranquillity.
In this often hilarious, seductive book Peter Mayle manages to transport us info all the earthy pleasures of Provencal life and lets us live vicariously in a tempo governed by seasons, not by days. George Lang, who was smitten, suggests: "Get a glass of marc, lean back in your most comfortable chair, and spend a delicious year in Provence."
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 6.39
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Hardback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR001226329
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. In this work for armchair and actual travellers alike, the author records the events of a year in Provence, from foie gras and burst pipes in January, through the Tour de France preparations and the influx of tourists, the grape "vendange" and the mushroom season, to the Christmas gastronomie splurge. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR000550574
Quantity: 4 available
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Condition: Very Good. Leslie Forbes (illustrator). This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9780241122204
Quantity: 10 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Leslie Forbes (illustrator). Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00047514357
Quantity: 4 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Acceptable. Leslie Forbes (illustrator). Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00051977453
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Leslie Forbes (illustrator). Very Good condition. Shows only minor signs of wear, and very minimal markings inside (if any). 0.75. Seller Inventory # 353-0241122201-vrg
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom
Condition: Good. Leslie Forbes (illustrator). Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. Seller Inventory # wbs3449013190
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Condition: Very Good. Leslie Forbes (illustrator). Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780241122204
Quantity: 10 available
Seller: Goldstone Books, Llandybie, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Leslie Forbes (illustrator). All orders are dispatched within one working day from our UK warehouse. We've been selling books online since 2004! We have over 750,000 books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. Seller Inventory # mon0005144572
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Reuseabook, Gloucester, GLOS, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Used; Good. Leslie Forbes (illustrator). Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Grubby book may have mild dirt or some staining, mostly on the edges of pages. Seller Inventory # CHL3968378
Quantity: 1 available