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A Year in Provence Author: Peter Mayle Trade Paperback Usually ships in 24 hours Delivery is subject to warehouse availability. Shipping delays may occur if we receive more orders than stock. Our Price: $18.00 You could save $1.80 (10%) with our iREWARDS Program Ordering is 100% secure . Spend $39 or more at chapters.indigo.ca and your order ships free!. ( Details ) Dimensions: 224 Pages | ISBN: 0679731148 Published: June 1991 | Published by Random House Canada Our customers who bought this item also bought: French Toast for Breakfast: Declaring... (1995) Book ~ Mary A. Cohen History Of The Arab Peoples (1992) Book ~ Albert H. Hourani chapters.indigo Review This is Peter Mayle's unforgettable account of the year he and his wife spent in the south of France. From dealing with fickle local contractors to handicapping goat races and sampling local culinary delights, A Year In Provence is an hilarious month-by-month record of the charms and frustrations of moving into an old French farmhouse. Find out why this delightful book has been a New York Times best-seller for three years. From the Publisher 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 the Author Peter Mayle spent fifteen years in the advertising business, first as a copywriter and then as a reluctant executive, before escaping Madison Avenue in 1975 to write books. His work has been translated into seventeen languages, and he has contributed to the London Sunday Times, the Financial Times, and the Independent, as well as Gentlemen’s Quarterly and Esquire. A Year in Provence won the British Book Awards "Best Travel Book of the Year." Peter Mayle and his wife live in Provence. Tips for your Reading Group The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are designed to enhance your group’s reading of Peter Mayle’s delightful books about life in Provence, where he and his wife bought a two-hundred-year-old stone farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Lubéron Mountains. 1. How well did Mayle’s frequent trips to Provence as a tourist prepare him for the reality of residing there? What were some of the initial surprises he and his wife encountered? 2. How does the form of the book--a month-by-month journal--enhance the immediacy of Mayle’s observations and draw the reader into his experiences? How do the changing seasons mirror Mayle’s own adjustment to his new environment? 3. Mayle writes that neighbors take on an importance in the country that they don’t have in the city [p. 6]. How do his relationships with Faustin, Massot, Menicucci, and the other local workmen reflect this? Does the fact that Mayle is a foreigner influence the way he is treated? How do the men working on his house endear themselves to Mayle, despite his continuing frustrations with their casual attitude about completing the job? 4. Mayle notes there are "two areas of endeavor in which France leads the world-- bureaucracy and gastronomy" [p. 23]. What particular characteristics of the French does Mayle bring to light in stories about the bureaucracy involved in buying the house, a car, insurance, and other necessities? 5. The influx of tourists begins in May and reaches a high point in August. How does his status as a resident affect Mayle’s attitudes about friends and acquaintances who, as he himself once did, try to take in everything Provence has to offer during a short holiday? Does he learn things about himself and the life he has chosen by looking through the eyes of visitors? To what extent are his own perceptions influenced by his English upbringing? 6. How does the Mayles’ party for the workmen and their wives, as well as their own Christmas dinner at a local restaurant, put the events of the year into context and serve as a coda to the book as a whole? Reader Reviews Average Reader Review: Number of Reviews: 4 1. A Good Armchair Jaunt Reviewer: Marthe Mersault from Canada Date: 8/15/2000 4:49:00 PM I quite liked this book. It was recommended to me by a friend, who warned, "It'll make you ravenous!" Indeed. Mayle is as fond of the vino and cuisine as he is of the countryside, and exquisite descriptions abound. Might be a good thing to first stock up on a crusty baguette, quality olive oil, imported cheese, and a hearty red, unless you enjoy torturing yourself. Must confess I haven't yet been to the south of France (sigh), and so cannot report on the author's accuracy. But as far as armchair travel goes, this is a satisfying read. Most rewarding, I think, are the character sketches of the people he encounters: the testy, eccentric neighbour; the various workmen brought to the villa; his imposing British houseguests. Amusing, light-hearted stuff. 2. A Year in Provence Reviewer: Janice from North Vancouver (janis@smartt.com) Date: 5/31/1999 5:33:23 PM I read this book during the hot, sunny days of July and I loved it. It helped to take me away to the laid back, relaxing, European charm of Provence. I could taste the olive oil soaked crusty bread and see the dark and sweaty but good-hearted neighbor that Mayle so deliciously and meticulously describes. I found the situations of the couple in the story farcical and light-hearted and I laughed at the husband's exceptional wit and ability to poke fun at himself. I thought this would make a great movie with Hugh Grant in the leading role, as he is so good in light-hearted comedies. Peter Mayle's descriptive narrative took me away to his beautiful villa and in my imagination I could appreciate the hardy generosity of his French community. It will definitely make you want to plan a trip there…by fantasy or reality. I would recommend reading this book with the goal to visit a beautiful place; relax, pick a hot sunny day deep in the summer and sip on a nice glass of red wine…you will love this trip. 3. A Year in Provence Reviewer: Tanya from Rexdale Date: 3/8/1999 9:15:49 PM Go to France by all means. Drink the wine and eat the cheese. Follow the bike races if that's your style, but do not read this book about Mayle's experience of the glorified south of France. He is a Brit whose trite renderings of French behaviour and morals are not only disrespectful, but insulting. His style is flippant, painfully debonair and not in the least funny. I can't believe they made a TV series from his completely self-indulgent journals. 4. A Year in Provence Reviewer: Kimberley from Nova Scotia Date: 12/17/1998 6:48:32 PM A great read! Written by British ex-pat Peter Mayle, it is a month-by-month account of the joys and trials of living in Provence. Mayle uses a refreshing choice of words and metaphors throughout. The characters are eccentric and the events hilarious. You too will want to buy a villa in France! Info Desk iREWARDS Program About Our Company Affiliate Opportunities Careers Contact Us Corporate Sales Gift Certificates Privacy Policy Shipping Rates Store Locations Wish List chapters.indigo.ca: books Shopping Bag | Account Centre | Wish List | Help iREWARDS Program | Corporate Sales | Store Locations All Products Books DVD Video Gifts Books Advanced Search Search Tips About this Book chapters.indigo Review From the Publisher About the Author Read from the Book Tips for your Reading Group Reader Reviews Social Science Anthropology Archaeology Crimes and Criminals Cultural Studies Demography Disability Discrimination and Race Relations Folklore and Mythology Gender Studies Gerontology Human Geography Human Services Methodology Philanthropy and Charity Pornography Social Work Sociology Statistics Volunteer Work Browse Books View all Categories . 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