Monday, January 10, 2011

Review: A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle

Publisher: Vintage
Publishing Date: June 4th, 1991
ISBN: 9780679731146
Pages: 207 pages

Summary from GoodReads:
A funny--and often hilarious--month-by-month account of the charms and frustrations of moving into an old French farmhouse in Provence and adapting to a very different way of life.

My Review:
This was a book club pick. This year we decided to pick a different genre for each month and this month is non-fiction. This book is a literary travel book. Mayle gives a month by month recap of his life in Provence, France. Most of this book centers on food and at times I found the description to be way too much. While I like a bit of description I found that this went overboard. I almost felt like the author didn't have anything else to write about. It seems that Mayle spent a quiet year relaxing, renovating and hosting guests and when it came time to write a book he needed a little filler. This means pages upon pages of listed different foods that he ate and at times he even goes further by explaining where some of the food comes from (ie truffles). I ahve to say that there were a few cute parts to the book but overall I found it to be a bit boring. The book is not long so it didn't take me very long to read otherwise I may have abandoned it. One positive thing I can say is that it did make me want to visit Provence. It just seems like a place were one can get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and really relax and enjoy a few glasses of wine. Overall I give this book 2.5 out of 5 stars.

1 comment:

  1. I've not started this one yet. You're not the first person in the book club to tell me it's boring. Good thing it's short :-)

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