Pros: warm, tasty and savory language. easy to digest chapters.
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: A chapter at a time, it makes a satisfying dessert. Gorge on the entire book at once and you will enjoy the surfeit normally known only to the French.
argonut's Full Review: Peter Mayle - A Year in Provence
Some books are for chewing, others are for observing from a distance and still others are for slathering all over the body. A few books, however, are for savoring. These books, rich in people, places and flavor make perfect companions for curling up on cold winter evenings. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle is the perfect cup of hot cocoa guaranteed to warm many a chilly evening.
Having taken a year off from New York City bliss to enter the incessant noise of the Middle East, I am finding myself desperately needing to hide from the noise and news that surrounds me. Luckily, the furnished apartment that we rented came complete with a few dozen books stacked neatly in a bookcase next to the kitchen. A Year in Provence was placed right in the middle of a variety of interesting cookbooks and for a while I assumed it was merely a small paperback filled with recipes from the southern region of France.
Once I had actually picked up the book I realized that my original assessment was not that far off. While the only recipe that the book contains is civet de renard a la facon massot (literally, Massot's fox stew) it does wonders at providing the correct ingredients for taking the mind away from the stews of life.
The first ingredient is deep, dark, lively people. Mayle, a Brit, uses the premise of purchasing a centuries-old farmhouse in the middle of the Luberon to introduce us to a veritable feast of savory characters. Whether describing his stout, hermit-like neighbor, Massot, his master of construction and destruction Didier or the endless arrays of chefs, cafe owners and patrons that Mayle and his wife encounter, Mayle brings out the subtlest nuances of profundity and wackiness in all of his characters.
The second ingredient is an appreciation of nature. The book is divided into twelve chapters, one for each month of the year. This neat and tidy division makes it easy to use the book for single evening excursions. If a blustery wind is howling down at your door and you want to go somewhere warm, try out July or August. If you want to commiserate with Mayle and see how even sun-drenched regions such as Provence must survive the deep mistral winds of winter, check out January or Februrary.
The final ingredient is the gustatory wonders that fill every other page. Any book that portends to describe France but does not spend at least sixty percent of its pages talking about the act of eating and drinking is not worth reading. A Year in Provence is so chock-full of yummy treats and daylong meals that I began to fear that I would gain weight just by reading its pages. Luckily, no such difficulties arose and instead I found a pleasant way to savor dozens of truffles, souffles and pates without gaining an inch around my middle.
In the end, A Year in Provence makes the perfect savory companion. Read a chapter at a time, it makes a satisfying dessert after life's weary battles. Gorge on the entire book at once and you will enjoy the unique, guilty pleasure of surfeit that the French must feel after every single meal. I can think of few better ways to spend the depths of winter this year.
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