Encore Provence [Import] [Paperback]

Peter Mayle (Author), Ruth Marten (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (January 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014029208X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140292084
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I laughed at the shotgun murder ... and felt good about it!, May 29, 2000

By 

Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France (Paperback)

Twelve years ago, Peter Mayle gifted us with "A Year In Provence", an account of this expatriate Brit's plunge into Gallic life, revolving around the pleasures and pitfalls of establishing a residence in rural France in an old country house that was somewhat of a "fixer-upper". Several Provence-related books later, and after a period of time living on Long Island, Peter and his wife return to the land they (and we) love. The result is "Encore Provence". The latest book doesn't hold together as well as "Year", the elements of the latter forming a more cohesive whole. However, "Encore" is certainly much better than some of his other books written in the interim.

In "Encore", Peter briefly revisits several topics covered in the original, as well as several more which were apparently overlooked. The range is quixotic: the cultivation of olive trees, an explanation of the three grades of virgin olive oil, the smelly art of selecting fragrances for designing perfumes, foie gras as the key to longevity, discovering the perfect corkscrew, touring Marseille, the almost-underworld of the village truffle market, how to execute the Provençal full shrug, the obligatory elements of the Provençal village, and, umm ..... the shotgun murder of an amorous meat cutter. And, of course, many hedonistic references to the local food and wine. All are treated in the utterly charming and dryly humorous Mayle-style that makes his books so delightful.

Bravo and merci beaucoup, Mr. Mayle! You've provided another enjoyable spice to my life.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More! More!, September 7, 2002

By 

Brett Benner (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France (Paperback)

Once again reading Peter Mayle is the next best thing to actually being there. Most of the book covers brand new territory in the South of France including the perfect corkscrew, an olfactory lesson, and the joys of olive oil, while also revisiting many of his favorite topics including the wonder of truffles and of course the wine and food.In fact my only slight beef with the book is his need to revisit some topics already covered in previous books, but it's so slight it hardly detracts from the overall joy the book manages to evoke.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A third helping, November 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France (Paperback)

I am a big fan of Peter Mayle's writings on this brilliant region of Southern France. As a backpacker a couple of years ago, I travelled through France extensively, and have a special fondness for Provence.

In Mayle's two previous books, A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence, he captured the essence of the characters and geography of the region beautifully. The reader was captivated by the author's ability to make the smallest occurrence an interesting event. I personally felt that Mayle did an excellent job of describing the cast of characters and their insights into French rural life.

Encore Provence does not have the same level of character development and I feel that this is a weakness in the book. I found that in some cases, well known characters from the previous books are either mentioned in passing or totally re-introduced to the reader. This lack of consistency is annoying.

One other gripe with the book is Mayle's constant reference to America (No offence to American readers intended). Obviously, this has been done to give a reference point to American readers and is also related to the fact that the author had just returned from the USA, but the cynic in me feels this was also done to boost American sales of the book.

Overall though, Encore Provence, is well written and contains enough of the amusing stories and observations that fans and Francophiles alike will enjoy.