Customer Reviews

Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Whether or not the lifestyle described here is true or not, as pointed out by some of the other reviewers, matters not. M. Arbor obviously cherishes the existence he writes about so lovingly.
Arbor lingers over descriptions of what he terms a typical French day. The reader senses his exuberance shining through the pages as they read about his breakfast, his time at a friend's garden, his love of fresh vegetables newly picked, shopping in the tiny family run French specialty stores that provide only the best food--all preservative free. As he sings the praises of the perfect roast chicken--stuffed with a piece of simple French bread and crowned with Provence herbs and root vegetables--I have tried this recipe and it is very good, your mouth will literally water. He urges the reader to delight in the little moments of life as defined by family and friends, good food and great wine. His glee is as ambiant as the light filterng through his morning window and as palpable as savoring the home-made pain du Chocolat he describes for an extra special afternoon snack. What he describes is indeed idyllic--a veritable fairytale land where all the senses are sated. Real? Who cares? It sounds wonderful to me. I felt as if I had spent a week with Arbor in his tranquil French village.

In fact, just reading about it all allowed me to plunge back in time to when I myself was a little girl and my mother sent my brother and I to a garden of a neighbor to pick zucchini blossoms. My mother would fry this in a simple batter---oh what a marvelous treat. If not for Arbor's reminisciences, I would have never remembered how wonderful the whole experience was or how much I attribute such things to the real meaning of "home".

On a more realistic level, Arbor's lifestyle may be difficult to reproduce here in the United States where we rely more on cars and supermarkets to shop rather than applying the "faire les courses" mentality of the French way of marketing. Perhaps here in New Orleans, or in other large cities, this is easier to accomplish, but I would say those who live in a more suburban or rural existence where bakeries, patisseries, chacuteries, cremeries, etc. simply do not exist or have been replaced by large supermarket chains promoting convenience rather than quality, will have a more difficult time of advocating Arbor's lifestyle. Of course, anyone can find ways to shrug off the tension of American life at any given moment by simply stopping to smell the coffee and enjoying smaller pleasant moments of life instead of always expecting the biggest events that we are unrealistically conditioned to believe we deserve.

Arbor's message is simple and at the same time lovely to read about: Say "no" to stress--Simply smile and enjoy--eat well, drink well and cherish those that make up our individual worlds. A wonderful glimpse into what could be possible for those who crave a more European lifestyle. Also recommended are Will Clower's Fat Fallacy and Anne Barone's Chic and Slim Series--these books are recommended for those who are interested in how the French manage to stay so slim after indulging in all that greatly satisfying food.

I don't know whether everything in this book is true. I've never been to France. However, I know that I want it to be true, because what Mr. Arbor has written is so incredibly beautiful and inviting. When he describes how the French approach life with more deliberation and less haste, I sighed. I want that for myself. I want intimate dinners of well cooked food with well chosen friends. I want to cook a few things well, and be able to linger at the table, comfortable in the knowledge that, though the fare may be simple, it is pleasurable. Life in our country can be incredibly stressful. Borrowing a few pages from Joie de Vivre can only enhance my life, and it really is a lovely read. Sigh, I love beautiful books.

Arbor's book is an evocation of a way of life that only a few French people today achieve (especially in Paris, which is now about 65% wealthy executives and a lesser assortment of truly poor people). But social reality is not the point of the book. Arbor does really capture what many French people imagine their lives to be, despite the messy reality that includes: infuriating customer service and poor availability of products and services (even French people often get angry, when they are not stuffing it inside), open social conflicts and overt racism that many "apolitical" Americans would find exhausting or shocking, and extreme cultivation of privacy and disregard for others in public. Actual French people are as varied as we are--and the stories they tell to themselves (and Arbor translates one important one here for us) are interesting to hear and we can learn from them--both as a clue to French ideals of the pleasure-filled, simple life and as a restorative from our own excesses.

It is, I believe, true that many French executives have a much more relaxed life than the American bourgeoisie, although many are also nervous, stressed and unpleasant. There are wonderful food choices (if you can afford them, something increasingly difficult for working French people). "Low-fat" IS under 20% for many foods. I actually found many French people to be too skinny and to look unhealthy and washed out--and of course some are fat but not normally as obese as we are used to seeing here. More importantly, the ideal that Arbor describes circulates widely in France and accounts for some of the different choices in life that the French make and the different emphasis that many place on their experiences.

I read Arbor's book before living in Paris for six months and, indeed, my consumption of his evocations and internalization of his values caused a few French people to remark on how well socialized I was (until they knew me and my heathen ways, of course). I realized that France is as far from Paradise as here, but in a slightly different direction. The ideals that Arbor sets out here in a lovely, idealized style have something to do with this: Arbor's "France" and his suggestions are healthy and even wholesome--why shouldn't we all live a 'beautiful' and slower-paced life? Why not incorporate a sense of beauty and the love of pleasure as a fundamental? And, as Arbor suggests, this has more to do with emphasis and choices already available than with running to France to smell the lavender (although that would be nice!). A "really good fried egg" tastes as good in Kentucky as it does in Paris. One should also remember that not all aspects of American life are worthless--our cultural struggles for convenience and accessibility has led to much better services and access for handicapped people than will ever be possible in Paris. If you are wheel-chair bound, or have a hard-time walking (or anything), you can pretty much write France off the map; French handicapped people look to the US as a Mecca for such services as we make available here.

While "plaisir" is overused in France as a marketing theme for everything from cheap sandwiches to toilet tissue in the same way that images of home and reconstructed families are overused in the US, "plaisir" and "joie de vivre" points to something that many Americans could really learn from--the cultivation of pleasure, individual and shared, as an everyday ethic, if not always an easy reality. One could go further as an American and notice the areas of our lives that ARE similar and full of pleasure--such as the Thanksgiving meal, which is an important ritual of pleasure, togetherness, sharing and abundance, and extend those values into everyday life. In Joie de Vivre, Arbor highlights the contrasts between a life focused on pleasure (not indulgence) and the sour Puritan, production and "necessity"-driven life we overvalue here. As Voltaire suggested, "let us cultivate our garden," a garden that is always in front of us. In "Joie de Vivre," Arbor translates that ethic for his American readers, who are so obviously looking for a moment of respite. If you are looking for a reminder to cultivate the good things in life, this book is a charming choice for a relaxing read.

Robert Arbor describes daily life in France and how it differs from the average, typical American's day. The French take the time to savor their meals, converse with friends and family, and enjoy every aspect of daily life as much as possible. They don't rush about in a stressed-out state of mind, as many do here in the U.S.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and now, more than ever, want to make another trip to France. Aside from providing simple suggestions to make life more pleasurable, this book is full of wonderful, simple recipes. I've already made the Potatoes a la Nicole and quite a few batches of fresh strawberry jam (it's a hundred times better than any store-bought jam, and better for you!)
If you're looking for an up-lifting, "feel-good" book that will help you improve your outlook on life in general, read Joie de Vivre. You'll be glad you did.

The French are know for enjoying the good life. "Joie de Vivre" by Robert Arbor and Katherine Whiteside shares the traditions for stylish living the French way.

Arbor and Whiteside walk you through a typical French day. You begin with Le Matin (The Morning). You will learn the secret to great coffee, hot chocolate and making a breakfast tartine from French bread. In Le Dejeuner (Lunchtime) and Le Diner (Supper) you experience the pleasure of relaxing with friends over several courses of food. Each course is explained and some recipes are included.

To enjoy the finest foods the way the French do, Joie de Vivre takes you to the butcher, the market, and the baker where you learn to select the freshest cuts of meat and select amongst a variety of breads and cheeses. You also learn how to organize your kitchen so you have the tools and pantry items you need to create tasty dishes.

And there is so much more covered in this book. Why French butter tastes so good. The proper way to cut cheese. Notes on chocolate. Aperitif suggestions. The rewards of Le Potager (The Garden). Dinner party and picnic ideas and more! You get the feel and flavor of what makes the French way of life so pleasurable and how you can implement these ideas in your own life.

After reading the book, you may feel like you have spent a weekend in the French countryside! A wonderful read and resource.

The simplicity of the roast chicken recipe in this book for me personifies the lifestyle described herein. It's a book that made me think about the changes I needed to make in my own lifestyle. What price has my body has actually been paying for convenience. What is the true meaning of portion control: is it better to buy low-fat products full of the unnatural and eat a lot of it, or is it better to buy naturally-fat products and eat less. I vote for the second. I've made serious changes because of this book and others that I've read about European culture. There's a lot that they do that makes a lot of sense. There's a saying, what does it profit to gain the world and lose your soul. This book, and others like it, are helping me keep my soul and making me mindful of the important things in life, such as my life and my health. I can spend an hour preparing a simple meal for myself when I get off work (a chicken breast, some frozen green beans or broccoli, a small glass of wine), or I can spend it being sedentary in front of a TV set. I no longer stock the freezer for the next holocaust, but buy as I need, maybe a week's worth, that's it. The Splenda is gone in favor of real baker's sugar. Pitchers of herbal teas have replaced Pepsi. And I've rediscovered walking.

The only thing that I find somewhat impractical is the concept of courses. The idea of cooking one thing, then sitting down to eat it, then cooking something else to sit down and eat is odd to say the least, unless there's something about it I don't understand. Maybe Mr. Arbor can write another book that goes into home meal preparation a little more in-depth. For now I am content to cook my one simple meal, clean up, and be done. Drinking coffee from a bowl rather from a cup I don't believe I'll adopt, either, but I believe the point of a book like this is that we can make choices that are right for us, and we don't have to pretend we belong to another culture to make use of them.

Roast chicken is a great start to a new way of thinking. I invite you to try it.

I realized about ten pages into this book that it wasn't describing a realistic way of life. Obviously there are going to be people who hate Joie de Vivre for that reason alone, but I love it. I love Arbor's descriptions of what he has in his kitchen, the things he and his family keep on hand to eat, the recipes he uses regularly, and the marketplace they go to. I love the pictures, too. What I love most of all is the feeling I'm left with everytime I flip through this book, which is that I would be a whole lot happier if I simplified my life and got back to the basics--fruit and vegetables from the garden, not a lot of stuff cluttering up the kitchen, using natural cleaning supplies, and just enjoying each part of the day, instead of getting stressed out over little things I usually can't control anyway. Highly recommended.

I have been fortunate to visit France twice and was a guest in the home of a French lady who is a family friend. Joie de Vivre does a good job of describing the daily routine of the French and their attitudes toward food, family, friends, and enjoying life. I have never been as relaxed as I was when I was in France. Of course, I WAS on vacation, but it was still quite a relaxing experience. Things go at a slower pace than they do in the US and there is more enjoyment of simple things and simple times. Neighborhood grocers, patisseries, butcher shops, and bakeries, make it simpler to have fresh food every day. It also makes the experience of shopping for these items more enjoyable. We walked to the market, the bakery, etc. and it was wonderful. No zooming in the car to find a parking space. This book makes achieving the French lifestyle in the US sound like it would be simple. For those of us who don't live in cities with neighborhood shops, it is a great idea, but would take much more effort to achieve. Also, starting dinner at 8 p.m. sounds unreasonable. My daughter is bathed and in bed by this time and my husband and I are finishing dinner, cleaning the kitchen , and getting ready for a good night's sleep. The French do not watch much television which, I think, makes all the difference in how much extra time they have. They end their days later and start them later. It would be impossible for me to begin dinner at 8:30 p.m., go to bed at 11:30 p.m., get up at 6 a.m., get my daughter to school and myself to work by 8 a.m.

Joie de Vivre can inspire you to add elements of the French lifestyle to your own life.

Finally...a REAL French cookbook! That is, a cookbook that doesn't just tell you how to measure a cup of this and a teaspoon of that, but instead explains the basic French attitude towards food handling.... which Mr. Arbor argues is the essence of the French attitude towards life.

If a person mastered the few meals in this book, he or she would never go hungry and would have many devoted friends. Such an enlightened person would never need to crack a cookbook either...although....Robert Arbor does admit he never bakes at home and neither do most of his fellow French. (France is full of wonderful bakeries, afterall, and for baking most people really will need measuring devices, but that's a different book.)

Arbor also gives advice on how to arrange one's kitchen, how to have a lovely time feeding guests (it's all in the timing) and how to have plenty to eat without resorting to junk or fast food. I plan to give this book to my twenty-something son for Christmas. (Either a woman will thank me oneday or he'll simply have a great time on his own.)

This book is a GREAT gift idea for any young person learning to set up a kitchen. Joie de vivre, indeed. My compliments to Arbor.

Stunning how Simon and Schuster digital sales have INCREASED the price of the kindle version far far above the cost of the hardcover!!!!!! I was hoping for a kindle copy to take with me to the dr's office, traveling and the multitudinous ways that one uses a kindle now. I wanted it because the hard copy I love is a bit bulky to pack around. I already paid full price for the hard cover version! Now I have to pay way more for the Kindle version that I want on my Kindle!

I say NO!!!!! I absolutely refuse to pay more for it in a kindle edition, than it cost in hardcover. This is NOT Amazon's fault, it is merely a greedy publisher hoping to cash in on the eBook phenomenon. WOW I feel so special, such a cherished customer by Simon and Schuster digital sales.

I've noticed recently (about August 2011) that some publishers (like Simon and Schuster digital sales) are drastically increasing prices for Kindle versions. I understand they are frightened at the thought of digital copies that never wear out, but here's why this attitude stinks.

First off, library editions have a kill switch. So many loans and they have to be repurchased by the hapless lending library. When loaned out they have a maximum loan period after which another kill switch eliminated them off the patron's e Reader device. Hmmm, sweet deal guys! forcing tax payers to buy books over and over when the actual real live copy on the shelves won't disintegrate for many many more loans!

NEXT let's look at how else the kindle copy would be more profitable--and that is the second hand market. Think about it Simon and Schuster digital sales! No second hand copies floating around on ebay or the local second hand book store.

Hmmm which brings up another point. I can't loan out my copy to anyone! They have to physically hold my kindle to read it. So all those copies that get shared between friends? Well that is the end of THAT!

Then there is the "cost" to digitize a book. Since most new books come in that form, or are saved at the publisher in that format, it is MINISCULE!

My Final point might be incomprehensible to Simon and Schuster digital sales but it is simple for the rest of us on a budget! If things cost more, we buy less. If they cost less we buy more. Guess what Simon and Schuster---I don't have an unlimited trust fund for book buying.

It comes out of that budget thing I mentioned. Now if we want to get technical we can call it economics 101 and say that if you price your widget at 9.99 you will sell more, many many more than at 25.99 AND here's the kicker --- YOU WILL GET MORE PROFITS ON YOUR BOTTOM LINE!!!!!

Us foolish stupid little people who buy books, actually understand that but I doubt the administrative genius at Simon and Schuster digital sales does. That concept is a bit above their obvious grasp of economic reality.

End of cranky snark and back to my original five star review of the hard cover edition. My opinion of the content remains the same and I'm sorry to bring down it's stellar rating but it's the only way I know to make my point and I'm sending a link to this review to Simon and Schuster digital sales (not that I expect them to respond):

I bought this book, on the recommendation of Diane F. Von Behren and Lee Mellott, two reviewers that I've begun to really trust here on Amazon. I was delighted to find, that typical of the other books I've bought on their say so, this one too is a joy to read and own.

It is idealistic. That IS the point.

This is a book ABOUT slowing down, thinking thru the day, not rushing from 7 am into eternity with one's head down, speeding thru an ever increasing load of chores till you drop dead wondering what life was all about.

I think this whole French/North American contrast genre of books, whether it's French women not getting fat or the Entre Nous book are all about re thinking an approach to life.

A little wake up call to examine what is important.

There are plenty of things I love about being a Canadian that make me very different from the French in France, or the American in America and that I prefer to hang onto. Some things won't change. They work for me.

But not because I hit the default button and just am Canadian because I was born here, and never thought about changing anything about me.

I think one of the joys of life is changing those things we don't like to stuff we do like.

Taking a broad cultural over view of the French way of life, and comparing it to the American (or British/Canadian/Australian etc) way makes it easy to spot the areas where we can borrow a better way and add it into our lives.

Enriching my life with some excellent recipes, and a conscious re thinking of life patterns (thru my day, my year or how I run my life) is the value in this book.

It is NOT a critique of America, rather it is an explanation of one mans view of life as he lives it, complete with recipes, side notes, cultural observations and the like.

IT is the reader who is allowed to then observe, contrast, and critique their own life and decide whether or not doing things differently would be a worthwhile change, something that could add to one's joie de vivre.

In my case it has. I'm stopping and enjoying life more as a result. My life is better, and yes, I have a little more joie de vivre as a result of this book.

I think it is a wonderful addition to my library and plan to keep it.