Customer Reviews

Toujours Provence

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Now this is a book to take in the car! Mayle returns to Provence and, unconfined by his self-imposed chronological organization of A Year in Provence, which went month-by-month, produces a delightful, anecdotal account of life in his adopted country. We get to hear about singing frogs, an attempt to train a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig to hunt truffles, as well as various wine-tasting festivities, and particularly a special party for Mayle's birthday that changes his mind about picnics once and for all.

It's a delightful book, great for listening to in the car and almost certainly an entertaining light read.

I knew we were in trouble when Mayle's sequel to his delightful "Year in Provence" opened with vignettes on constipation and suppositories. Oh, Mayle's fresh and breezy style is here, and he still has an eye for small but telling details, but this is mainly a retread of the same ground he worked in the much more cohesive "Year in Provence." We are told, yet again, about annoying guests, fraud in the truffle trade, and the arrogance of outsiders who are invading Provence and turning it into a playground for the rich, which is rich coming from a man who has plenty of money to finance his enviable lifestyle and quests to discover the origins of pastis!
All that said, Mayle has a talent for evoking place, and his descriptions of memorable meals will leave you salivating. But you can get all that, in better form, in A Year in Provence.

Like Provence, Mayle continues to charm with further adventures from the land of food, wine, and sunshine. If you haven't read "A Year In Provence", I'd suggest starting with that as many of the "characters" he introduced make return visits here. Less structural than his first book, these chapters come off as varied meditations on random events that occur day to day; A birthday picnic, a new found pet,the search for gold in his backyard, and of course the various gastromical pleasures to be found throughout the region. I didn't find it quite as good as the first book, but still he has a way of making you feel like you're sitting down with an old friend.

I did not enjoy this book as much as others from Mayle, including A Dog's Life and Hotel Pastis. A year in Provence was also better. This one did not flow well and it seemed like I read many chapters that could have come from different books. Read his other books first.

Toujours Provence is Peter Mayle's delightful continuation of his bestselling memoir, A Year in Provence. In this "sequel," so to speak, we become privy to he and his wife's further adventures in their subsequent years in Provence. Perhaps moreso in this book than in A Year in Provence, we begin to see how the Mayles are becoming much less English and more Provencal in their lifestyles. Full of little joys in each chapter, more truffles, dogs, annoying tourists and/or visitors, singing toads, buried treasure, and delectable food and wine, this memoir is certain to suit those who enjoyed A Year in Provence!

This book is charming, funny and heartwarming. I have never read A Year In Provence, but I recomend you do--most people who have read both say you should. It also helps to know some French.

If you've ventured through my reviews previous to this you know of my deep seated love and enthusiasm for Mr. Mayle's first novel " A Year In Provence". Being such a big fan I was more than slightly apprehensive when his second installment was released. I had prepared my self for a huge letdown!

Fortunately, once again, I was wrong. Don't misunderstand me...while I enjoy this book immensely it simply doesn't match up to his first novel. The "flow" of the first novel isn't there and some pieces feel as though they've been plastered together. That being said...WHO CARES!

Mr. Mayle's talent in story-telling is still with us and some of his chapters, such as hunting the elusive tuffle, attending a Pavorotti concert and digging up gold Naopoleon's in his own yard make for a wonderful adventure which I greatly enjoyed.

Overall, the book has the same cozy, warm feeling that his first novel so vividly captured and I now have my own hardbound copy as well. But, than again, I'm biased! I tend to enjoy his novel's due to their naivete,innocence and of course his tendencies to expand upon French culture. What's not to like?

So, if you enjoyed his first you will undoubtably like this as well. And if not....well, you wish to stay away. Overall, I think Peter Mayle has done us, and his bank account,a very big favor by letting us enjoy he and his wife's misadventure's in Provence and here's hopeing they'll be many more!

This book provides a vehicle to escape to the sunny south of France without leaving your house. The characters and setting are richly described, and you can almost smell the aroma of country provencal cooking (don't read the book on an empty stomach) Very humerous. A great escape!!

I didn't think that this book was quite as good as A Year in Provence. But it was still very amusing. I'd recommend reading A Year in Provence first before reading this book so you better understand everything he is referring to.

Slowly, I'm working my way through Peter Mayle's books though these books could more rightly be described as his love letters to Provence.

Toujours Provence begins where his first book A Year In Provence ended. Now a seasoned resident of this region of France, he broadens his view to give us an affectionate portrait of the French in all their regional peculiarities.

At once amusing and educational, this book gives the reader the sense of what it would be like to see France as a resident, not a tourist.

I know I've entertained daydreams of living in France of Italy, at least for a summer. Mayle's books make me want to act upon that fantasy.

This book is my perfect choice for bedtime reading. Not because it's boring and makes me sleepy. Not because it's easy to put down when sleep calls. Reading this book is a calm interlude in my busy life. Mayle has a droll humor and a flair for understatement of the incongruous situations that develop. I find myself smiling, and I can feel the stress melting away.

Toujours Provence, like its predecessor A Year In Provence, is the perfect armchair vacation.