Provence A-Z (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: ronds points, Anglo Saxon, Monsieur Farigoule, Librairie Le Bleuet (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of several books set in Provence, including the now classic travel tome A Year in Provence and a more recent novel, A Good Year, Mayle has once again trapped the sunshine, the wind and the very lavender-laden air of the southeastern French countryside in his prose. The reference-desk title is appropriate if the desk in reference is that of a librarian at your favorite getaway inn in Aix or Marseille. This anecdotal encyclopedia may have been written expressly for discovery on the shelf of a rented mas, "a collection of agricultural buildings joined together," and enjoyed over an afternoon repast of Banon, "armed with a fresh baguette and a bottle of local wine." Mayle is the self-appointed pied piper of Provence for Anglophone Francophiles everywhere, and these entries, from "Accent" to "Zingue-Zingue-Zoun," display the same conversational style his fans have come to expect. He includes information about lesser-known sights like the museum of the Foreign Legion and local food like bouillabaisse, but the charm of the book is in unexpected factual gems like "the male goat can copulate up to forty times a day" found in an otherwise straightforward entry about chèvre. Mayle writes beautifully of the seasons—Automne, Été, Hiver and Printemps—which he shares as his own personal Provence with the earnestly planning tourist and the dreamy armchair traveler alike. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

Peter Mayle is synonymous with Provence, the region in the South of France where, as an expatriate from Britain, he has lived for many years and written about in such best-selling nonfiction accounts as A Year in Provence (1990) and Toujours Provence (1991) and such fun novels as Hotel Pastis (1993) and Chasing Cezanne (1997). His new book, obviously from the title, is another installment in his coverage of his favorite location and topic. More than 200 entries ranging in length from four lines to two to three pages appear on its pages, in alphabetical order, in which he discusses topics relevant to Provencal life. Although Mayle insists "It's impossible business, trying to squeeze Provence into a single volume," he's done his best. The result is a delightful education for armchair travelers--or actual ones who are heading there for a visit or have previously done so. From "Accent" ("If words were edible, Provencal speech would be a rich, thick, pungent verbal stew") to "Zola, Francois" (father of novelist Emile), a personal and personable book. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400044421
• ISBN-13: 978-1400044429
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #346,009 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything the guide books leave out -- plus: great charm, November 2, 2006

By	Jesse Kornbluth "Head Butler" (New York) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

t was at a show of paintings by Cezanne and Pissarro at the Museum of Modern Art that I realized I wanted to spend my declining years in the South of France. Specifically, in Provence. My bedroom was the key image: a big bed, whitewashed walls, a shuttered window. And this, most of all --- a view of rolling fields of lavender.

This was not a fantasy of a late-life invalid. Of course I'd write. Probably about Provence. And then I remembered: Peter Mayle has already been there, done that. Indeed, he owns the franchise on Provence.

I would be annoyed by Mayle's dominance, but the thing is, I know him ever so slightly and he just might be the most pleasant guy on the planet. Opens the good wine for guests. Laughs at your jokes, etc. And is so not a greasy careerist, eager to sell out a beautiful patch of France for a bag of Euros. Listen to Mayle tell the story of his success:

I was doing some work for GQ magazine and I had a little bit put aside. We sold our house in England. But I had an idea for a novel that I had sold to a publisher in England. I was going to go out to Provence, lock myself away and whack out this novel and financial things would be more comfortable. I got there and was so distracted by what was going on that I didn't do anything on the novel. My literary agent kept ringing me up and asking to see pages and I eventually sent him some pages on why I couldn't start the novel. He took them to the publisher and said this actually is a much better idea than the novel and the publisher agree. "If he can do another 250 pages like this we've got something." They gave me a "modest advance" -- so modest in fact that it was self-effacing. We had a two-man publication party -- me and the publisher -- and he printed 3,000 copies and said, "There'll be a few left over but I'll give them to you at a discount so you've got them for Christmas gifts." About six weeks later, I was back in France and he called and said. "We sold them all. We're reprinting another 1,500 copies." Gradually it snowballed and then the paperback came out and sold a million copies in England...

And then Knopf picked "A Year in Provence" up for the American market, and you know the rest.

In "Provence A-Z," Mayle shares the offbeat information he has gathered while living in Provence for almost two decades. Very little of it is the stuff you find in guidebooks. Much of it is information gathered in cafes, where Mayle is fond of pastis (at 45% alcohol, the most intoxicating drink in the house). All of it makes you want to fly to Paris --- tonight, if possible --- and then take the TGV down to Aix. (Cautionary note: There are 16 million visitors to Provence each year. Try not to go in August.)

Here's a sample of Mayle's gleanings:

-- the origin of a bamboo forest near Nimes

-- the charms of Beaumes-de-Venice, which is so much more than a dessert wine

-- the genius of the bouffadou in lighting fires

-- the Provencal sun tan (Picasso, Mayle notes, was "the color of a well-cured cigar")

-- what to do with leftover ends of cheese

-- how to cook eggplant on a barbeque

-- the male goat "can copulate up to 40 times a day" (cheer up: each encounter lasts for only a few seconds)

-- the world's only corkscrew museum

-- the soaps of Marseilles, the best rose wine, salt from the Camargue

-- a hundred intangibles: the smell of a cafe, a hidden path, an afternoon nap, neighbors and so much more

And here, both to whet your appetite and to show you that there is no such thing as a "small" subject when a fine writer is at the top of his game, here is Peter Mayle on the subject of the air --- yes: the air --- in Provence:

A man in a bar once told me that the air in Provence was the purest air in France, perhaps even in the world. He was a large and somewhat aggressive man, and I thought it wise not to argue with him. In fact, I was delighted to believe what he had told me, and for several years I would pass on the good news to friends and visitors. "Every breath you take of Provençal air," I used to say, "is like ten euros in the bank of health." It wasn't until I started to research the subject that I discovered the truth.

Here it is: The départements of Bouches-du-Rhône, the Vaucluse, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and the Var make up one of the four most polluted zones in Europe, a distinction they share with Genoa, Barcelona, and Athens. (Source: Greenpeace France.) Apart from the emissions coming from heavy traffic on the routes nationales and the autoroutes, the principal villains are to be found in the industrial complex --- l'industrie-sur-mer --- that straggles along the coast from Marseille to the Gulf of Fos and the oil refineries at Berre.

How bad is it? By August 2003, there had been thirty-six days during the year on which the level of air pollution exceeded the official limit of 240 micrograms per cubic meter. More was to come as the summer heat wave continued. And, so we were told, the pollution was not necessarily confined to the area immediately around those who produced it, but could spread as far away as sixty to ninety miles.

Since each of us breathes about thirty pounds of air each day, statistics like this make uncomfortable reading. And yet, walking every day in the Luberon as I do, it's difficult to believe that such a thing as pollution exists. The air looks clear and tastes good. Vegetation seems untouched. Butterflies thrive. Birds and game go about their business, apparently in rude health. Can it be that the mistral is protecting us by blowing away the foul breath of industry? I must consult the man in the bar. He will know.

I'd like to meet that man. And see Mayle in situ. Shall we gather in the late afternoon at that bar?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Provence4: A to Z, April 2, 2007

By	William B. Sabey "Bill Sabey" (York, PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a collection of short essays about the culture of Provence in alphabetical order. I think it is typical Mayle, intelligent, bright, and whimsical without being "cute". It's a writing you can sample in at odd times.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fantasy and Reality of Provence, March 16, 2008

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Peter Mayle's "Provence A-Z" is a collection of personal interests and discoveries. There are amusing stories of construction complexities, the celebration of truffles and humorous stories of wild pigs eating perfectly ripe melons. Peter invites you into his world and as he explains the reality of Provence he keeps the fantasy of the perfect vacation alive and well. Since I recently made my own tapenade it was interesting to see a new recipe. There is also an explanation of why tomatoes are known as pommes d'amour. There are stories of unique fruits and visions of hills that are home to two thousand types of butterfly. I loved the story of the new puppy and you can't help but smile when you think of all the adventures Peter has on a daily basis. Overall, this collection of writing makes winter days seem a bit warmer and it is perfect as a cozy read by the fire.

~The Rebecca Review
Once I spent a weekend in Provence