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Beginning, appropriately enough, on New Year's Day with a divine luncheon in a quaint restaurant, Mayle sets the scene and pits his British sensibilities against it. "We had talked about it during the long gray winters and the damp green summers," he writes, "looked with an addict's longing at photographs of village markets and vineyards, dreamed of being woken up by the sun slanting through the bedroom window." He describes in loving detail the charming, 200-year-old farmhouse at the base of the Lubéron Mountains, its thick stone walls and well-tended vines, its wine cave and wells, its shade trees and swimming pool--its lack of central heating. Indeed, not 10 pages into the book, reality comes crashing into conflict with the idyll when the Mistral, that frigid wind that ravages the Rhône valley in winter, cracks the pipes, rips tiles from the roof, and tears a window from its hinges. And that's just January.
In prose that skips along lightly, Mayle records the highlights of each month, from the aberration of snow in February and the algae-filled swimming pool of March through the tourist invasions and unpredictable renovations of the summer months to a quiet Christmas alone. Throughout the book, he paints colorful portraits of his neighbors, the Provençaux grocers and butchers and farmers who amuse, confuse, and befuddle him at every turn. A Year in Provence is part memoir, part homeowner's manual, part travelogue, and all charming fun. --L.A. Smith
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence is the much-loved account of an English couple living their dream abroad. When they buy a 200-year-old farmhouse in the South of France, Peter Mayle and his wife little expect the delights that await them - from six-course lunches and epic games of boule, to encounters with charming but unpredictable builders. Both witty and affectionate, this is an idyllic portrait of the pleasures of rural life. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780141037257
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence is the much-loved account of an English couple living their dream abroad. When they buy a 200-year-old farmhouse in the South of France, Peter Mayle and his wife little expect the delights that await them - from six-course lunches and epic games of boule, to encounters with charming but unpredictable builders. Both witty and affectionate, this is an idyllic portrait of the pleasures of rural life. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780141037257
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence is the much-loved account of an English couple living their dream abroad. When they buy a 200-year-old farmhouse in the South of France, Peter Mayle and his wife little expect the delights that await them - from six-course lunches and epic games of boule, to encounters with charming but unpredictable builders. Both witty and affectionate, this is an idyllic portrait of the pleasures of rural life. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780141037257