Encore Provence

by Peter Mayle

Paper Book, 1999

Status

Available

Call number

944.9

Publication

Knopf (1999), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 240 pages

Description

After trying to live in other places, Peter Mayle is back in Provence. He celebrates his homecoming by sharing with us a new feast of adventures, discoveries, hilarities, and culinary treats. The pauses for refreshment include an unforgettable meal in a converted gas station, a rendezvous with the very best bouillabaisse, and visits to eventful weekly markets. But there is life after lunch, and we also discover a school for noses in Haute Provence, a gardener who grows black tomatoes, a celebration of Alowine (Halloween) Provence-style, and the genetic effects of two thousand years of foie gras. There is a memorable tour of Marseilles, a comprehensive lesson on olive oil, a search for the perfect corkscrew, and invaluable recommendations for splendid local cheeses, wines, bread, country restaurants, and off-the-beaten-track places to stay. Never has Peter Mayle written with more unabashed pleasure about his heaven on earth.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Harrod

Mayle is a wonderful storyteller. He makes the warmth of the region come alive.southern France is different from its northern brother and Mayle articulates it eith humor. A definite. Recommend

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LibraryThing member murderbydeath

A victim of his own success, Mayle was imprudent enough to write A Year in Provence without changing names of neighbours and villages, bringing him what eventually became an unmanageable number of unannounced guests. After fleeing to the US for 4 years, they returned to France, choosing a new home

and village but staying firmly in Provence.

Encore Provence is the collection of essays from the years following his self-imposed exile and this time he was smart enough to change the names to protect the innocent (or privacy-inclined).

I enjoyed the first two books, but I think I liked this one a bit better. I found more of the essays enjoyable and informative: rather than merely making me wish I lived in a gorgeous, centuries old - but recently updated - farmhouse in Provence, these essays also taught me a few things and gave me food for thought.

Now I really want to go truffle hunting.

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LibraryThing member JoniMFisher

Mayle’s descriptions of food and people resonate with joy of living and sardonic humor. Wonderful reading!

LibraryThing member BookConcierge

Book on CD read by David Case.

Subtitle: New Adventures in the South of France

Gosh but I love Peter Mayle’s memoirs of his move to and life in Provence! I read them all ages ago, and decided to revisit all his writing since his passing.

This is the third in the series and he write with his usual

humor. He takes a little time in this one to give some practical advice on the best things to buy at the market, the best local wines, the different cheeses and olive oils, the passion for boules, the joy of locally sourced honey (and from different seasons), and, of course, truffles. He also talks about the endless bureaucratic hoops that must be jumped through in order to find and then purchase and renovate your own Provence paradise. And he spends an entire chapter on the uniqueness of Marseilles.

David Case does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. I have no clue if his French is pronounced properly (or with a Provencal accent), but he kept me entertained with his impressions of waiters, real estate agents, and farmers.

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