A Year in Provence

A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
Read November 2021 - Zoom Reading Circle

I listened to this audiobook and enjoyed it a lot.  British author Peter Mayle and his wife realized their long held dream of buying an old farmhouse in Provence, France.  This book is a chronicle of their first year of renovating the 200 year old farmhouse and all the travails and experiences.  In the midst of the slow workers, leaky pipes and disappointments, we hear about all the luscious food and drink Mayle and his wife encounter.  That alone is a reason to read this book! All the food and dinner descriptions are so tempting... you find yourself getting very hungry throughout this book!  I was intrigued by the aperitif or digestif that was mentioned as being one complete course of a meal.  Shortly after reading this book my friend, Dana, had a digestif at a restaurant in New York City - and then we tried one at wine club.  Full circle!  :)  The digestif did indeed sort of settle the stomach and allow you to not feel as full, just as Peter Mayle shared was his experience in the book.  

Quote from the book...

The two areas of endeavor in which France leads the world - bureaucracy and gastronomy - had combined to put us in our place. 

Peter Mayle on... Provence as his muse

Peter Mayle on... his well-fed characters