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Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France

by: Peter Mayle

: Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 944.9
EAN: 9780679762690
ISBN: 0679762698
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2000-04
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: April 25, 2000
Sales Rank: 228084
Studio: Vintage



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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
In his most delightful foray into the wonders of Provençal life, Peter Mayle returns to France and puts behind him cholesterol worries, shopping by phone, California wines, and other concerns that plagued him after too much time away.

In Encore Provence, Mayle gives us a glimpse into the secrets of the truffle trade, a parfumerie lesson on the delicacies of scent, an exploration of the genetic effects of 2,000 years of foie gras, and a small-town murder mystery that reads like the best fiction. Here, too, are Mayle's latest tips on where to find the best honey, cheese, or chambre d'hìte the region has to offer. Lyric, insightful, sparkling with detail, Encore Provence brings us a land where the smell of thyme in the fields or the glory of a leisurely lunch is no less than inspiring.

Amazon.com Review:
'Provence, again?' one may think, seeing Peter Mayle's latest effort. 'Has the man nothing better to do than promote a region that's already overhyped and overpriced? Can't he turn his eye to a place that needs a touristic boost, like Bulgaria?'

However, there are reasons to plunge into the third Provençal book by Englishman Mayle, formerly a Madison Avenue copywriter whose bestselling A Year in Provence made the area a must-see for tourists and helped to quadruple real estate prices there. After four years in Long Island, Mayle has returned to France with continuing adoration.

Mayle discloses a world missed by tourists, be it the questions dry cleaners ask about wine stains or the mysterious murder of a small-town butcher given to making housewives happy with more than his displayed meat. He also incorporates guide-like tips--listing markets, cheese makers, and the essential how-tos of perfume sniffing and olive-oil tasting. What's more, this book gives a peek into the life of a bestselling writer. The role is not always an enviable one.

Mayle no longer fits into life in America--the vocabulary alone is enough to throw him off--yet in Provence, he is regarded as little more than a moneyed foreigner. Speared by the British press, he laments, 'One of my crimes is to have encouraged people to visit the region ... far too many people ... and people of the wrong sort,' an accusation that he denies.

And Mayle comes off as positively defensive in his attack of former New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl, who wrote that she was disappointed in the region. The title alone of chapter 3 hints at the sarcastic stabbings to follow: 'New York Times Restaurant Critic Makes Astonishing Discovery: Provence Never Existed.' Page after page, he roasts Reichl on the spit, creating a hissing Ruth Rotisserie that's most unbecoming from someone of his stature.

What most causes him to sputter is Reichl's admission that she 'had been dreaming of a Provence that never existed.'

'Where had I been living all these years?' writes the man who's helped to perpetrate the illusion of a land that is nothing but lavender fields, sunflowers swaying in the breeze, and fascinating characters every millimeter. 'The Provence that Daudet, Giono, Ford Madox Ford, Lawrence Durrell and M.F.K. Fisher knew and wrote about--the Provence that I know--doesn't exist.... It's a sunny figment of our imagination, a romanticized fantasy.'

Maybe. Having recently visited Provence, I agree with Reichl's critical assessment. Therein lies Mayle's ultimate charm. Crack open a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, delve into Encore Provence, and voilà: it may be better than actually being there. --Melissa Rossi



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Tales from Provence
If you have ever visited Provence, reading "Encore Provence" will ensure a flood of pleasant memories. ... Read More


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Comme toujours
For an unexplained reason, Peter Mayle and his unnamed wife (presumably the "Jennie" of the dedication) ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Paperback???
The book was everything I expected...but y'all sent it in paperback. I never buy a book that I do not want ... Read More


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Life in the South of France
Food, the air, water, the land and the people in the South of France. The book beautifully took me thru life ... Read More


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - PROVENCE, ONCE AGAIN
Peter Mayle effectivately takes us once again to beautiful Provence through his second book. His writing is witty ... Read More

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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.