A Year in Provence

I really enjoyed this book. I remember vaguely some of the hype around it at the turn of the 90's but as I was only about ten I had no real interest in it at the time. I decided to watch the TV adaptations -staring John Thaw - on YouTube recently, which were good enough to make me want to read the book and I'm glad I did. It's much much better than the TV shows - Peter Mayle has a great sense of humour (lost in the TV versions) and the joke is just as often on him as on the colourful characters he meets in each chapter. His observations, although funny, clearly emanate from a place of deep affection, fondness and respect for the eccentricities of his new community and friends, of which there are many. The way in which he describes everything from the food to the weather to the people themselves is excellent - he creates a vivid image in your mind as though you were there. I've been to France loads of times and have some family in the south and although I've been to Provence as a child I'd really like to go again to see how much has changed and how much of the Provence in the pages of this brilliant book remain in the 25 years since its release.

This title kept coming up while I was searching for books to take on a trip to Provence last week: I remembered it being a best-seller in the late 80s, but hadn't read it until now. It's an enjoyable account of how the author and his wife built a new life as British expatriates in Ménerbes, a village in the eponymous region of France. The author has an easy, unforced style which is well-suited to his descriptions of the people, landscape and (especially) food. Take, for example, this mouth-watering description of lunch at a little restaurant in the hills [p89]: "We counted fourteen separate hors d'oeuvres - artichoke hearts, tiny sardines fried in batter, perfumed tabouleh, creamed salt cod, marinated mushrooms, baby calamari, tapenade, small onions in a fresh tomato sauce, celery and chick peas, radishes and cherry tomatoes, cold mussels. Balanced on the top of the loaded tray were thick slices of pâté and gherkins, saucers of olives and cold peppers. The bread had a fine crisp crust. There was white wine in the ice bucket, and a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape left to breathe in the shade." Elsewhere, a snow-covered February landscape is described as being "so still that [...] you could have heard a mouse fart" [p22], a memorable and exact image. I greatly enjoyed being transported to Provence by this book (even though I was already there); any readers who weren't originally thinking of visiting that interesting part of the world may find themselves changing their minds before the end.

I read this book over a decade ago and it was a wonderful easy read, very funny, and would entice anyone to go to Provence. The only problem was that I actually went to Provence on holiday and it clearly is a case of "that was then and this is now". Two words came to my mind, tourists and millions. The place is overrun by people like me who thought they might find real rural France - you wont. Strangely enough I read that the author himself left the place after the success of the book and went to live in Long Island, New York for three years. There still are great parts of France to visit, but unfortunately you have to do the discovering yourself. I read an article in the Sunday Times a few months ago and it was titled Ten Secret Locations in France - or something like that - but unfortunately the minute you publish them in a million selling Sunday newspaper, they arent!!! Off topic I know.

This is a delightful little book, and an easy and relaxing read. As a new Provencal resident, Mayle shares his reflections on neighbours, the language, gestures, the weather, vanishing builders, French bureaucracy, human nature in general, and much much more. There is no whining or complaining in any of this. He takes everything in his stride, and his observations are so cleverly fine-tuned that it is very difficult not to laugh out loud at the episodes he relates. And, of course, what Mayle is especially famous for are his hunger-inducing commentaries on French food and drink. Throughout their Year in Provence, he and his wife eat ‘for England.’ So exceptional is the food that they are called upon to sample that they invariably return home, ‘pushing’ their ‘stomachs’ before them. Added to this is his priceless feedback on what the French themselves think of the English, of their cooking, and of their strange and inexplicable customs: ‘Ils sont bizarres, les Anglais.’ Particularly odd, in fact, are Mayle’s visitors from the UK, intent on seeking him out at any cost so that they can make use of his home and pool for their winter-sun holiday. Above all Mayle is a master of physical description: ‘His face was the colour and texture of a hastily cooked steak.’ For the enjoyment of that aspect of the book alone, I have no doubt I will read it again.

Well written, v amusing and easy to read. I'll ready the follow up tujours province too These reviews need 12 words apparently. Pah xx

A rounded view of life in Provence, not sure how the locals will react to it. Nobody seems to have much income but all the characters eat wonderful food.... JMA

Excellent book! I really enjoyed reading it. A well written story, makes one feel as if in Provence. Delightful and joyful.

No wonder this book is a best seller. Peter Mayle nails Provence even in 2025! Everyone who loves Provence - a must read!

If you like a rollicking good read that transports you easily to another place buy this book. Mayle is a genius at describing the life, food, and drink of southern France. Very well observed and captivating.

I loved every word of this book -- I have sent it to two people already. I have been to France, so that was an aid to liking the book, I suppose. I didn't know or exactly recognize anything he described, but it all echoed in my memory of travels to a different part of the south of the country. You don't need to be a Francophile to like this book, though. Even if all you know of French is "oui," you'll like the people he describes -- except the crashers who insisted on inviting themselves for a multi-night stay at his new home! And you might even like *them* -- the author's wit and cleverness make even the household disasters seem funny and somehow more bearable. This isn't a boring travelogue. The author is a storyteller, and a good one. You'll do that annoying thing where you repeat his stories to whoever is unlucky enough to be in the room while you're reading. No, only me?

I have loved the books on Provence. Takes you back to the south of France and imagine you are living there.