Reading 'A Year in Provence' is a real pleasure after struggling through Jaywalking and mind you, I'm not even done with that book... 'A Year in Provence' is actually a book you can read comfortably lying in your bed or on the couch, without having a dictionary near by and without having to read certain paragraphs over again because you hadn't understood what was going on. I also like the way it is written, it's quite amusing to read and Mayle's descriptions make you almost feel as if you were in Provence yourself. The only thing that annoys me a little is how Peter Mayle is constantly referring to the beautiful country, the delicious food and how lovely and sweet eveything is. I just can't imagine that he and his wife haven't come across any major difficulties and that they have no big troubles adapting to a new country. Maybe that's because they had already been there several times before and they knew what to expect. But still I think that there is a huge difference between being on holiday and actually living in a foreign country. I also noticed that he doesn't write much about his wife. We don't really know how she feels about everything and how she's getting on. But then he doesn't write much about feelings in general but more about the food, the country and its people.
I wanted to know more about the author, so I did some research:
Peter M
ayle (born June 14, 1939 in Brighton) spent 15 years in the advertising business, first as a copywriter and then as a reluctant executive, before leaving the business in 1975 to write educational books, including a series on sex education for children and young people. In 1987 he decided to quit his job and move to Provence where he started writing about his experiences as an expatriate and also about the country, its culture, cuisine and mentality. Mayle was very successfull with his books, which were tranlsated in over 20 languages. 'A Year in Provence' was published in 1989 and became an international bestseller. In 1997 he escaped to Long Island, USA, because in his books he had described the location of his French home so accurately that very soon he was invaded by intrusive tourists. A few years later though, he ruefully returned to his beloved France where he lives to this day.
ayle (born June 14, 1939 in Brighton) spent 15 years in the advertising business, first as a copywriter and then as a reluctant executive, before leaving the business in 1975 to write educational books, including a series on sex education for children and young people. In 1987 he decided to quit his job and move to Provence where he started writing about his experiences as an expatriate and also about the country, its culture, cuisine and mentality. Mayle was very successfull with his books, which were tranlsated in over 20 languages. 'A Year in Provence' was published in 1989 and became an international bestseller. In 1997 he escaped to Long Island, USA, because in his books he had described the location of his French home so accurately that very soon he was invaded by intrusive tourists. A few years later though, he ruefully returned to his beloved France where he lives to this day. His bestseller 'A Good Year' was filmed in 2006, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe.
