Have you ever dreamt of giving up everything and moving to another country, slipping into the gentler lifestyle and experiencing, and indeed being part of, a whole new culture? Do you long to pass your lane in the rat race onto someone else? In that case read A Year in Provence at your peril, because by the end of chapter one you’ll have sold your suburban semi and bought a crumbling Mediterranean maison.
Like so many, the author Peter Mayle and his wife shared the above dream, the only difference being they turned it into a reality. Mayle’s book is an autobiographical account of their first year living in Provence, an idyllic rural region in Southern France. The book chronicles the excitement and problems each month brought in the first year, examining the idiosyncrasy and quirks of rural French life along the way. Though the just miles from their native England, life couldn’t be more different. Life was reduced to a pace usually only reserved for snails, and of course snails themselves took on a completely different purpose too. While the English lunch was popping out for a minute to get a chicken and mayo sandwich, the French equivalent was a three-hour extravaganza of talking, listening, bartering, dealing and enjoying good company and even better food. Football and cricket became boules and goat-racing as they crossed the English Channel.
Neighbours automatically become close friends, business partners, helpers and confidants in France rather than a nodding acquaintance, as so often is the case in Britain. Television is a tool for those who can’t appreciate the beauty around them and the finer things in life instead of a purpose for living. Wine is something to be savoured and enjoyed, a vital part of life and something you purchase by the gallon, not by the 750ml supermarket bottle on sale. Lazy unreliable builders who promise everything and deliver nothing become, well lazy unreliable builders who promise everything and deliver nothing. All these stories are told in Mayle’s book and recounted in such a way that his warmth and enthusiasm for the area and its people clearly shines through.
A Year in Provence opens up this exclusive culture to an audience of anyone interested, and judging by the enormous sales, that’s a lot of people. It takes more than the region to keep everyone interested and it’s Mayle’s style and evocative descriptions which have earned the rave reviews and make it such a joy to read. The beauty of Provence is captured in print quite superbly and if you close your eyes you can fully imagine an August evening in Provence, the sun warming your exposed flesh, the humid wind tickling your body as you lie beside the swimming pool, only opening your eyes to pour another glass of local wine. Now, where’s that estate agent’s phone number…