Provence AZ, Peter Mayle
Provence AZ, Peter Mayle
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Provence A-Z
A Francophile's Essential Handbook

Author: Peter Mayle

Narrator: Peter Mayle

Abridged: 3 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/31/2006


Synopsis

An indispensable, richly informative, and always entertaining sourcebook on Provence by the writer who has made the region his own.

Though organized from A to Z, this is hardly a conventional work of reference. It is rather a selection of those aspects of Provence that Peter Mayle in almost twenty years there has found to be the most interesting, curious, delicious, or downright fun.

He writes about subjects as diverse as architecture, expatriates, scorpions, the Provençal character, legends, lavender, linguistic oddities, the origins of “La Marseillaise,” wild boars and Frenchwinds. And, of course, he writes about food and drink.

Provence A—Z is a delight for Peter Mayle’s ever-growing audience and these unabridged selections are the perfect complement to any guidebook on Provence, or, for that matter, France.

About The Author

Peter Mayle is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including Acquired Tastes, A Year in Provence, and French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew. A recipient of the Légion d’Honneur from the French government for his cultural contributions, he lives in Provence with his wife.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rachel on January 02, 2009

This is an absolutely delightful book that can be read as a series of essays (sometimes very brief) on a wide-ranging list of topics concerning Provence. Over the years, Mayle has built up in me a stunning and almost wholly unrealistic view of Provence: a place that shines in my mind with quiet vine......more

Goodreads review by Jandblock on November 05, 2023

Although technically a dictionary, I enjoyed all of Peter’s insights to the character of the Provence native and his witticisms. I hav liked all his books on the topic.......more

Goodreads review by Alyssa on September 14, 2019

Holy shit, it took me a year to finish this! Mostly because I kept having to wait on the library’s hold list to check it out again (my long reading time not any reflection on the book’s merits). Filled with Peter Mayle’s usual wit, humor, and eye for fascinating detail, I enjoyed this immensely. I r......more

Goodreads review by Penny on December 08, 2019

This book has been my restaurant reading for months ... its bite sized entries are just right for reading amid distractions and in small chunks of time. There's no danger of losing the thread because quite simply it's a glossary of many of the elements that give Provence its distinctive character. F......more

Goodreads review by Diana on January 06, 2019

This took me months to read because even though the reading is easy, and written in Mayle's usually engaging style, it is, after all, an encyclopedia style tome of words and phrases from Provence. It's one I'll keep as a reference, but I can't recommend it as one to sit down and read as it (of cours......more


Quotes

“Mayle's affection for lavender fields and languid lunched continues unabated-and so does his influence.” —USA Today“Mayle's magpie dictionary yields amusing facts . . . and useful information. . . . You'll soon succumb to his road-tested charm.” —The New York Times Book Review“Whether he's smacking his lips in gustatory contentment or mock exasperation, Mayle's affection runneth over. . . . If there is anything charmless or depressing in all of Provence, its secret is safe with him.” —The Boston Globe“After nearly two decades of writing about the character and the characters of Provence, Mayle's love for this rich and colorful region is undiminished.” —The Christian Science Monitor