A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle

A long time ago, when I was in Secondary School (fine, about five years ago), I was given this really funny excerpt to analyse as part of a literature test. The excerpt was from a book called "A Dog's Life" for Peter Mayle, and I liked it so much that I went (unsuccessfully) looking for the book.

Last week, my Economics core seminar teacher was reccomending this book about living in Provence by an English author. I immediate thought of this book and guess what? I was correct (and my teacher got the Japanese title wrong). So, here you go, an excuse to read!

And I'm so happy that I got to read this! It was an extremely fun read! The book follows the author and his wife as they try to fix their farmhouse in Provence, and how they deal with the weather, workers, tourists and life in general.

I wouldn't say this is a travel guide - I would say this is more of a primer for life in Provence many many years ago (I checked, the book was published in 1991 and things have probably changed by now). The author admits to not doing tourist-y things and not going tourist-y places, instead, he and his wife prefer living in the countryside.

Kind of like me. I lived in Tokyo, and the only time I went to a tourist destination was when someone asked me to. It isn't something I do voluntarily (unless we're talking museums).

But to be honest, this book has gotten me interested in spending some time in France. Although I don't speak the language. Or know the customs. Alright, this is starting to sound like a bad idea.

This book is easy to read, humorous and sparkles with love for Provence. I really recommend it!