English writer Mayle bids adieu with posthumous Provence essays
Every traveller can admit to loving a destination enough to daydream about living there — few actually move based on a vacation.
English author Peter Mayle first shared the story of how he and wife Jennie fell for the storybook scenery and exquisite food of the Provencal region in his 1990 best-seller A Year in Provence, which became a TV series in 1993.
Fans of Mayle, who died in his beloved Provence in January at age 78, can find solace in My Twenty-Five Years in Provence (Knopf, 192 pp), a posthumous collection of previously unpublished essays. (The book was planned before his death.)
In the new pieces, Mayle recounts the logistics of the couple’s transition as they moved to a 200-year-old farmhouse in France, from real estate to learning the language, and the process of picking up on an altogether different culture.
Of course, food and wine are instrumental in acclimating to life in France, as are social norms such as the local café and market traditions.
Mayle finds the humour in his stumbles to blend in, isn’t shy about the downsides to living in this particular paradise — aggressive drivers, summer visitors and fall hunters, to name a few — and exposes even the most subtle idiosyncrasies that he observed among locals over time (such as detailed medical conversations for even minor aches and pains).
The annoyances pale in comparison to Provence’s desirable trademarks: the friendly atmosphere, 300 days of sunshine a year, imaginative food, abundance of wine, simplicity and relaxed pace are among what Mayle calls a “catalogue of blessings.”
Individual chapters are devoted to Provence’s many festivals, the cadence of the café each day, the local sport (boules), the concept of truffle hunting and the iconic wine, Provencal rose.
Even more endearing than sharing his wife’s candid photos of quintessential scenes in their adopted home are Mayle’s final pages detailing four trademark aspects of Provencal life, which he hoped would never change.
Short and sweet, these stories paint an idyllic picture of a charming, slow-paced place, the sort that might beckon for the next season of life. And with Mayle’s memories, tips and powerful storytelling, you’ll realize it’s possible, whichever destination you pick.