A Good Year by Peter Mayle
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Book Reviews of A Good Year
Book Review: Charming light read - enjoyed the movie more though.
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoy Peter Mayle, love his sense of humour, his observations of life, and his charming way of description of it.Book Review: A Good Year
Summary: 5 Stars
Great condition of book, great packaging and delivery time. Will watch for this seller next purchase.Book Review: "You'll come to see that a man learns nothing from winning [except] how much more enjoyable it is to win."
Summary: 4 Stars
(3.5 stars) Though this delightful novel does not precede the rich and heady memories, adventures, and interesting characters which one finds in A YEAR IN PROVENCE, Mayle's earlier story of Provence, it does pique the reader's imagination with its romantic story of a chateau and a vineyard and a wine scam in which a case of great wine may sell for one hundred thousand dollars. Max Skinner, a down-on-his-luck London investment banker, learns on the day that he is dismissed from his job that his uncle Henry has died in Provence. Max, the son of a British diplomat, had spent many happy summers with his childless uncle, and though he had not seen him recently, he discovers that he is the heir to Uncle Henry's farmhouse/chateau and its vineyards.
With money advanced to him by his former brother-in-law Charlie, a London real estate "baron," Max goes to Provence to see the estate and vineyards, which have been managed for years by Claude Roussel, a local farmer responsible for the vines. Max quickly discovers, however, that the wine produced on the estate is the equivalent of "pipi du chat," undrinkable. The locals in the town have their own priorities, and Max learns in short order that he cannot take people--or what they say--at face value. Though he hires an "oenologue" to visit the chateau to look at the vines, the soil, and the wine the vineyard produces, he suspects that this man may have ulterior motives. Max is soon joined by his wine-loving friend/ex-brother-in-law Charlie and a young woman from California who may have a closer claim to Uncle Henry's estate than Max.
As Max learns about the local wine industry of Provence (even more cut-throat than the investment banking world of London), the reader gets an education and quickly becomes involved in the heady world of wine selling and collecting. The extent to which some growers will go to hide assets and deceive the authorities and the public comes under the microscope here, as Max has to decide whether to become a full-time vineyard owner and lover of (honestly produced) fine wine, or to return to London.
Though Mayle may not be as descriptive or as concerned here with reproducing exact pictures of life as he does in A YEAR IN PROVENCE, he does create an amusing set of circumstances which raise questions about the wine industry. His tone is light and non-judgmental as Max navigates the minefields faced by any stranger to a community governed for generations by the same families. The succession of love stories keeps even the most jaded reader amused and interested, as Max makes his decision about whether to stay in Provence or return to "civilization." Mary Whipple
A Year in Provence
The Vintage Caper
Toujours Provence
Book Review: A foreign land to call home
Summary: 4 Stars
After writing a couple of non-fiction books about being a foreigner in Provence, Peter Mayle deals with the fictional side of living in that region -- or so it seems. In an opening note, the write claims that his "A Good Year" is a work of fiction, however, `between the lines there were several real people involved'. Fact or fiction it doesn't matter -- what matter is that he wrote a charming little novel about the changes that life brings us and his character copes them.
Max Skinner loses his job in a financial firm in London, in the same day he inherits a vineyard in France, that belonged to an uncle. Since Max has spent much of his childhood there, he has a connection with that house, that land, and at this point, "A Good Year" becomes a book about going back to the place where you belong to.
It will take some time to Max realize that, but meanwhile he will meet a couple of people who will change his life. If Mayle's narrative is never profound, or his characters never rise above the stereotypical, his book is interesting exactly because of these factors. "A Good Year" doesn't aspire to be a great book about serious issues. It is a light, funny and charming novel to be read between two heavy, serious and demanding books.
Mayle's prose is painted in Provence's paints, with local color and charm. His characters are probably based on people he met, and although not very believable they are still pleasant. Evocative, the prose is direct and fast, what keep those pages turning very quickly.
If Mayle's objective was to bring his readers part of Provence and what is living there -- his mission was accomplished with charm. A better portray of the region one can only have visiting the real thing -- and it would be very nice to have Mayle as the guide.
Book Review: A great airport page turner
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was a quick, fun read- I bought it in an airport bookstore and finished it by the end of the flight. It was a quick paced story with interesting twists and some nice tension- great for keeping your mind occupied on a plane, gives you a nice wrapped up feeling at the end, but not a terribly deep book. A great summer/beach read!