If you have ever visited Provence, reading "Encore Provence" will ensure a flood of pleasant memories. Homesick for Provence, Peter Mayle leaves his home in America (he is originally from England) and returns to his true love, France.

What really keeps the French trim and healthy? What prevents olive oil from quickly turning rancid? How can you ease a sore throat with lavender essential oil?

Peter Mayle answers these questions and more. His writing has a rare warmth and his descriptions of restaurants makes you want to experience every nuance. Whether he is visiting a distillery or explaining the process of buying a house, he tells the story with a sense of adventure.

Since Peter Mayle loves to watch people more than TV he provides some interesting descriptions of village inhabitants. He tells his stories with a sense of relish and he even made Marseille sound more exciting. This book made me wish for another bottle of olive oil I found in Cassis on a weekend trip I made to Provence. It also reminded me to buy another bag of Fleur de Sel.

I can also recommend: A Year in Provence

~The Rebecca Review

If you have ever visited Provence, reading "Encore Provence" will ensure a flood of pleasant memories. Homesick for Provence, Peter Mayle leaves his home in America (he is originally from England) and returns to his true love, France.

What really keeps the French trim and healthy? What prevents olive oil from quickly turning rancid? How can you ease a sore throat with lavender essential oil?

Peter Mayle answers these questions and more. His writing has a rare warmth and his descriptions of restaurants makes you want to experience every nuance. Whether he is visiting a distillery or explaining the process of buying a house, he tells the story with a sense of adventure.

Since Peter Mayle loves to watch people more than TV he provides some interesting descriptions of village inhabitants. He tells his stories with a sense of relish and he even made Marseille sound more exciting. This book made me wish for another bottle of olive oil I found in Cassis on a weekend trip I made to Provence. It also reminded me to buy another bag of Fleur de Sel.

I can also recommend: A Year in Provence

~The Rebecca Review

For an unexplained reason, Peter Mayle and his unnamed wife (presumably the "Jennie" of the dedication) left paradise in Provence for Long Island. In Encore Provence, he returns to the south of France, where the food, wine, and slow pace of life again absorb his attention.

Even less structured than Toujours Provence, Encore Provence covers familiar territory from new angles. "The Unsolved Murder of the Handsome Butcher" and "Recipe for a Village" address both the insularity and charms of village life ("Recipe" much less successfully), while "How to Be a Nose," "Discovering Oil," and "Friday Morning in Carpentras" provide insights into the perfume, olive oil, and truffle industries, respectively. In one of the best chapters, "Restaurant Critic Makes Astonishing Discovery," Mayle effectively and humorously discredits Ruth Reichl's flippant dismissal of Provence. How could a serious critic, after only a month's visit, write, "I had been dreaming of a Provence that never existed"? To help the reader find ripe tomatoes--which Reichl could not manage to do--and other products of Provence, Mayle provides the names and places for markets, vineyards, restaurants, bakeries, and producers of goods like olive oil and honey. It becomes clear that Reichl could not find Provence because she actively avoided it; perhaps she thought that deflating the expectations that Mayle helped to create was a better story than simply reinforcing them.

Several chapters, like "Curious Reasons for Liking Provence" and "Eight Ways to Spend a Summer's Afternoon," reveal one of the problems with Encore Provence--the lack of significant new material. More filler than substance, they are more like random personal essays than integral parts of a cohesive work, as though Mayle could not think of a better way to frame his random observations. These chapters are forced, splintered, and almost unnecessary.

Surprisingly, there is a less of a sense of place. In the previous Provence books, Mayle's stone house, with its location abutting public forest, its isolation from traffic, its drawn-out renovations, its pool that attracts thirsty sangliers, and its quirky neighbors like Faustin and Massot, gives the reader a strong sense of a place with personality. The house is at the heart of A Year in Provence. In Encore Provence, it is not clear that Mayle and his wife return to the same house or what their neighbors are like. Even the dogs are mostly absent. Without structure and intimacy, Encore Provence is nothing more than a series of disconnected travelogue stories. Perhaps weary of intrusions into his privacy, or perhaps unclear about the reasons for the first book's success, Mayle distances himself from his reader.

There may not be much left for Mayle to say about Provence. He writes that, due to building restrictions, not much has changed. Yet he notes that "the garage and the geese are gone, and the farmhouse has sprouted wings and annexes . . . the vines have been groomed" and "the refugees' urge for rapid [gardening] results has spawned an industry: instant gardens, shipped in and set up with astonishing speed." These are only a couple of small changes, to be sure, but in time there will be more, and Provence will alter slowly and subtly. Mayle should know that that is the nature of change in the countryside and that, with enough demand, pressure, and money, change can accelerate, transforming a village into a resort town or farmland into suburbia.

Even if you cannot visit Provence, much of the lifestyle that Mayle describes--with food and drink of varying type and quality--is still available in many places outside France. The slow pace, the fatalistic viewpoint, the elderly gossips and moralists, the close-knit relationships, the helpfulness, and the beauty and quirks of the countryside are found in many regions. If you are as observant and open as Mayle, you may be able to find your version of Provence closer to home.

The book was everything I expected...but y'all sent it in paperback. I never buy a book that I do not want to keep....and I never buy and keep paperback books.

The book was everything I expected...but y'all sent it in paperback. I never buy a book that I do not want to keep....and I never buy and keep paperback books.

The book was everything I expected...but y'all sent it in paperback. I never buy a book that I do not want to keep....and I never buy and keep paperback books.

Food, the air, water, the land and the people in the South of France. The book beautifully took me thru life in this person move to this area.

Peter Mayle effectivately takes us once again to beautiful Provence through his second book. His writing is witty yet very unassuming and laid back. He gives the reader vivid and often funny accounts of the land and its people. He has an uncanny ability to observe the smallest details in the Provencal locals that he meets and to express it in a very entertaining way through his books.

"Encore Provence" is entertaining, but not quite as hilarious as "A Year in Provence".

As always, Mayle is terrible entertaining. His breezy style is fantastic. He has the ability to make his readers feel like you are sitting in a cafe with a glass of local wine, just listening to his endless line of colorful stories. At the last page of his books, I feel that I have finished my visit with him in Provence all too soon.

This is a fitting end to a wonderful trilogy on Provence. I have read most of his books and whether they be novels or travelogues his work is unsurpassed.
Keep up the good work Peter.

The observations of Monsieur Farigoule are themselves worth the cost of this wonderful book but Mayle has peppered this vision of Provence with many personalities, each with their own insights into life-as led by themselves and life as led by we who are not lucky enough to share their little bit of peace.

Encore Provence began slowly and like a good lecturer, warmed to his topic until the beauty, complexity and warmness of what he saw in Provence opened like a blossom on one of the perennial lavenders that are so prevalent in the countryside. Mayle writes lovingly of the Mellon King, the organic gardener, the truffle grower, the many builders he encounters and of course Monsieur Farigoule-who alone in this Free Market world has his finger securely in the dyke trying, against all odds, to maintain France and Frenchness.

Mayle's book is redolent with stamp-sized mental images of a life that we should all view with an intense envy. I can only but wish that French frigate would have arrived a day before rather than a day after Sterling's First Fleet arrived here in Australia. Vive la France!

I loved his first book, but this one seems less fresh or maybe it is me, the reader, that brings a less fresh response. Still I found enjoyment in many descriptions of local characters or delightful meals. Other passages dragged a little, dwelling on insider stories that I couldn't always follow.

The first Provence book captivated. This one merely reports.

"Encore" is the third of Mayle's Provence books, and he's definitely running out of material. This book is much more a collection of essays than "Toujours," and indeed Mayle might be better off publishing similar future work this way. I can envision the chapters of this book appearing as articles in The New Yorker, but I found a whole book a little tedious. Some chapters are fascinating still--I particularly liked "How to Be a Nose," about a school for the blind that trains students to work in the perfume industry, or the chapter on olive oil, "Discovering Oil." Much less interesting is the chapter on the NY restaurant critic, which turns into a guidebook on special shops to buy gourmet items. Mayle is also quite defensive about the criticism he's received that his books have turned the region into a tourist destination, and his final chapter maintains all is as before "A Year in Provence." Maybe true, for a wealthy British writer before real estate prices soared!

I read this on my trip to Provance. I loved his first two books, but this time, I felt as though he was just trying to fill a third book. Still he is a great story telleer and some of them were really great!...I also read while there,and would reccommend, Running in Place: Scenes from the South of France by Nicholas Delbanco.

Another success in non-fiction, "Encore Provence" is agile and amusing (aren't all of Mayle's works?). The author takes a bit of an off-the-path route in Encore, opting to focus more on tourist attractions and eating establishments, rather than chronicling his actual experiences with Provençal life. The book ventures beyond the confines of Provence and into the surrounding areas. Suffice it to say, it is more of a lavish tourist guide and less of a novel.

Granted, it makes very agreeable reading. In my humble opinion, however, "Encore" doesn't reach the brilliant apex of Mayle's previous two masterpieces: "A Year in Provence", and "Toujour Provence", both of which I found equally enjoying. Regrettably, "Encore" definitely lacks the pinnace of its predecessors.

Nonetheless, it's redeeming qualities are still evident in it's many entertaining anecdotes, and it's indisputably informative pages when it came to "touristy" points of interest (to those who long to know the *real* Provence).

Once again reading Peter Mayle is the next best thing to actually being there. Most of the book covers brand new territory in the South of France including the perfect corkscrew, an olfactory lesson, and the joys of olive oil, while also revisiting many of his favorite topics including the wonder of truffles and of course the wine and food.In fact my only slight beef with the book is his need to revisit some topics already covered in previous books, but it's so slight it hardly detracts from the overall joy the book manages to evoke.

Mayle covers Provence again with a third book. This is, I think, the weakest of the three, if only because Mayle is starting to run out of anecdotes. There are some priceless ones in here, most notably the one about the handsome young butcher who increases the meat on the table for every married man in town, but this is more of a travelogue and a description rather than a first-person recounting. It's the weaker for that.

Mayle also complains about the ever-increasing tourist traffic in August while never bothering to consider whether he bears any responsibility for this. He does face down his accusers over the issue of whether he has helped "spoil" Provence and comes up with some good counter-arguments. He also verbally eviscerates a writer for the New York Times who writes an article claiming that Mayle's Provence exists only in his imagination. That chapter has a darker tone than most of his other writings, though it's not surprising that someone with Mayle's gift for the clever phrase is so capable of sharply-worded sarcasm.

On the production side, David Case's almost-too-perfect accent, verging onto the snobbish to this American's ears, is toned down to a more conversational tone, which suits Mayle well. My version of the cassettes were produced by Random House, which has none of the handy enhancements provided with the previous books by Books-On-Tape. I am thinking particularly of the friendly reminder that one has reached the end of a tape or the side thereof, which Books-On-Tape is very good about. Here only an abrupt silence is provided to give one a clue to flip over or change.

I am a big fan of Peter Mayle's writings on this brilliant region of Southern France. As a backpacker a couple of years ago, I travelled through France extensively, and have a special fondness for Provence.

In Mayle's two previous books, A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence, he captured the essence of the characters and geography of the region beautifully. The reader was captivated by the author's ability to make the smallest occurrence an interesting event. I personally felt that Mayle did an excellent job of describing the cast of characters and their insights into French rural life.

Encore Provence does not have the same level of character development and I feel that this is a weakness in the book. I found that in some cases, well known characters from the previous books are either mentioned in passing or totally re-introduced to the reader. This lack of consistency is annoying.

One other gripe with the book is Mayle's constant reference to America (No offence to American readers intended). Obviously, this has been done to give a reference point to American readers and is also related to the fact that the author had just returned from the USA, but the cynic in me feels this was also done to boost American sales of the book.

Overall though, Encore Provence, is well written and contains enough of the amusing stories and observations that fans and Francophiles alike will enjoy.

Not as good as the first book, "A Year in Provence." The charm that covered every page of the original is spread much too thinly in this one. The stories about local people and their unique culture are rare in "Encore." Nonetheless, it's a handy and amusing travel guide for someone planning a visit to the region.

I have read Mayle's other "Provence" books, and was absolutely charmed by them, wanting to book a flight to the south of France immediately. What charmed me the most, however, was not particularly the scenery and locale, but the interesting, quirky folks that figured so heavily in his other books. He tells us less about these folks in "Encore," and more about the out-of-the-way places that standard tour guides won't mention. The charm and wit are of course present, but the interesting neighbors are less of a factor. Oh, we have Marius, funeral connoisseur, and the story of the murder of the town butcher, who was just too attractive to the wives of some of the men in the village. These are the stories I very much enjoyed in the other books, and found missing in this one.

Nonetheless, the descriptions and details are generously laced with Mr. Mayle's wit and clear love of the place. Should I ever book that flight to France, I will surely take the volume along as a guide to the "true" Provence.

This third installment isn't a departure from the previous books, but rather enhances the Provence mystique. "Encore" twists with both story-telling in a fictional sense and factual narrative. The detail on the truffle market and olive oil industry was engaging and leaves you hungry for more.

This is an enjoyable read and especially timely for someone readying for travel to Provence. Mayle does a great job of listing excellent restaurants, markets, vineyards and other sight-seeing destinations.

This is the most funniest book I ever read in a very long time. On my Christmas break, I spent a lot of time reading the book. I found the recipe's to be quite delicious and familiar. The book was a little facetous. The funniest part was when the author stated that "The bland was leading the bland" I found this statement to be quite funny and facetous. A lot of people always talk about the "blind leading the blind." In retrospect, food does not taste very good when there are people in the kitchen that do not know how to cook. The phrase is quite similar to " a chicken running with his head cut off." In other words, this is a person that do not know what they are doing. Another interesting part was the subtitle" The Perfect Cork Screw." This part was quite intriguing. It had my attention. I was all ears and eyes. How do you actually be a nose anyway? Tell me please what is involve, do people go around sniffing people's things to be a nose. Maybe there is a little bit research that is involved with being a nose. For the final analysis of this short but sweet book review,"Green Thumbs and Black Tomatoes" was the best part, it kind of remind me of what I cook with. It can be quite similar to ones ancesrty. Good-bye

This is the most funniest book I ever read in a very long time. On my Christmas break, I spent a lot of time reading this book. I found the recipe's to be quite delicious and familiar. The book was a little facetous. The funniest part was when the author stated that "The bland was leading the bland." I found this statement to be quite funny and facetous. A lot of people always talk about "the blind leading the blind." In retrospect, food does not taste very good when there are people in the kitchen that do not know how to cook. The phrase is quite similar to a "chicken running with his head cut off." In other words, this a person that do not know what they are doing. Another interesting part was the subtitle,"The Perfect Corkscrew." This part was quite intriguing. It had my attention. I was all ears and eyes. How do you actually be a nose, anyway? Tell me please what is involve, do people go around sniffing people's things to be a nose? Maybe there is a little bit more research involved with being a nose. For the final analysis of this short but sweet book review, "Green Thumbs and Black Tomatoes" was the best part, it kind of remind me of what I cook with. It can be quite similar to ones ancestry. Good-bye

Rejoice, armchair travelers - Provence's most engaging booster is at it again! With deft pen and quick wit intact Peter Mayle offers another paean to his promised land, Encore Provence, in which, among other Provencal perks, he delineates the salubrious effects of a 3-hour lunch, and the gastronomical satisfaction found at a village boulangerie.

After a four year hiatus in America, Mr. Mayle has returned to the lavender fields and picturesque dwellings of his chosen paradise on earth - southern France. As he describes his second residency with great good humor and affection, Encore Provence becomes a billet-doux to the places and people of that region.

No longer the wide-eyed, exuberant Francophile we found in A Year In Provence(1995)and Toujours Provence (1991), he is now a more sophisticated, experienced resident - on to recalcitrant workmen who say neither yes or no, but only "c'est possible," and now convinced that "hurried eating has ruined more digestive systems than foie gras."

That enlightened mecca where wine's first sip is greeted with a "shudder of appreciation" has welcomed him home. He warmly returns its embrace, as he delightedly attests through anecdotal narrative and assiduously drawn, smile-provoking portraits of idiosyncratic Gallic friends.

For starters, we learn of a handsome village butcher who favors housewives with more than choice cuts. Such generosity results in his untimely demise, but "everyone turned out the day they buried the butcher. They all had their reasons." We are inducted into the mysteries of buying a new car, cheerfully informed of the essentials of a proper village, and taken on a cook's tour of Marseille, where it is suspected "that not only fish are changing hands at the daily market on the Quai des Belges."

Lucien Ferrero, we discover, has "a nose in a million," having "personally created more than two thousand perfumes," and we accompany the author as he zealously pursues the elusive perfect corkscrew.

When asked by future visitors when the best time is to come to Provence, Mr. Mayle sidesteps that persistent query with "after lunch."

"Only then," he explains, "can you take full advantage of the long and unencumbered afternoon that lies ahead. The bill is paid, the last mouthful of rose' swallowed, the empty bottle upended in the ice bucket as a farewell salute to the waiter."

The author finds that one of his most daunting tasks is trying to convince guests of the necessity of a siesta, for they've arrived in Provence "with their work ethics intact and their Anglo-Saxon distrust of self-indulgence poised to resist undisciplined, slightly decadent Mediterranean habits."

For those wishing to be convinced - the line forms behind me.

As always, Mr. Mayle is a witty, convivial, boon companion. Save for one chapter in which he lambastes a former New York Times food critic for her criticism of the area (perhaps a gentle braising would have sufficed rather than a full roast), Encore Provence is pure pleasure.

I read this book when it first came out and loved it as as I have loved his past French writings. I am re-reading it again and can understand how some people may get a negative feeling about his latest piece. But I do believe his French stuff is more for a small niche of readers who either have spent time in France or are serious francophiles. I have lived 5 years in Paris and am a tour guide in France and whenever I read his books, it definitely takes me back to a Provence that I too have known to love. I can understand his chapter when he goes up against the NY Times food critic but it sure sounded like she was one of these people who would also use the old stereotype that the French are rude! Au contraire! And Mr. Mayle doesn't translate his French idioms! This book is for Francophiles and Francophones! So if you love France as much as some of us do, go out and buy this wonderful, delicious book!

Another gem by this talented humorist. I especially enjoyed his account of going to see Pavarotti in Orange! Now I know why he always carries that HUGE hankerchief...Add this to your collection of repeat-reading as you yearn for the Cote d'Azur (in spite of the horrendous traffic)!

Twelve years ago, Peter Mayle gifted us with "A Year In Provence", an account of this expatriate Brit's plunge into Gallic life, revolving around the pleasures and pitfalls of establishing a residence in rural France in an old country house that was somewhat of a "fixer-upper". Several Provence-related books later, and after a period of time living on Long Island, Peter and his wife return to the land they (and we) love. The result is "Encore Provence". The latest book doesn't hold together as well as "Year", the elements of the latter forming a more cohesive whole. However, "Encore" is certainly much better than some of his other books written in the interim.

In "Encore", Peter briefly revisits several topics covered in the original, as well as several more which were apparently overlooked. The range is quixotic: the cultivation of olive trees, an explanation of the three grades of virgin olive oil, the smelly art of selecting fragrances for designing perfumes, foie gras as the key to longevity, discovering the perfect corkscrew, touring Marseille, the almost-underworld of the village truffle market, how to execute the Provençal full shrug, the obligatory elements of the Provençal village, and, umm ..... the shotgun murder of an amorous meat cutter. And, of course, many hedonistic references to the local food and wine. All are treated in the utterly charming and dryly humorous Mayle-style that makes his books so delightful.

Bravo and merci beaucoup, Mr. Mayle! You've provided another enjoyable spice to my life.

I found this book a great source of facts and abstracts about French and Proven?al life. Not a travel guide, but still a great choice for not only those traveling to Provence, but those that have loved Provence in the past and are looking to revisit it through their armchairs.

I have been a fan of Peter Mayle's earlier works, particularly the other "Provence" books. As with the others, this one was a fun, pleasant read, but I kept having the feeling that, during some portions, it was "deja vu all over again." For example, there is an entire section on truffles and truffle hunting, as in at least one of the earlier books. While there are some new vignettes with regard to this special fungus, a lot of it seemed repetitve. I almost felt that I would have gotten the same enjoyment by rereading one of the earlier books.

Despite this criticism, there are some new stories, and the book was enjoyable, like its predecessors. I just can't give it a higher rating because of the lack of originality.

Mayle makes his third journey to Provence and the idea is wearing a little thin.Still a page turner but definitely lacks the "joie de vivre" of the first two books. Too much Mayle and not enough people of Provence.

It is inevitable that Peter Mayle's new book Encore Provence will be compared to the first book in the series, A Year In Provence, as the better book. This expresses my feeling. Mr. Mayle is a good writer but he covers subject that were done in earlier books, namely truffles and olive oil. There are character portraits like Marius but not much that I can say held my interest.

The chapter dealing with foie gras as a component of French longevity I found trite. I cannot think of foie gras without the inhumane methods that produce it. I was wondering how Mr. Mayle could eat it without thinking of geese having a rod rammed down their throats, sometimes causing damage to their neck and leading to infections.

In short, a mixed bag of some of the old humor but also a book that had few new observations.

I read and re-read A Year in Provence and longed for the European sensibilities; the sensual, amusing, delicious ways. Then I visited France and although it was beautiful I found it lacking in something that I couldn't put a finger on. Then I visited Italy and my life changed. Years went by and I finally took the plunge and moved to the place that captured my heart, bella Roma. Then recently I read the new book by Alan Epstein, As the Romans Do: The Delights, Dramas and Daily Diversions of Life in the Eternal City and he described exactly what it was I was feeling. If you didn't get enough with a Year in Provence or if you love Italy as much or more than France then you MUST read As the Romans Do.

I read this book and many of Mayles others and longed for the European sensibilities; the sensual, amusing, delicious ways. Then I visited France and although it was beautiful I found it lacking in something that I couldn't put a finger on. Then I visited Italy and my life changed. Years went by and I finally took the plunge and moved to the place that captured my heart, bella Roma. Then recently I read the new book by Alan Epstein, As the Romans Do: The Delights, Dramas and Daily Diversions of Life in the Eternal City and he described exactly what it was I was feeling. If you didn't get enough with a Year in Provence or if you love Italy as much or more than France then you MUST read As the Romans Do.

Cleverly witty, and a bit of a hodge-podge of information - it all fits. A magnificent armchair visit to a lovely locale. Smell the lavender! Taste the food! Meet the people! Travel the countryside! Savor the village life! This would not be a good introduction to audio books, though. While the French pronunciation is likely flawless, the reader takes the dry wit and humor and delivers it in a schmarmy and rather insulting tone in a rapid-fire manner. By the 4th CD I was ready to track this guy down and gag him.

Ahhhhh. I just finished Encore Provence and I have to say it was well worth the wait! I have read each of Peter Mayle's other Provence books three times and I was quite eager to dive into his latest. I am a Francofile, having lived in Paris for six months in 1994-1995. I had the pleasure of visiting Provence for only a short time, but I fell in love with the area. Peter Mayle has a riveting writing style and I feel as if I am on his adventures with him. His use of French words in italics is an excellent device. I understand it can be a bit off-putting to non French speakers, but for me, it is a wonderful, short walk down memory lane. More than any other author I've read, with the exception of Papa Hemingway, Mayle has the ability to draw me into his books. Halfway through Encore Provence, I was on my way to the local liquor store to stock up on several nice bottles of Cotes du Rhone! I hope M. Mayle continues to write about the south of France for years to come. If not, I can always reread his trilogy each year. Bravo!

"Encore Provence" is a letdown in the wake of Mayle's first 2 books on Provence. It's little more than a potpourri of events from his previous work. The only thread they have in common is France. A single entertaining episode involves a playboy butcher who went to Provence and seduced local wives. Their irate husbands murdered the meatcutter. And the whole thing went down long before Mayle even went to Provence. Finally, even though Mayle pulled his punches this time (perhaps to atone for past slights), he wrote with two pens. True to form, he was critical of the yokels in Provence. Yet, he managed to play it up as a paradise (especially compared to the USA) from which he'll never want to leave. It all seems as though Mayle wanted simply to crank out another book.

I didn't give this book 5 stars, because nothing can beat "A Year in Provence". That said, I loved it! Peter Mayle perfectly captures the people, sights, smells and sounds of Provence. Encore even has the added benefit of acting as a guidebook (sort of). His first book sent me there and this one has me dreaming of my own encore! I also want to comment on the Reichl "roast". Having read Ms. Reichl's restaurant reviews, I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Mayle's bitingly funny viewpoint.

I really can't understand why people didn't like this book as much as Mayle's previous works. I think it's absolutely delightful. Mayle works his special brand of magic and captures the essence of Provence perfectly. Some reviewers have suggested that Mayle write about other locales instead, but to me that would be like John Grisham writing a book that didn't contain a main character from the legal profession. Provence is Peter Mayle country and he describes it with genius. I can't wait until his NEXT book!

As someone moving to Provence in the spring, I have been devouring material on the area to aquaint myself with the customs, festivals and pace of life there. Mayle's books have been enticing journeys there. Encore Provence proved more helpful to me (relative to AYIP) as he actually lists the places to go for Oil, truffles and the like. A very enjoyable read

The stories are strained, the subject stale. I found it very diappointing after the delight of the author's earlier books.

Hey, here goes Peter Mayle again on a jolly-up through the South of France. On one hand, this little light book is worth 5 stars because it it so damned readable; it's like a warm bath on a winters' night, a Marguarita in a tropical beach bar. It's a nursery story for grown ups. Don't get me wrong - I like it! But the fact is I can't help feeling that Peter Mayle is writing to formula. His previous career was in advertising,so he's VERY well aware of who his target readership is, what they like, where they like to go on holiday - and what kind of life they aspire to. Mr Mayle pushes all those right buttons to draw people in to his fairy-tale, safe and sanitised world. Somehow, I just feel he could have written this anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Come on! If you want this kind of stuff, why not jump on a plane to some sunny haven and write your own book. Encore Provence is light, bright, funny and farcical, but for me just a little too false.

Is one of Peter Mayle's Provence books better than another? Who cares? And who remembers when you're in the middle of any one of them. They're all worth the while if you're looking for a lilting ride through another person's favorite countryside. I'd read another if there were a fourth.

Yes it's somewhat similar in style to the other books. So what. It makes you laugh. I'm always ready to jump on a plane and go - not to investigate to see if Mayle "got it right" but just to collect my own sweet reminiscences. I especially loved the Reichl roast and therefore I would like to meet and shake the hand of the person from El Lay - I couldn't stand Reichl's style here at the Times either. But I guess Mr. Mayle doesn't want to write for Gourmet Magazine. Also, it was great when he described the Michelin places as pretentious. My husband and I have abandonned that route. He's right - better to eat with locals in smaller places - EXPENSIVE restaurants all over the world are getting to be fairly homogeneous.

Having just finished the audio book obtained from the library, I rushed home to see if I could find (online) the cheese, wine and olive oil Mayle writes about. I wasn't surprised I couldn't afford any of them, but I now have a desire to try them all.

I have disliked everything French since the good Sisters at Holy Spirit attempted to teach me the language. Mayle has gotten me to rethink my long held opinions.

I'll have to scrape enough money together to buy the hardcover book. It's one I want in MY library to enjoy when I need to escape myself.

This book is a perfect example of all that is wrong with the publishing industry. They've now milked three books on Provence from this dry,empty author without said author saying anything different or new. You need only read A Year in Provence to get a sense of the author's recurring themes and subjects; indeed, you need read only one paragraph. Here is is: Provence is quaint. The pace is slow. The focus is on food. The French think they know everything. Weather is a factor. There. I've just saved you time and money. Now can Mr. Mayle please move on to something new? ANd keep it brief?

The people who hated this book seem to concentrate on two things: His spirited defense of Provence in response to a poor review, and the feel of the book as a collection of essays instead of a coherent story. I'm ambivalent about the former criticism, but I wouldn't put down this book because it doesn't have a story; the overwhelming majority of the chapters ooze the trademark Mayle charm, which is always well worth savouring. I laughed out loud several times during the book, and, well, that's why we have Peter Mayle. If you want an charmingly light-hearted read, this book won't disappoint you.

It is unfortunate that Peter Mayle's gentle humor did not continue in this book. It sounds as if the Provencal tourist bureau took offense at his satirical comments in previous books, and he felt obliged to write an apologetic rebuttal. I was most disappointed, since I thoroughly enjoyed his first ("A Year in P.") and somewhat less its sequel. But this book could have been much more interesting and enjoyable if he had not reworked his old themes.

The die-hard fans of Peter Mayle know all his books intimately, and so the disappointing thing about "Encore Provence" is the extensive repetition from both the previous 'Provence' books as well as some of his fictional work. For new readers of Peter Mayle - I'm sure they'll find this book enjoyable. But for those of us who have read and re-read his work over the last 10 years - please give us some new stories next time. However, I'm still a fan!