Despite having already made a spectacle of himself in front of the locals, Peter Mayle tries to settle into the relaxed Provencal way of doing things. However, he finds that there is still much to divert him from his endeavours to lead the quiet life. An urgent call from London requesting truffles leads Mayle to a shady rendezvous at the side of a dusty road; the discovery of antique gold coins at the bottom of the garden turns into a night-time treasure hunt; the prospect of forest fires has him nervously looking over his shoulder; and he even tracks down a man whose ambition is to make toads sing the "Marseillaise".

About the Author

Peter Mayle is the author of A YEAR IN PROVENCE, TOUJOURS PROVENCE and ENCORE PROVENCE as well as number of novels.

Reviews

After writing A Year in Provence , Mayle and his family have made themselves at home in the Midi, as these new tales reveal. The British author infuses his adventures with natural humor, whether the subject is larking with Provencal pals, an epicurean diner sur l'herbe , the tangy wine of the countryside, a concert by Pavarotti. Each account is pure enchantment. But Mayle exhibits anger too, particularly when reporting on the undetectable wretch who sets fires impossible to contain during the season of the mistral. Overall, however, the book features the satisfactions of life with good friends and fresh discoveries in that lovely part of France. Reading about them is the next best thing to being in the Midi, where almost ``every prospect pleases.'' (June)

"* 'Peter Mayle's idyllic portrait makes you almost taste the wonderful food and wine, feel the sun and balmy breezes Sunday Express * 'Anyone with any feel for the land and the people who lead their lives close to it will be enchanted' Yorkshire Evening Post * 'Splendidly amusing... filled with things which will help you to understand, at least in part, the glory of this wonderful place' Dirk Bogarde"

For fans of his A Year in Provence ( LJ 4/1/90; ``Best Books of 1990,'' LJ 1/91), Mayle is back with more amusing tales of ``la vie en rose'' in the south of France. Writing with affectionate humor, he recounts such adventures as sneaking through British customs with a suitcase full of expensive truffles and digging for gold coins in his backyard with his wily and greedy neighbor. He encounters truly French eccentrics like Regis, the athlete gourmet who wears a track suit to enjoy his meals, and the ambitious Monsieur Salques, the choirmaster of the singing toads of St. Panteleon who plans to celebrate the bicentennial of the French Revolution with an amphibian rendition of the ``Marseillaise.'' Describing a memorable 50th-birthday picnic that ends in a sudden rainstorm, Mayle conjures up hilarious images in vivid prose: ``Showing through a pair of once-white, once-opaque trousers, red-lettered knickers wished us all Merry Xmas.'' Recommended for all travel collections.-- Wilda Williams, ``Library Journal''