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Toujours Provence
An Englishman shares his love affair with a region in France known for its food, wine, and its joie de vivre
Toujours Provence is the sequel to the author’s first work, A year in Provence. The new work lacks the continuity of the first work and comes off more as a collection of remembrances rather than an odyssey through time with all the freshness of first discovery that characterized the first work.
In the second work, Mayle laments the changes that have come over the region in the time since first he moved there. In the first work, he and his wife had settled in the quiet town of Menerbes where they renovated an old farmhouse. They sold their property in 1990 and moved to California only to return in 1996, where they settled in Bonnieux.
In Toujours Provence, Mayle describes his celebrity that followed publication of his first book. It captures the foibles of exuberant fans that petition Mayle for everything from autographs to advice about anything having to do with the South of France.
As in the first work, the author continues to regale the reader with stories of local French customs such as the way drugs are dispensed by the apothecary. Think of a visit to an old fashion doctor’s office, the waiting to gain an audience, and then the lengthy consultation that follows once you begin to describe your medical predicament to him. One buys over-the-counter medication in this manner only it’s humorous the way the author describes it.
Another selection in the book deals with the author’s passage over the half-century mark in his life. His wife decides to invite friends to celebrate his birthday at an afternoon picnic in the Luberon, the mountain range that cuts through the region of Provence.
This, however, is no ordinary picnic for it is catered by none other than Maurice, the chef and owner of the Auberge de la Loube in Buoux. Guests are ferried from the restaurant into the Luberon via Maurice’s restored 19th-century horse drawn carriages. Suffice it to say that the picnic, best described by the author, was the only way to celebrate the half-century mark in anyone’s life.
Other stories described the unique perspective on food that has become almost stereotypical of Provence. A selection entitled "In the Belly of Avignon," we learn about the farmer’s market in the center of Avignon. In another entitled "Dinner with Pavarotti," the author described tongue in cheek how the Italian tenor ate a complete dinner during the several intermissions of his performance at the Antique Theatre of Orange.
My favorite story among those dealing with food is entitled "Mouthful for Mouthful with the Athlete Gourmet." The story centers around a Frenchman named Regis who takes it upon himself to educate the author on the availability of high-quality, modestly-priced French cuisine. For the first meal, Regis offers Heily, an unassuming restaurant on the Rue de la Republique in Avignon. For the second, he proposes Le Bec Fin, a favorite of truck drivers, located on Route 7 at Orgon.
Another story, "A Pastis Lesson," describes the region’s passion for "the milk of Provence," writes Mayle. "For me, the most powerful ingredient in Pastis is not aniseed or alcohol, but ambiance, and that dictates how and where it should be drunk."
Wine, too, has its revered place in Provence as Mayle describes in a story entitled "No Spitting in Chateauneuf-du-Pape." In this selection the author is treated to a lesson in the appreciation of fine wine by a friend called Michel. "He stared into his glass before picking it up, then cupped it in the palm of his hand and swirled it gently three or four times," the author writes. "Raising the glass to eye level, he peered at the traces of wine that his swirling had caused to trickle down the inner sides. His nostrils alert and flared, was presented to the wine and made a thorough investigation. Deep sniffling. One final swirl, and he took the first mouthful, but only on trial."
Perhaps the great irony of this work is that the author complains about the rampant commercialization of the region. He laments the loss of innocence that lured him to the region over a decade ago. Yet the popularity of his writings on the region are in part responsible for the very commercialization he complains of.
Mayle is a wonderful writer with a genuine affection for the region and its people and its is clearly reflected in this work. This is a wonderful book for a dreary winter’s evening or a long flight from Los Angeles to Cleveland.
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