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It has detailed - though sometimes random - photos. However, there is nothing deep or truly insightful here, so don't expect that. It is based on one person's (the author) experiences but you feel like you can relate and the writing style is just so pleasant and draws in all five senses. I actually bought this as a gift for a friend and then had to return it due to the fact that the recipient already owned it - but I flipped through it and found it to have a lovely account of life in Provence and Paris. You get a glimpse into the French attitude and ideal and it helps understand the French psyche - makes you really appreciate and admire the French. A light read. I have been to Paris but this book makes me yearn for Provence too.
I had hoped the book was written to inspire a trip to France and explore the French lifestyle. My first ever return to Amazon. Really, the writing left me unable to appreciate the lush photos; so self absorbed and boastful.
If you don't have the time or money to go to Paris, this is the next best thing. Put on French music, poor a glass of wine and your there. The photos are dreamy and really wonderful.
Let me tell you that I am so glad I was able to get it this way rather than pay for this overly-plush, terribly written book. Best book on French style: Veronique Vienne's French Style: How to Think, Shop & Dress Like a Frenchwoman.magnificient OOP book but absolutely worth the inflated price.Best book on French cuisine and life: Robert Arbor's Joie de Vivre. I remember doing a search quite a while back for French Life (or something similiar) and found this book right before it's release. Don't waste your time with this one. A few months later, I found it again (going through my list) and decided I didn't want to spend $35 for this book so after much waiting it became available thru inter-library loan. And I got really sick of the author's constant referrals to her olive farm. You will not learn anything new about the French in this book.
I immediately put it on my Wish List and kind of forgot about it. Such a letdown.boring writing with heady photographs. You'll just be paying for padded fluff. It's the same thing: French style, food, politeness, slow pace, etc.
SAVE YOUR MONEY. Archer proudly tells us she has received, was recognition,by the French Security person at the airport,of her HERMES BERKIN handbag. I have never read anything so utterly pretentious -- how wonderful that Ms Archer found this paradise and, at untold cost, restored it brick by brick, stone by stone, using the best local craftspeople,artisans, antiquarians and the like (and who all, along the way, became her new best friends)-- and telling us in the most mundane style how lucky she is to be able to sit and watch the olives grow while also tripping off to Paris or London (her now home).Her ultimate coup, it seems, and which Ms. He informed her that she had bought the most perfect item in the whole world, made with utmost craftsmanship at Hermes-- and she has the privilege of owning it. BETTER TO DONATE IT TO A WORTHY CAUSE. MON DIEU.Luckily, I got this book from my local library and thus have not added a centime to her rather full coffers.
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