SOURCE: "Lure of the Lubéron," in The Times Literary Supplement, No. 4505, August 4-10, 1989, p. 844.

In the following review, Winterbotham commends A Year in Provence for its informative and humorous portrait of rural France.

Peter Mayle recently emigrated to the South of France, where he has bought and modernized a house close to the village of Ménerbes in the Lubéron. A Year in Provence is his account of a settler's experiences, beginning with his arrival in January and ending with a party for the builders to celebrate the house's completion the following Christmas. For the main narrative his book depends on such events as the installation of central heating, visits from unwanted guests and a sampling of the region's restaurants. But Mayle's curiosity and his talent for observation give flesh to this rather insubstantial backbone. Despite linguistic difficulties, he succeeds in making contact with the greatest...