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91st out of 470 books
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986 voters
From Here, You Can't See Paris: Seasons of a French Village and Its Restaurant
From Here,You Can't See Paris is a sweet, leisurely exploration of the life of Les Arques (population 159), a hilltop village in a remote corner of France untouched by the modern era. It is a story of a dying village's struggle to survive, of a dead artist whose legacy began its rebirth, and of chef Jacques Ratier and his wife, Noëlle, whose bustling restaurant -- the vill...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
September 30th 2003
by Harper Perennial
(first published November 1st 2002)
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Michael S. Sander's memoir of his year spent in a tiny French village was absolutely charming. Though Sanders started out to write about life in a French restaurant, the book is actually about the villagers themselves.
Centered around the city's main business, a restaurant in an old schoolhouse (Le Recreation, or "recess"), the book takes us through a year in the life of Les Arques. The elderly mayor, the family who makes its living keeping ducks for foie gras, the restaurateurs and their staff ....more
Centered around the city's main business, a restaurant in an old schoolhouse (Le Recreation, or "recess"), the book takes us through a year in the life of Les Arques. The elderly mayor, the family who makes its living keeping ducks for foie gras, the restaurateurs and their staff ....more
Sooo, I enjoyed this, mostly because Michael Sanders writes about food. I have to admit though that I think he is a bit wordy. There were plenty of times throughout the course of this book where I felt he could have written the exact same thing in half the space. Still enjoyable, except for the descriptions of foie gras, which, really, I don't need to know about, nor do I need to ever try it.
Living in the Gers Gascony region i was able to compare Gers with Lot and found that the people in my area are very simular.The villages are slowly dieing out and to be a farmer you need alot of land and fingers in many pies.He tells in detail about truffles which i found fasinating and was surprised they do foie gras over there as foie gras is a main contributer to the farmers income over here as well.An all round good book and i wish he done more on the different regions in France as he is ver...more
Michael Sanders and his wife moved to a very, very small village in France so he could write a book about a restaurant and the people who ran it. Fun to read about the great food and ways to prepare it. But a glimpse into the lives of the rural French was the best part for me. Now, I'm going to see if I can get Steve to find some kind of high paying job somewhere in Tuscany or Provence. Then you can all visit me whenever you want. Or... one of you can move over there and I will visit you. Either...more
I was wandering by a display in my local library and picked out this book. I have only been to France once - to Paris for 4 days. I admit I have romantic imaginings about the French countryside dancing in my head. So, I thought I'd indulge those fantasies by reading this book. It is non-fiction and written by an author from the US who moves to a very small, rural village in the French countryside with his family for a year. He decides to profile the one restaurant in the village which is pretty...more
This book tells the story of an American writer who moves to a tiny village in southwest France with his family to write about the changing nature of the French countryside. He spends most of his time in La Recreation, the one restaurant in Les Arles, profiling the owners and their cuisine. Sanders makes excellent observations about French culture, people and food. The book is very atmospheric and highly enjoyable. If you like this book, check out "From Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik.
I very much enjoyed this true story of the author moving his wife and young child to a tiny village in the southwest of France. His observations get very detailed and I especially enjoyed his observations about his daughter and her adaptation of French ways. The food list from her school was fascinating! Like A Year in Provence without the humor.
Great book about a family's year in a very small town in southwest France and the town's restaurant. It takes you on a tour of the markets and farms where French food is grown and raised (vegetarians beware the chapter on foie gras), and really gives a sense of what a traditional small Fench village is like. Very enjoyable.
I loved this book of a restaurant in a village in the Dordogne. Michael Sanders lived in the village for about a year while he was writing about the restaurant, the people who eat there, the dinners, the kitchen, and the people of the village.
This only whets my desire to live in Europe.
A lovely book, very calming. A bit slow to start, but once I got into the rhythm of Sanders' writing, it sped up.
He wrote a really nice snapshot of this French village. And, as a foodie, I really enjoyed the loving descriptions of the various dishes and foodstuffs.
I need to get my hands on a good black truffle, damnit. That's definitely going on my list of things to do before I die.
A lovely book, very calming. A bit slow to start, but once I got into the rhythm of Sanders' writing, it sped up.
He wrote a really nice snapshot of this French village. And, as a foodie, I really enjoyed the loving descriptions of the various dishes and foodstuffs.
I need to get my hands on a good black truffle, damnit. That's definitely going on my list of things to do before I die.
This book was interesting in that it chronicles a few years in the life of a restaurant in a small French village. Good for those who really like "labor of love" endeavors.
The author comes off as completely pretentious at times, but if you can overlook that, he paints a lovely picture of rural France. This is an easy read and a nice escape.
This book was so respectful of life in the village where the author lived for year. Having read almost all of Peter Mayle's books, I found this to be a step above. I felt like I understood the life of the village from the inside after reading this book. It wasn't all poking fun at French idiosyncrasies. It certainly made me laugh occasionally but it didn't put the French down but it wasn't an over glorification of French country life either. The best part was I read it right before going to Fran...more
Good read for learning a little about life as a foreigner in the French countryside and "behind the scenes" restaurant work. Warning--this book will make your mouth water with all the talk about delicious food!!!
Loved this book - made you feel as if you were living in this small French village with him - made me yearn for French cooking and to visit this area
The story about a really good restaurant and how it saved a little town in France with side stories on truffles and other things.
Loved this - it helps that we were in this place with these people, but can't wait to visit, I mean, read this again.
Dec 27, 2008
Pipgargery
added it
From Here, You Can't See Paris: Seasons of a French Village and Its Restaurant by Michael S. Sanders (2003)
a small town in the Dordogne & their struggle to keep a restaurant open
I read every book whose them is "observations of an American transplanted in France." And most are pretty predictable: American discovers just how ultimately satisfying it can be to learn to enjoy life like the French. This is much the same, but done very well. Author, wife, and young child spend a year in tiny Les Arques, a small farming community with a popular (seasonal) restaurant. The author is engaging and enlightening, and he adds a lot to the discourse of Americans-discovering-the-French...more
Mostly I enjoyed this because I've been to the restaurant that it's about, having spent some time in the area, and I can confirm it is the best restaurant I've ever been to. People should go to the Lot Valley just for La Recreation, seriously. I'm not sure how interesting this would be to someone who didn't know Les Arques, but then I only know it a very little bit and I thought it was a fascinating glimpse into a dying rural France. Especially so because it's my favourite part of dying rural Fr...more
Don't read this book unless you have some food in front of you.
It was a great biography of the year that an American family spent living in a small hilltop french village. They were there to observe the phenomenon of great chefs working in small restaurants in out of the way places.
Just reading the chapters about the choreography required to prepare a meal was fascinating.
The characters are real and interesting and makes you definitely want to go on a eating tour of southern france
It was a great biography of the year that an American family spent living in a small hilltop french village. They were there to observe the phenomenon of great chefs working in small restaurants in out of the way places.
Just reading the chapters about the choreography required to prepare a meal was fascinating.
The characters are real and interesting and makes you definitely want to go on a eating tour of southern france
suz rec
Pretty boring, especially compared to all the really great similar stuff out there.
Just wasn't getting into it.
Jun 16, 2013
Ivy
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I have also read this book and enjoyed it a lot. I read it before we went to France last year, but wasn't in the right area to visit the rest...more
Aug 28, 2009 04:28am