The writer with a claim to being the world’s foremost literary escape artist is back, with an intoxicating novel about the business and pleas...
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reviews
Dec 17, 2009
erin
rated it: 
What a stinker. Mayle abandons his appealing Provence anecdotes and relaxed style in favour of a Novel Writing 101 submission. We get flat, stereotypical characters who predictably pair off around a yawnfest of a "mystery" plot with a dull twist ending.
Mayle claims he was pressured to write it by his pal Ridley Scott. Scott then turned it into a movie (no doubt adding terrible acting and a sentimental score to the book's crimes against sensibility) which - the universe r More...
Mayle claims he was pressured to write it by his pal Ridley Scott. Scott then turned it into a movie (no doubt adding terrible acting and a sentimental score to the book's crimes against sensibility) which - the universe r More...
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Dec 22, 2008
Angela
rated it: 
The lovely and talented Mr. Russell Crowe was responsible for getting me to read Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander, which began my ongoing infatuation with the Aubrey-Maturin series. When I learned that his next movie, A Good Year, is based upon the novel of the same name by Peter Mayle, I figured what the hell, I should give this book a shot as well.
I am told that this is one of Mr. Mayle's fluffier and more forgettable works. Me, I enjoyed it well enough, though that's about the More...
I am told that this is one of Mr. Mayle's fluffier and more forgettable works. Me, I enjoyed it well enough, though that's about the More...
Jan 17, 2012
Pythia
rated it:
Ho acquistato il libro incuriosita dal film, un po' a scoppio ritardato, lo ammetto. Il film mi è sembrato un po' troppo facilone, speravo che il libro si riscattasse. Innanzitutto, il film è liberamente ispirato al romanzo: personaggi simili, trama parecchio diversa nei dettagli - e qui chiudo la parentesi cinematografica.
***Mini-Spoiler***
Il romanzo è ancora più facilone e scontato del libro: Max viene licenziato; tre ore dopo, toh! una lettera dalla Provenza gli comunica c More...
***Mini-Spoiler***
Il romanzo è ancora più facilone e scontato del libro: Max viene licenziato; tre ore dopo, toh! una lettera dalla Provenza gli comunica c More...
Jun 05, 2011
Rebecca
rated it: 
A book that was turned into a movie that I didn't see! YAY! This book was so written for the screen tho. I mean, shit, the author thanks some director (Ridley Scott, I think?) It's like this book was made to be a movie. Everyone works out just so as well.
Guy looses high pressure job the same day he finds out he inherited a chateau in the s. of france from a favourite uncle. He goes down there to deal with it. Eclectic cast of towns people. Girl shows up who says dead uncle is her fathe More...
Guy looses high pressure job the same day he finds out he inherited a chateau in the s. of france from a favourite uncle. He goes down there to deal with it. Eclectic cast of towns people. Girl shows up who says dead uncle is her fathe More...
Sep 21, 2009
MacK
rated it:
I've been an expatriate, and because of that experience I've come to enjoy the ex-pat novel. The travelogue of the weary voyager, the modern day Odysseus, floating on a breeze, relishing every experience that passes by, not entirely focused on going home (whatever home is).
But while E.M. Forester captures this spirit perfectly, Mayle acknowledges a more complex feeling--the need, the irrefutable, undoubtable need for a link to one's past, in a way deeper than the language that Kipling More...
But while E.M. Forester captures this spirit perfectly, Mayle acknowledges a more complex feeling--the need, the irrefutable, undoubtable need for a link to one's past, in a way deeper than the language that Kipling More...
Jul 27, 2011
Jenny Sparrow
rated it:
После того, как я была в восторге от книги "Год в Провансе", я, конечно же, хотела почитать что-нибудь еще Питера Мейла. Выбор пал на роман "Хороший год", который повсеместно хвалили.
Англичанин, потерпевший крах на работе, приезжает в Прованс, в унаследованный от дядюшки дом, где с воодушевлением вливается в жизнь солнечного французского края. Т.е. в целом, сюжет в чем-то перекликается с "Годом в Провансе", и в этом-то, наверное, и заключалась подлянка. По More...
Англичанин, потерпевший крах на работе, приезжает в Прованс, в унаследованный от дядюшки дом, где с воодушевлением вливается в жизнь солнечного французского края. Т.е. в целом, сюжет в чем-то перекликается с "Годом в Провансе", и в этом-то, наверное, и заключалась подлянка. По More...
May 08, 2011
Nancy
rated it: 
I picked up the book because I liked the movie so much. Well, other than the location and the names of the characters, there is very little similarity between the two, although both are equally enjoyable. The book is very witty - one funny statement from the book from vineyard caretaker Claude Roussel: "The English murder their meat twice: once when they shoot it, again when they cook it." It brought to mind the time we ate at an English friend's house and she broiled, then baked te
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Mar 14, 2011
Dennis
rated it:
Ah alors! A book that captivates my attention from beginning to end! For me this is a good find -- something that doesn't happen so often these days. This tale is fun and breezy, like disappearing into an impressionist painting set in Provence.
Max Skinner, practically broke, loses his finance job in London and the same day learns that he's rather fortuitously inherited his uncle's Saint-Pons vineyard in southern France. By next morning Max boards a British Airways flight and ab More...
Max Skinner, practically broke, loses his finance job in London and the same day learns that he's rather fortuitously inherited his uncle's Saint-Pons vineyard in southern France. By next morning Max boards a British Airways flight and ab More...
Feb 23, 2009
Lizzy
rated it:
In A Good Year, Peter Mayle takes the reader back to Provence, this time in a fictional sense. Max Skinner has just lost his high-powered job in London, and doesn't quite know what to do with his life, when he receives an unexpected letter from France. His uncle has just passed away, and Max is to inherit his house and vineyard in Provence, where Max used to spend his summers as a boy. Deciding that a trip someplace warm and sunny is just what he needs, Max goes to the south of France, and is pr
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Apr 21, 2011
Moira
rated it:
A very satisfying book in which all the good people have good things happen to them and the bad people are pretty bad but don't overtly suffer. You can feel benevolent about the bad people; you are so vicariously infused with sunshine and good food and happy relationships you are confident the bads are not enjoying those happy traits. You can share the joy of the good people and look the other way about the bad ones. Here, I am thinking of the like the conniving boss in the beginning who steals
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Jan 26, 2010
Meg
rated it:
Sweet wine and those who love it! Peter Mayle obviously can't help but write of the life that so obviously does (and should) revolve around wine. I recall enjoying A Year in Provence much more, but that was a memoir and A Good Year is a novel. So be it! True to form, the novel has to, just HAS to, have a proper peak of drama and Mayle adds a nice twist to this. I felt the characters lacked depth, though this was more than rectified with the wine descriptions, which evoked a sort of literary
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May 31, 2008
Suzanne
rated it:
The book is better than the film and is the story of a businessman who has inherited his uncle's vineyard. Returning to France brings back memories of the times he spent with his late uncle and forces him to rethink his values and life. As always Mayles' characters are uniquely French and humorous. A fun read, not as good as his previous memoirs.
Feb 06, 2011
Cball
rated it:
A wonderful "palette cleanser" of a tale. You know the kind: a beautiful setting (South of France), a bit of interesting information (wine industry), a hapless main character who improves over time, a bit of romance, a bit of mystery and voila: an excellent book to read with no emotional attachment necessary.
Max inherits his Uncle's wine "estate" in the South of France. Having nothing holding him back in London (freshly fired), he hops on the the nearest plane an More...
Max inherits his Uncle's wine "estate" in the South of France. Having nothing holding him back in London (freshly fired), he hops on the the nearest plane an More...
Jul 21, 2008
Lauren
rated it: 
I just loved this book. A perfect escape to the sun drenched region of Provence. Makes me want to move to the South of France and drink wine and ride in the car with the top down.
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Mar 10, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 07, 2008
Kelly
rated it:
I heard the movie was awful. The book had to be worse. Don't do it!
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Oct 01, 2011
Maria
rated it:
I totally loved it. It was warm, sunny and funny. The style of writing was rather slow but it worked really well as an audiobook.
Max Skinner isn´t happy with either his job or his life style as a fashionable broker in a grey London. The same day Max loses his job, he inherits a house in southern France. Max wants to sell (he has lot´s of bills to pay) but an old friend persuades him to at least go and see the house.
Since he hasn´t anything in London to go back to and as the house More...
Max Skinner isn´t happy with either his job or his life style as a fashionable broker in a grey London. The same day Max loses his job, he inherits a house in southern France. Max wants to sell (he has lot´s of bills to pay) but an old friend persuades him to at least go and see the house.
Since he hasn´t anything in London to go back to and as the house More...
Jul 16, 2009
Cynthia
rated it:
After losing his job in London, Max finds out he's inherited a vineyard estate in France from an uncle. Its only as he's settling in, does he realize how unhappy and unfullfilled he was in London. Max spends his time fixing up the house, trying to figure out why his vines produce terrible wine, meeting new people in the village, and meets a cousin he never knew existed.
A Good Year was just okay for me. There was nothing terrible about it, yet there was nothing outstanding about it More...
A Good Year was just okay for me. There was nothing terrible about it, yet there was nothing outstanding about it More...
Nov 25, 2008
Drew
rated it:
This tale was like a good meal: pleasing to the senses, conjuring a vast array of smells and tastes, and illusory, vanishing as quickly as it had come. While not a terribly interesting plot and rather predictable literary structure, the description of life in Provence and the caricatures of Southern French personalities was spot on and unleashed a wealth of fond reminiscences for me. Those memories, combined with Mayle's deft and hilarious descriptions of the commonplace, made this book a jour
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Feb 24, 2009
Mtngoddess
rated it:
this book was a little flat- kinda like the crepes they served at the cafe in the town where this was set. ;)
mayle is one of those authors who feel like they just have to come up with a whole bunch of similes to make them stand out. (ie: see above)
this was a quick and easy read however and i accomplished it in a day and a half. i learned a few new things about wine (which is good since i am working at a winery) so i suppose it wasn't a total loss. i won't, however, be pi More...
mayle is one of those authors who feel like they just have to come up with a whole bunch of similes to make them stand out. (ie: see above)
this was a quick and easy read however and i accomplished it in a day and a half. i learned a few new things about wine (which is good since i am working at a winery) so i suppose it wasn't a total loss. i won't, however, be pi More...
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Feb 16, 2010
Michelle
rated it:
This is one of the most fun books I've read in a long time. I love Peter Mayle and this book is one of his best! You will enjoy this book from beginning to end. It's a great entertaining read. The characters are wonderfully developed and you'll feel like you know them personally. This book is a perfect read for vacation... Or if you feel like you need a vacation... You'll be transported to Provence!
I bought a copy of this book for my dad, and he loved it too. I gave my copy to a frie More...
I bought a copy of this book for my dad, and he loved it too. I gave my copy to a frie More...
Jan 08, 2009
Shelly - The Illustrated Librarian -
rated it:
This is not a book I would have picked up and read on my own. I'm a librarian at a public library, and I'm moderating a book club held at a wine shop. This was the first book they chose to read.
I enjoyed it more than I expected to. However, I thought the surface-plot of Max inheriting the vineyard, meeting the American cousin, and ultimately living happily-ever-after was just a little too simplistic.
What I enjoyed more was the sub-plot about high-stakes wine fraud, and More...
I enjoyed it more than I expected to. However, I thought the surface-plot of Max inheriting the vineyard, meeting the American cousin, and ultimately living happily-ever-after was just a little too simplistic.
What I enjoyed more was the sub-plot about high-stakes wine fraud, and More...
Sep 19, 2008
Penny Lane
rated it:
The only book that is lazy and much better then it's attempted movie adapation.
Max Skinner has inherited his Uncle's vineyeard, adpated a strange American cousin, and has moved to France to start this new life. What I love about htis book is there's no point. It's like life in a bundle of a fictional wanted life.
There doesn't need to be a big backstabbing moment, there doesn't need to be some fantasy inspired trial of bravery. It's like ... love on the platter next to a More...
Max Skinner has inherited his Uncle's vineyeard, adpated a strange American cousin, and has moved to France to start this new life. What I love about htis book is there's no point. It's like life in a bundle of a fictional wanted life.
There doesn't need to be a big backstabbing moment, there doesn't need to be some fantasy inspired trial of bravery. It's like ... love on the platter next to a More...
Mar 04, 2008
Bart
rated it:
Here's something you don't often hear said by readers: The movie was much better than the book.
I'm afraid in this case it's absolutely true. And the movie - which received lukewarm reviews - wasn't just more entertaining; it was more complicated, more sophisticated, and dare I say, more literary than the book.
About the only thing the screenplay kept from the book were the characters' names and the French vineyard. Sure, there were a number of other bit players who remai More...
I'm afraid in this case it's absolutely true. And the movie - which received lukewarm reviews - wasn't just more entertaining; it was more complicated, more sophisticated, and dare I say, more literary than the book.
About the only thing the screenplay kept from the book were the characters' names and the French vineyard. Sure, there were a number of other bit players who remai More...
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Jul 01, 2008
Dayna
rated it:
More great writing by Peter Mayle! This is the first novel of his that I have read, and I liked it just as much as I like his "nonfiction" stuff. I saw the movie before I realized it was based on one of Mayle's books, and I really liked it too, but I like the book for different reasons. It is about a young(ish) man that inherits a small vineyard in Provence. He couldn't have inherited it at a better time, and he soon starts to think that living quietly and making wine is exactly what h
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Jul 09, 2009
Julie
rated it:
I saw the movie A Good Year, and it quickly became one of my favorite films. Because of this, I decided to read Mayle's novel of the same title, of which the movie was loosely based, I soon found out.
Nevertheless, I was not disappointed. The characters are charming and well developed. The conflicts present entertaining circumstances, and the resolution of the plot was really quite satisfying.
The most enchanting element of this novel, however, is its setting in Proven More...
Nevertheless, I was not disappointed. The characters are charming and well developed. The conflicts present entertaining circumstances, and the resolution of the plot was really quite satisfying.
The most enchanting element of this novel, however, is its setting in Proven More...
Jul 14, 2009
Karlyne
rated it:
Peter Mayle is an author with a gift for words when he sticks to wine, France and food. But his insight into his fictional characters is superficial at best, which sounds odd since he's the one controlling them. Maybe it's just that he has the stereotypical middle-aged man's obsession with young beautiful women, but he uses them way too often to advance his fictitional plots. This book is much better than "Chasing Cezanne", but is nowhere near the caliber of "A Year in Provence
Oct 18, 2010
Ben
rated it:
So much slower than most of the action books I'm accustomed too. This one was rich with imagery and vivid description of Provencal food and wine and culture.
The plot was thick enough to keep the book enjoyable, though I kept expecting more twists and turns. As pleasant and simple as a quiet slow walk on a Sunday afternoon.
(I actually literened to it on Cd, and the reader was fantastic, and there was a short blurb by the author at the end about writing the book that was ni
The plot was thick enough to keep the book enjoyable, though I kept expecting more twists and turns. As pleasant and simple as a quiet slow walk on a Sunday afternoon.
(I actually literened to it on Cd, and the reader was fantastic, and there was a short blurb by the author at the end about writing the book that was ni
Jul 11, 2010
Saltlakecityhardys
rated it:
I read this book because I enjoyed the movie so much (Russell Crowe is great in the screenplay). Of course the book and movie differ, but I liked both. Peter Mayle's writing style is clever and witty. I laughed out loud many times and thought "what a fun book" when I finished. Will I ever make it Provence? Doubtful. But I had a little taste since the author lives in the area. If you are up for a light comedy, then this book is a good pick for summer.
Apr 01, 2011
Mary
rated it:
very thin plot, blatant generalizations about French people (especially the women who are apparently oversexed), and some cheesy language and situations.
BUT this book did feed my fantastic appetite lately for all things French. After reading this, I want to drink Calvados in my French farmhouse and then clean furiously with lavender essence. I actually researched how to make homemade lavender cleaning products, inspired by the housekeeper in the story!
BUT this book did feed my fantastic appetite lately for all things French. After reading this, I want to drink Calvados in my French farmhouse and then clean furiously with lavender essence. I actually researched how to make homemade lavender cleaning products, inspired by the housekeeper in the story!
