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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 village's sole business—has helped ensure its future.
The author set out to explore the inner workings of a French restaurant kitchen but ended up stumbling onto a wider, much richer world. Whether uncovering the darker secrets of making foie gras, hearing a chef confess his doubts about the Michelin star system, or absorbing the lore of the land around a farmhouse kitchen table after a boar hunt, Michael Sanders learned that life in Les Arques was anything but sleepy. Through the eyes of the author and his family, the reader enters this world, discovers its still-vibrant traditions of food, cooking, and rural living, and comes to know the village's history, sharing along the way an American family's adventures as they find their way in a place that is sometimes lonely, often wondrous, and always fascinating.
The author set out to explore the inner workings of a French restaurant kitchen but ended up stumbling onto a wider, much richer world. Whether uncovering the darker secrets of making foie gras, hearing a chef confess his doubts about the Michelin star system, or absorbing the lore of the land around a farmhouse kitchen table after a boar hunt, Michael Sanders learned that life in Les Arques was anything but sleepy. Through the eyes of the author and his family, the reader enters this world, discovers its still-vibrant traditions of food, cooking, and rural living, and comes to know the village's history, sharing along the way an American family's adventures as they find their way in a place that is sometimes lonely, often wondrous, and always fascinating.
352 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
August 26, 2009
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 France and I was able to eat at the restaurant. I would highly recommend the book and the restaurant, in that order--a feast for the mind and palette.
September 8, 2009
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 well known and is often booked solid during the tourist season. The main subject in this book is food - French style! And in France, it seems, food is life, so he intertwines many stories of the people in the village who all seem to be involved in producing, cooking or serving food in one way or another. You can learn all about how foie gras is made (yuck!), how to cultivate truffles, and the kinds of dishes that are served in a small French restaurant.
As with most stories about rural lives I was reminded that it is not an easy life, but there is a richness there that is much different than the lives of we city folks.
As with most stories about rural lives I was reminded that it is not an easy life, but there is a richness there that is much different than the lives of we city folks.
September 4, 2008
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. Si vous aimez la France, ce bouquin vaut la peine.
April 30, 2009
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.
May 15, 2009
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.
March 21, 2008
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.
October 18, 2020
For those that have enjoyed Peter Mayle's writings on his little corner of Provence, Sanders takes that personal experience, carefully and respectfully sets it aside, and focuses on the life of the village of Les Arques and its surroundings. A lovely book, a great armchair escapism read, I loved it and am sorry to have finished it.
November 30, 2007
Pretty boring, especially compared to all the really great similar stuff out there.
January 11, 2022
I enjoyed reading about a part of France that we visited. This is a memoir of an American family staying for a year in Les Arques in the Lot area of France, while Michael wrote about the small town and the workings of a French restaurant, their six year old daughter learned French and interacted with interesting country people and the wife wrote her book but was absent from the novel as she wanted to be incognito. The resilience of country people and the importance of their culture and village is described quite well and the detail about making foi gras and finding truffles was rather interesting. We visited the Zadkine Museum which is an important part of the village and brings life to a quiet town.
September 8, 2013
Half way through as of today. A gift from Nancy last year. A good tale of a village with the details that inform. Even if so much is familiar and recognizable to one who lives partly in French villages, there are other sections that are newly informative, especially about the agricultural past in the Lot and of course the story of a successful restaurant. Perhaps a good parallel would be the book about a library and its cat in the midwest that someone else gave me (Susan).
This remained interesting and informative, even for bits I sort of am familiar with, and at the end are some very good references to the area and practical, cultural advice on how to have a good meal in a French restaurant, especially outside of tourist areas, but even there. I ended up liking the villagers more than I might have from a more distanced viewpoint, I can't say, and of course liked the author himself and his project. My main problems were with the repetitions of full bits of information almost like what happens when beginning a sequel, which its chapters are not. They are not even meant to be read alone, which might explain it. And the typos or misspellings, whichever they were, maybe 1 per chapter, or at least those that I noticed, even some French sorts of misspellings (a doubled consonant or an E before the "ment" that ends both the English and French words for the same thing.
This remained interesting and informative, even for bits I sort of am familiar with, and at the end are some very good references to the area and practical, cultural advice on how to have a good meal in a French restaurant, especially outside of tourist areas, but even there. I ended up liking the villagers more than I might have from a more distanced viewpoint, I can't say, and of course liked the author himself and his project. My main problems were with the repetitions of full bits of information almost like what happens when beginning a sequel, which its chapters are not. They are not even meant to be read alone, which might explain it. And the typos or misspellings, whichever they were, maybe 1 per chapter, or at least those that I noticed, even some French sorts of misspellings (a doubled consonant or an E before the "ment" that ends both the English and French words for the same thing.
September 20, 2012
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 ... this is really a book about people more than it is about food. Where the food comes into play is in the way that it brings the entire village together.
Sanders' prose puts the reader right in the middle of everything, whether its the village fete or the orchards where truffles might be found. I learned more about foie gras and trufficulture than I imagined possible, just to name two things. Mostly, I came to admire the folk of Les Arques just as Sanders and his family did.
Highly recommended for Francophiles and foodies alike.
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 ... this is really a book about people more than it is about food. Where the food comes into play is in the way that it brings the entire village together.
Sanders' prose puts the reader right in the middle of everything, whether its the village fete or the orchards where truffles might be found. I learned more about foie gras and trufficulture than I imagined possible, just to name two things. Mostly, I came to admire the folk of Les Arques just as Sanders and his family did.
Highly recommended for Francophiles and foodies alike.
July 31, 2008
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 France.
September 7, 2010
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 way.
June 20, 2012
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 very perseptive on landscape people and food.
July 17, 2015
Sanders and his family spend a year in a small village in southwestern France, focusing on the restaurant there, La Récré, and its husband and wife owners. Fascinating details on the people and seasonal rhythms of the village. The big downside is the writing/editing. Along with some genuinely well-written scenes (I especially enjoyed the description of his young daughter becoming more French than American), Sanders repeats himself, writes sentences that take or three tries to parse, and uses ten words where three or four would do just fine.
October 26, 2008
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
December 20, 2008
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.
November 21, 2015
I loved reading this book. It is set in a village quite close to where our place in France is. Having read it I was really keen to visit, so managed a wonderful trip for my birthday in 2009. I got to eat the infamous lobster ravioli. The food and ambiance were fantastic. Since then, the chef and his wife have moved on to another place, but the restaurant is still there and still at the heart of the village.. If you want an insight into life in rural France, this is a great way to get it.
December 14, 2008
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.
August 27, 2015
incredible prose. Michael Sanders knows how to write and if you want to immerse yourself and feel like you are really there , - take this book - take it slow - and wrap yourself up into this story of people, small places, unknown places, how things work and especially in the kitchen!! If you love kitchens, and especially FOOD, you'll love this book.
February 19, 2016
Since I've read other French lifestyle books, little was new to me in the topics the author addressed. He doesn't have near the wit and humor Peter Mayle does who has set the bar high in this category. Little dry and boring in parts with some editorial mistakes. Overall, an okay read, esp. if you're a sucker for France.
January 5, 2009
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!!!
March 20, 2011
Nog zo een boek --- de rijke Britse vlucht naar het Franse platteland, vol cursief gedrukte Franse woordjes, om te laten zien dat ze het al kunnen, veel groente, ganzen en truffels en natuurlijk het restaurant op het kleine dorpje in de titel. Veel rescepten voor liefhebbers.
January 21, 2016
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.
March 8, 2016
Well I wanted this book to be good...but it just wasn't.
I was hoping for more of a story about a family living in a small town in France and their life there. Instead it was a lot about the restaurants but not interesting stuff.
I was hoping for more of a story about a family living in a small town in France and their life there. Instead it was a lot about the restaurants but not interesting stuff.
January 18, 2016
A well-written account of what it's like to live in a small, rural farming community in southwest France, with a particular focus on its one restaurant. Reading this book immerses you into that life, but there's no compelling reason to keep turning the page.
August 28, 2016
Interesting to learn more about restaurant life in France but think I was too vegetarian to appreciate a lot of the food mentioned!
What a wonderful village this sounds like though and very traditional in its way of life.
What a wonderful village this sounds like though and very traditional in its way of life.
February 27, 2021
I read this back in 2013 and still have a pretty clear memory of it in my mind. It was one of the first real books I read about France, and going through it is such a beautiful experience that you'll want to stay immersed in it, start to finish.
February 23, 2009
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.
May 16, 2009
The story about a really good restaurant and how it saved a little town in France with side stories on truffles and other things.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews