Wabonga Press
  • WELCOME
  • OUR SERVICES
  • OUR PROJECTS
  • OUR CONTENT
  • CONTACT US

Picnic in Provence

21/8/2015

 
Picture
Elizabeth Bard: Little, Brown $27.99
 
GIVEN that stories of expats settling in rural France are a dime a dozen in the English-speaking world, is there really room for yet another “I-moved-to-Provence-and-kept-a-diary” memoir? When said book is as well-written, revealing and informative as this one, the answer is unreservedly “yes”.
When American writer Elizabeth Bard and her French cinema-consultant husband Gwendal head to Céreste – a village of just over 1000 people in the hill country of the sunny south-east – for a quick break before the birth of their first child, their plan is certainly not to set in motion a life-changing tree-change.
However, fate – and a shared passion for literary history – intervenes.
On learning that the wartime home of French Résistance leader and poet René Char is for sale, they do not hesitate. Upping stakes in Paris they leave behind family, friends and financial security in search of a more relaxed, more enriching environment in which to raise their son.
The lifestyle might well be idyllic but what will pay their bills? In Céreste the family’s challenge becomes supporting itself.
What results is the establishment one of France’s finest artisanal icecreameries: a business built on non-traditional dessert flavours as typically Procençal as saffron, fennel seed, basil, black truffle, and rosemary, olive oil and toasted pine nuts.
Like its predecessor, Lunch in Paris, Picnic in Provence contains the perfect balance of personal reflection and cultural and social observation without veering into the self-indulgence and maudlin introspection that mar so many uncomfortably personal “finding oneself” books.
The 63 original Provençal-inspired recipes which food-lover Bard includes are a mouth-watering bonus. Rabbit with pastis, fennel and fresh peas; char-grilled sardines with vinegar and honey; split-pea soup with pork belly and Cognac; blood sausage with apples and autumn spices; and lavender honey and thyme icecream stand out.


Comments are closed.
    ' Books are treasure for the spirit and ​the soul. '​
    — VB 2020

    ​​

    Book reviews

    WABONGA Press produces an original book review every Friday. Books are chosen from among the latest English-language fiction and non-fiction releases in Australia and internationally.
    Each 300-word review is accompanied by a high-resolution cover image.
    All are available for licensing to print media in selected regions.​For less than the cost of one takeaway cup of coffee each week, a publication can make use of this service to access a new review every seven days, backed by a written guarantee that the same content will not be licensed for use by any direct competitor.
    Please contact Wabonga's publisher, Rosalea Ryan, to discuss how this service can be tailored to your newspaper or magazine.​

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Adventure
    Africa
    Antarctica
    Arctic
    Asia
    Atlantic
    Australia
    Author – Australian
    Biography
    British Isles
    Caribbean
    Christmas
    Crime
    Easter
    Entertainment
    Europe
    Fiction
    Finance
    Food
    History
    Humour
    Journalism
    Maritime
    Middle East
    Nature
    New Year
    Non-fiction
    North America
    Pacific
    Pandemic
    Relationships
    Romance
    Scandinavia
    South America
    Sport
    Sub-continent
    Suspense
    Travel
    War

    Archive

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

Picture