The Magic of Provence: Pleasures of Southern France by Yvone LenardMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Yvone Lenard tells stories about her journey of finding herself owning a second home in Southern France and the interesting cast of people who occupy the village and surround areas. Yvone and her husband Wayne were not looking to buy a second home, especially not in France, but at the end of an assignment in the country they quickly found themselves searching for the perfect place. Not finding what they were looking for they had an old house rebuilt and renovated into their dream vacation home.
I found the stories charming, but struggled with the vagueness of her writing. It bothered me that I didn't know what decade these stories took place in or even really a solid timeline of events. There was also a vagueness in the relationships she writes about, between her and her husband and her and others. I also felt the stories were just a bit too idyllic, even if her story was about something going wrong it always works out in the end.
The book discussion kind of followed my own views on the book, it was too vague and too idyllic. That being said it was brought up that it was refreshing to read a story about people who did something crazy like buy a house in France and not have the majority of the stories be about the guilt they felt. Guilt they felt about leaving and guilt pushed onto them by those left behind. They liked that sections weren't taken up with explanations and instead focused on what they were doing while in Provence.
Yvone has written other books but we weren't sure if we'd be reading more of her works.
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