Today I took a break from the Manila International Book Fair for a much awaited occasion — the Flips Flipping Pages September Book Discussion: Peter Mayle‘s A Good Year, paired with a mini wine appreciation seminar at the Cyrano Wine Shop.
I’m afraid I didn’t have time to reread the book, with the MIBF under way, but I read it last year. Unlike the others, I had very low expectations before I read “A Good Year.” I read Mayle’s Chasing Cezanne and expected it to be a thrilling art heist, but it had to be the most lackadaisical chase ever, as the team in pursuit of the forged painting stopped to dine at practically every restaurant they walked past! Figuring plot isn’t one of Mayle’s strong points, I set out to read A Good Year just to enjoy it. And I did. I enjoyed reading about the Provencal wine industry and its quaint practices, and Mayle can write the copy of an ad for garbage bins and I think I’ll still enjoy his prose.
Anyway, while the group in general was disappointed with the novel, we all enjoyed the wine appreciation seminar!
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