Book Thirteen in the Book-a-Week Quest
Anything Considered
by Peter Mayle (1996)
I had read Mayle's autobiographical A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence in French class in high school and I remember thinking that I enjoyed them more than I thought I would. However, this book was a novel, and I wasn't sure Mayle's writing style would fit well into something that wasn't "real-life."
I was moderately surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. It's pure fluff and there's nothing to rave about, but considering that the book is about a secret plot to steal the formula to grow the best black truffles in the world (yes...that's right, it's a caper about truffles...only in France!), I thought the book flowed rather nicely.
Bennett, an Englishman living in the French countryside, is strapped for cash and places an ad in a French newspaper that says he's seeking "unusual work." Mysterious millionaire Julian Poe rings him and hijinks relating to the aforementioned truffles ensue.
It's a light and breezy read with hints of humor and a surprisingly well-developed main character in Bennett. He strikes me as the stereotypical somewhat uptight Englishman at the beginning who gradually loosens up as he gets pulled deeper into an underground world the likes of which he hasn't seen before.
The story gets wrapped up much too quickly and there really is a complete lack of anything "important" here, but it was a nice, pleasant book that I'd certainly recommend if you're looking for something that doesn't require a lot of thought on your end.
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