The Matchmaker of Perigord

I discovered this delightful book only a couple of days before leaving for a vacation in Provence. Although I do not normally choose "comic" novels, Julia Stuart's magical storytelling was charming to read while visiting villages that looked and tasted so much like the timeless French flavors in her foods and characterizations, with a good smattering of history tossed in. Each time I think of them, I smile!

This charming book is steeped in the culture and foibles of rural France and was a delight to read. In its descriptions of the folkways and habits of the denizens of Amour-sur-Belle, it evokes a France that is doubtless fading quickly. Whimsical and engaging, with more than a touch of Gallic magical realism, its characters are convincing and the writing style is light but satisfying. I recommend this highly to those who enjoy good writing, deft characterizations, and a taste of La France Profonde.

An adorable book that with an entertaining, quirky plot that was a joy to read. Think Indy film. I'm recommending it to my friends.

Guillaume Ladoucette (whose mother's feud with Madame Moreau involves assault-by-eel and overripe tomatoes) is the barber for the village of Amour-sur-Belle, a tiny hamlet of 33 aging residents, each with his or her own quirks and past secrets (many of which were revealed during the mini-tornado of 1999, when they all thought they'd die). When his client list dries up (due to a combination of balding customers and his refusal to attempt cutting-edge hairstyles like The Pinecone), he decides to set out his shingle as a matchmaker. He's an unlikely choice, having been secretly in love with Émilie Fraisse for twenty-six years, but he approaches his new calling with enthusiasm, if not immediate success. He continues to push pairs of villagers together, insisting that love is like a cassoulet--you must take the good with the bad. As Guillaume undertakes the massive task of bringing love to the villagers, drought has brought a communal shower to Amour-sur-Belle, and villagers must walk to the square in their dressing gowns to queue up for their daily shower. Though the book is clearly contemporary, with references to a mini-tornado in 1999 and prices in euros, Stuart has given the village and its residents timeless appeal. Every person is referred to in every instance by both first and last names, and many physical descriptions and important events are described using the exact same phrasing, and these echo comfortably throughout the book, like an epic told from memory by a master storyteller. The repetition is both lyrical and practical--it helps the reader keep the numerous characters, their pasts, and their relationships with each other straight. Stuart also retells the same stories from different points of view at different times in the action, creating a rich, layered confection worthy of Stéphane Jollis, the baker. The stories themselves are inventive, just barely believable, but with a sense of farce, in the manner of Émilie Fraisse giving tours of the castle and creating wild stories about the furnishings. This book has been compared to Chocolat. I must confess that, though I love the film, I've avoided the book, but to the film at least the sense of timelessness, the charm of rural France, and the entwined lives of the villagers have similarities. If a charming tale of deceptively simple village life sounds like your cup of tea (or truffled foie gras, as it were), I highly recommend this for a fun read.

In general, although I consider myself one of life's natural booklovers, I admit to have spent several years absorbed in the SF & Fantasy realm, snobbing the other genres of fiction, on the consideration of loss of enthusiasm, because of their being always too similar, predictable and slow-paced (admitting though that I too have the terrible tendency to sneak in the last chapters of each and every book I get my hands on). So, imagine my shock and delight in coming across this well written, fast-paced book that had me laughing for hours, hardly putting it down to sleep and recommending it even under the threat of violence to my closest relatives and friends! I have to say that I did not in the least sneaked, not even a little bit at the end, not wanting to miss a single word of it. The story takes place in what must be one of France's ugliest villages, Amour-sur-Belle, where the main character, the village barber, living with his senile mother, who, as the author puts it 'has gone cuckoo', and the custody of the family's ancient cassoulet, realises that the declining hairline of his customers and their tendency to adopt terrible modern haircats from a younger stylist in a nearby town, oblidge him to shut down and decide to change his career direction towards bringing back love to the remaining 33 (32 but no one agrees on paying the paint to change the number at the entrance sign of the village) middle-aged (+) villagers by becoming a matchmaker. But how could that be when he hasn't been able to find love himself, treasuring the memory of his first-and-only elementary-school sweetheart? He is surrounded by a number of exhillarating characters, among which the prise-winning, abundantly-built and fun-and little cakes-loving baker, the -unwilling to believe it- beatiful widowed midwife, the avaricious dentist who has his own family secret to hide, the senile love-struck secret village painter, the incontinent postman and many others, not to forget his long-last childhood flame, come back in her own search of love and quiet. And of course, not to forget,the installation of a communal shower can only make things even more interesting... In short it's a great story of love, hate, feunds, misunderstandings, romance, secret affairs, extreme haircuts, superb food and problematic showering, of losing and finding and of finally reaching wisdom and fullfillment, written with humour and love for all above and last, but not least, for France and the Mediterranean temperament. I loved it.