Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Paris : Editions de Fallois, 1988.
Description
The enchanting story of Marcel Pagnol's childhood in the south of France, and a very special summer when he was 11 years old. In the countryside of Provence he fell under the spell of the rugged hills, made new friends and strengthened the unique bond with his father.
User reviews
LibraryThing member thorold
Engaging, light and charming: absolutely dripping with gentle irony and turn-of the-century Provençal atmosphere. The book is too obviously structured to be really plausible as a memoir, but it works very well as a story.
You can see Pagnol's theatrical roots showing all over the place. In the
Being French, the local wildlife appears only to be tortured by small boys, shot for pleasure by adults, or discussed in terms of recipes. I suppose you have to accept this as a convention, but it is a little off-putting. Apart from that, the book is pleasantly harmless. Something I particularly enjoyed was the way he brings in pastiche Fenimore Cooper in the big hunting scene. Definitely one to read on a sleepy summer afternoon if you happen to have a fig tree to sit under; if you don't, then you will have to try to imagine the cicadas...
You can see Pagnol's theatrical roots showing all over the place. In the
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scene where the men test their guns by firing at the toilet door, for example, you know from the start that every convention of stage and screen demands that a terrified person emerge from the toilet after the firing has ceased: Pagnol is not one to rebel against that sort of demand...Being French, the local wildlife appears only to be tortured by small boys, shot for pleasure by adults, or discussed in terms of recipes. I suppose you have to accept this as a convention, but it is a little off-putting. Apart from that, the book is pleasantly harmless. Something I particularly enjoyed was the way he brings in pastiche Fenimore Cooper in the big hunting scene. Definitely one to read on a sleepy summer afternoon if you happen to have a fig tree to sit under; if you don't, then you will have to try to imagine the cicadas...
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