Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

I, me, mine...	Customer Rating:
I had hoped the book was written to inspire a trip to France and explore the French lifestyle. Really, the writing left me unable to appreciate the lush photos; so self absorbed and boastful. My first ever return to Amazon.

Virtual trip to Paris	Customer Rating:
If you don't have the time or money to go to Paris, this is the next best thing. The photos are dreamy and really wonderful. Put on French music, poor a glass of wine and your there!!!

A Real Disappointment

Customer Rating:

I remember doing a search quite a while back for French Life (or something similiar) and found this book right before it's release. I immediately put it on my Wish List and kind of forgot about it. A few months later, I found it again (going through my list) and decided I didn't want to spend $35 for this book so after much waiting it became available thru inter-library loan. Let me tell you that I am so glad I was able to get it this way rather than pay for this overly-plush, terribly written book. Such a letdown..boring writing with heady photographs. You will not learn anything new about the French in this book. It's the same thing: French style, food, politeness, slow pace, etc. And I got really sick of the author's constant referrals to her olive farm. Best book on French style: Veronique Vienne's French Style: How to Think, Shop & Dress Like a Frenchwoman...magnificient OOP book but absolutely worth the inflated price. Best book on French cuisine and life: Robert Arbor's Joie de Vivre. Don't waste your time with this one. You'll just be paying for padded fluff.

PRETENTIOUS, PRETENTIOUS, AND BEYOND PRETENTIOUS!!!

Customer Rating:

I have never read anything so utterly pretentious -- how wonderful that Ms Archer found this paradise and, at untold cost, restored it brick by brick, stone by stone, using the best local craftspeople,artisans, antiquarians and the like (and who all, along the way, became her new best friends)-- and telling us in the most mundane style how lucky she is to be able to sit and watch the olives grow while also tripping off to Paris or London (her now home). Her ultimate coup, it seems, and which Ms. Archer proudly tells us she has received, was recognition,by the French Security person at the airport,of her HERMES BERKIN handbag. He informed her that she had bought the most perfect item in the whole world, made with utmost craftsmanship at Hermes-- and she has the privilege of owning it! MON DIEU!!! Luckily, I got this book from my local library and thus have not added a centime to her rather full coffers. SAVE YOUR MONEY! BETTER TO DONATE IT TO A WORTHY CAUSE!!!!

My dream home

Customer Rating:

This book is just devine. It will inspire you to take risks, uproot your life and follow your dreams. Vicki and her husband David fell in love with a farmhouse in Provence while holidaying, and have lovingly restored the house and surrounding acreage. The house is truly beautiful and I now have Provence on my list of places I must visit soon. What is interesting is how she made this her new life, learnt a new language, gives us her viewpoint of the French and way of life. What living in France is like to someone who is not French but has chosen it as their new home. Vicki also covers Paris - I am thankfully going there next year! The photography, thanks to Carla Coulson is spectacular,and this is a beautiful book. Vicki also shares a list of shops in Paris and in Saint-Remy-de-Provence she recommends, plus movies, books and music that have have inspired her love of all things French. Thank you for sharing your journey with us Vicki.