The dream life

It never fails to amaze me the number of books written by foreigners who have left the big bad city for the idyllic, lavender scented land of the South of France. Maybe this is not so surprising given the growing reality of people tiring of dirty, polluted and stressful city life. And who wouldn’t want to move somewhere where you can enjoy sunny weather all year round, fresh air, and where you can pick fruits ripe for the eating or drink great wine in some quaint little café or better yet, eat delicious and freshly made food. It sounds like right out of a dream. Martin Calder’s book A Summer in Gascony only reaffirms this dreamy idea. But unlike all the other moving to provence books (Peter Mayle being one of the more well known examples), Calder’s particular slice of south of France lies on the other side of the more famous one.
A Summer in Gascony is a paean to the pleasures of a life in Gascony. It is a retelling in the most dulcet of terms a wondrous summer spent working in an isolated farm located in the tiny town of Péguilhan, itself is lost between the mountains and rivers of Southwest France’s Gascogne region. The author arrived there as a young student, looking for a different kind of experience. And so, he immerses himself completely in farm work as well the inn connected to the farm. In the process, he comes to have a real and lasting appreciation of living closely attuned with nature. It is also during the course of this summer that he meets and falls in love with Anja, a fellow stagiare.
This is a well written and engaging book. The author takes pains to acquaint his readers with the storied history of the region and we come away with a much better understanding of it. Of much more interest than plain history however are the quirks and characteristics of the Gascon, of which Jacques-Henri, the genial owner of the farm is a good example. He likewise reminds us that the most famous son of the region is D’Artagnan, our favorite swashbuckler!
The book is also replete with charming descriptions of village life such as the memorable Market day and nights spent at the convivial atmosphere of the auberge. As this is a book about the South of France, the importance of food cannot be over-emphasized enough. The fact that the family runs an inn with a (now) well regarded local restaurant gives us enough descriptions of hearty Gascony food to make our mouths salivate. The inn’s magret de canard sounds especially enticing! And let’s not forget that for every memorable food served, a memorable wine always accompanies it. The local vintage is almost always served and the ubiquitous Armagnac is ever present. One can almost taste and smell the different aromas as we read. Sweet, gentle and quietly funny, this is a great read for armchair travelers. . And if the tone is a little nostalgic, then we can certainly forgive such nostalgia, since at the end of his book, Calder has succeeded in convincing us all of the particular pleasures of a Gascony life.