Product Description

Max Skinner is a man at the heart of London's financial universe until his employers embark on a little asset- stripping of their own. Himself. Amid the grey London drizzle, there is one potential ray of sunshine: Max's Uncle Harry has left him his estate in his will - an eighteenth-century chateau and vineyard an hour's drive from Avignon. Out of a job, and encouraged by his friend Charlie about the money in modern wine, he heads for France. What Max discovers is a beautiful house, wonderful weather and a bustling village. The downside is the quality of the wine in his vineyard, but when Max suggests calling in an expert, Roussel, a former employee of his uncle's, is resistant. Help is at hand, however, when a beautiful blonde Californian arrives unexpectedly at the chateau. Peter Mayle's delightful novel will enchant the audiences who bought A YEAR IN PROVENCE and TOUJOURS PROVENCE in their millions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21671 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
BON APPETIT! * 'Charming and refreshingly unpretentious' - Mail on Sunday * 'Delightful, amusing and appealing, a merry celebration of sensual pleasures' - New York Times Book Review

Good Book Guide
`A page-turner that guarantees readers won't want to leave his world'

French Magazine
`Deliciously evocative . . . This is a book to awaken all the senses and
make you smile . . . An entertaining, light-hearted read'

Customer Reviews

Super page turner
This story takes Max from an empty, self destructive life in London to the south of France and a lifestyle worth fighting for. We meet loads of interesting people on the way and discover loads about the wine trade.

I found A Good Year a great page turner. A simple, easy to follow plot, wonderful characters / caricatures, perfect length and best of all the marvellous sunshine.

I recommend this book to be read on a garden bench with a glass of crisp chilled white wine.

Dream yourself into Provence
A book that will put you in a good mood. Well written and very entertaining. Gives you a feeling of vacation and peace that makes you want to continue on reading and disappear in his world close to Avignon.

Another great work from Mayle
I think it's going to be incredibly difficult for Mayle to better Hotel Pastis, but this is definitely a book along similar lines. I've been inspired to comment because at present I can only see bad reviews on this page, which simply don't do justice to this great read.

I think this is Mayle's fourth fiction, following Hotel Pastis, Anything Considered and Chasing Cézanne, and I was very glad to see he's still writing in 2004. If you've read them all, it is easy to see the similarities between the characters in each story. There's always the hard-done-by English ex-pat, the love interest, usually a housekeeper or similar, a life-long friend and a handful of other rogues along for the journey. This story is no different, only that the base this time is a vinyard, rather than a hotel, an apartment or flat in Monte Carlo. The tale is primed, as usual, with the twists and turns we've come to expect from Mayle, uncovering criminal activity that somehow bumbles into them, and the ensuing chase that always proves to be amusing.

All in all, this is definitely worth buying if your're looking for a light, sweet, and thoroughly amusing tale that loves to twist and keep you on your toes. It might do a little for your french too!