The Bookworm Club Review
Created | Updated Feb 25, 2004
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From Here, You Can't See Paris, Michael Sanders
There are an awful lot of books available following the adventures of Brits or Americans who have moved abroad. This offering is a little different. Sanders, a self confessed Francophile, moves his family from Maine to Les Arques in the Lot region of France to follow a year in the fortunes of the village's main source of income, the restaurant 'La Récréation'.
Cue an indepth description of restaurant life, food, and the people of Les Arques. By having such a short timeframe for the book, each chapter is an interesting view on a slice of the local life. This is a succulent novel, a literary meal to be lingered over, savouring its taste.
Of course, you can't have a book about a restaurant without mouth-watering descriptions of its food. And this being France, there's a lot of food described. I personally would love to try the scallop filled squash blossoms that accompany 'La Récréation's' dishes, or the tempting mushroom filled chicken breast. Then there's the simple peasant dishes that the mayor's wife makes for Sander's family, and the foie gras producer. Duck liver is better than goose apparently. A word of warning when reading the foie gras chapter, Sander's describes various animal slaughtering methods, as well as gavage (the method used to make foie gras), so you might want to prepare something vegetarian for your dinner that night!
The people, too, are friendly and their views are gathered on local issues, such as the decline of truffle hunting due to growing problems. This makes From Here... a bit like a written documentary, and an all the more fulfilling read.
Finally, Les Arques used to be the home of a famous sculptor, Zadkine (no, I'd never heard of him either!). Another chapter of the book is devoted to his life and work. So, while From Here... is billed as being about the restaurant, it is in fact about the whole community, and all its surrounding businesses. I found this to be an engrossing read, which left me much more knowledgable about countryside France and its inhabitants. For someone who has only ever been to Paris, it was a good way to experience a different part of France, and yes, in some ways I did feel like I'd been to Les Arques myself. I look forward to any other 'travel books' Sanders may produce.
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Review written by Pinwheel Pearl
