From Here, You Can't See Paris : Seasons of a French Village and Its Restaurant

Rating:
Summary: A lovely read
Review: A great pleasure for the armchair traveller and gourmet. And how nice to read about a less common part of France, the Lot, rather than the ubiquitous south of France. My only criticism is the sloppy proofreading in the hardbound first edition.

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Summary: No drunken plumbers!
Review: After O.D...ing on house renovations in Provence or Tuscany, along comes Michael Sanders'book, "From Here You Can't See Paris."
If you love the preperation of food, want to learn about truffles and the making of foie gras, come join Mr. Sanders as he explores the daily life of a restaurant in the Lot Valley.
After meeting the locals, you will feel as if you were there too.

Rating:
Summary: From Here You Can't See Paris
Review: I loved this book. As an American who lives half time in France, a former restauranteur and ardent Francophile, it had all the things that most interest me here. A type of lifestyle very similar in many ways to the rural people who live all around me in Normandie, the story of a restaurant struggling to survive and prosper, as all small business owners do, and the experiences of an expatriate family who tried their best to assimilate into the French culture, something which is very hard for unilingual Americans to do.

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Summary: Changes In Rural France
Review: I've just finished reading From Here You Can't See Paris and think that others would enjoy it as I did. The author describes a year his family spent in the tiny town of Les Arques in the Lot region of France. He had arranged to observe the workings of the only restaurant in town, La Recreation. His relation with the chef and his wife is at the core of the account, but he developed relations with many others. The description gets under the skin of the community to show the gradual erosion of rural life. Young people move away, schools close, residents grow old, buildings and equipment deteriorate, and farms are abandoned. Only tourism and vacationers offer a hope of an economic base. But, tourists and second-home owners change the region.

It's not an all gloomy account. There are wonderful descriptions of truffle cultivation, dinner service at the restaurant, the town election and inauguration, duck farming and the preparation for foie gras, and the craggy land, farms and farmhouses.

The book is both enjoyable and educational; an uncommon mix. If you are interested in the flow of essential daily activities, the reasons for why things are as they are, and, stimulation to speculate on what the future may hold you will find the book a compelling read.

Rating:
Summary: A Different Perspective
Review: I've just finished reading From Here You Can�t See Paris and think that others would enjoy it as I did. The author describes a year his family spent in the tiny town of Les Arques in the Lot region of France. He had arranged to observe the workings of the only restaurant in town, La Recreation. His relation with the chef and his wife is at the core of the account, but he developed relations with many others. The description gets under the skin of the community to show the gradual erosion of rural life. Young people move away, schools close, residents grow old, buildings and equipment deteriorate, and farms are abandoned. Only tourism and vacationers offer a hope of an economic base. But, tourists and second-home owners change the region.

It�s not an all gloomy account. There are wonderful descriptions of truffle cultivation, dinner service at the restaurant, the town election and inauguration, duck farming and the preparation for foie gras, and the craggy land, farms and farmhouses.

The book is both enjoyable and educational; an uncommon mix. If you are interested in the flow of essential daily activities, the reasons for why things are as they are, and, stimulation to speculate on what the future may hold you will find the book a compelling read.

Rating:
Summary: Who Needs Paris?
Review: If you love to travel, but hate to be a tourist I believe you will find this book very welcoming. Michael Sanders has a wondeful way of wisking his readers off to this wonderful little piece of France. After a few pages you feel like a long lost relative coming home to the Lot rather than a displaced tourist. As a closet "foodie" I really enjoyed the passion and drive of the "Le Rec" crew to create a true dining experience for each of their guests turning a meal into an event!

Rating:
Summary: A Different Perspective
Review: In general I was disappointed with the book; thus, the 3 stars. Like other reviewers I believe the author does an excellent job of conveying the daily life in a small French town along with its struggles and spirit. Some of the descriptions are both informative and vivid: such as the section on foie gras. The workings of a restaurant and its "family" are presented in a way that indeed you care about them all and have an appreication for the hard long days they spend.
My disappointment lies in three areas: 1) the author presents the experiences as unique to a small, semi-isolated, rural community in France. This is surprizing since he comes from Maine and could have drawn many parallels to life in rural New England, well within his sphere of experience. Hard scrabble lives abound all around us and deserve recognition. He even describes in detail the clearing of the land and building stone walls, generation, after generation. Again, this is prevalent both in Maine and New Hampshire. 2) the writing style at times is awkward and disjunctive--I found myself reading sentences several times as I thought I had missed a word or a meaning. In addition, the flow of the book is not smooth and one seems to "land" somewhere in the story without a transition. 3) there is "gratuitous" use of French phrases that are not translated and it is up to the reader to surmise their meaning within the context of the situation.
In summary, it is an interesting story with likeable hard working people and provides a great glimpse into french rural life. Having been to France and Provence several times it was fun to see the area through another's eyes. It is a book that needed better editing--a paradox since the author is described as a "former book editor". Wait for the paperback or buy it used.

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Summary: From here I can see the future...
Review: Michael S. Sanders has beat both Peter Maysles & Frances Mayes at their own game. Too bad his book sales don't seem to reflect it!

"From Here You Can't See Paris" is written with a clear-eyed understanding of the hardships of picturesque rural life. Instead of being slightly patronizing towards the backwards locals & their quaintly amusing ways, Michael Sanders earns himself a place in the life of Les Arques by participating on an equal footing rather than as the newest deep-pocketed employer in the area. This is the France that I want to live in, an area trying desperately to retain it's ancient character while refusing to be an anachronism. The locals show great ingenuity in conceiving ways to achieve this. Michael Sanders documents their efforts, as well as informing the reader of the mechanics of such famed French food products as foie gras. The section on how foie gras is produced is fascinating, as is his description of daily life in a French restaurant.

The only reason this book rates 4 stars instead of 5 (really, it should be 4.5, but again, Amazon doesn't allow partial points) is Sanders occasional Americanism. I was taken aback when Sanders described his dismay at his 5 year old daughters increasing "Frenchness". His wishing for "playdates" & typical American media diversions such as a local multiplex were annoying to me. The descriptions of Les Arques & the local school seemed all a parent could want for a healthy, intelligent & well-adjusted child; why yearn for a sullen, over-stimulated American brat?

Those carps aside (& they are purely my own reactions to French culture) "From Here You Can't See Paris" has helped me to determine my future lies in France.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding! Take Yourself fo the French Countryside...
Review: Michael Sanders spent a wonderful year in Les Arques, a small town in the Lot, a rural area in southwest France. We're lucky that his absorbing memoir takes us along. Meet Jacques and Noelle, who have rescued the restaurant housed in the empty schoolhouse; the local farmers who grow the restaurant's produce and supply its meats; the town fathers who shepherded the restaurant renovation to help rejuvenate the town; and the villagers who give Les Arques its special warmth. This book will transport you to the Lot and you will enjoy the journey immensely.

This book adroitly combines fascinating pictures of daily life in Les Arques with discussion of larger themes. Sanders offers keen insights into French rural culture and the economic and social forces that shape the fortunes of farming communities. The difficulties of running a small farming enterprise are formidable in this age of mass agriculture; Sanders' depictions of the farmers' patience, dedication and creativity in maintaining their land and bringing their wares to market are vivid and moving.

Sanders's book is also an absorbing travelogue-- you'll learn the ins and outs of touring the Lot region and benefit from the lodging, dining and travel advice contained in an appendix. And armchair gourmands will find a mouthwatering read in the meals prepared by Jacques and Noelle for their fortunate patrons.

Buy, read and enjoy-- you'll be transported to a wonderful corner of the world.

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Summary: A Village in the Heart of France
Review: This book is required reading if you plan to visit this region of France. Most North Americans have never really learned about the art (and science) of the production of fois gras, and the I found the chapter dedicated to that subject to be truly fascinating and educational...probably the best chapter in the book. Another excellent section is the discussion of the French obsession with the Michelin star rating system of restaurants. Both of these chapters give you a good look into the French food culture...one on the specific production techniques of one of the very most "French" of foods, and the other a look into the (macro) French psyche of food as a central part of life and culture.

This book, along with "A Castle in the Backyard" are two good narratives of life in the Dordogne/Lot region of France.