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(More customer reviews)In the late 1860s when Alphonse Daudet set out to write stories about his native Provence in serial form for a newspaper, I seriously doubt that he was aware that he was going to leave a masterpiece behind. Luckily for us, he has done just that. The stories are not linked by any particular theme and they all concern the humorous and sometimes tragic goings-on of local characters. Daudet has a peculiarly powerful way of displaying his sympathy for these people and the beautiful countryside they live in. These stories almost seem to have an air of medieval romance to them, though Daudet's writing is very modern in its simplicity of style. The plots display a range from uproarious comedy to a sweet melancholia. Always there is a whiff of nostalgia in the air as Daudet witnesses the very beginnings of modern life and its impact on his beloved Provence. This is a book to treasure and to share with your best friends. If you have not seen the old 1954 black and white French film version in English subtitles, by all means track it down. It's a classic.
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Alphonse Daudet's novels established him as the most successful writer in France by the end of the XIX century; but it was the "Letters", first published in book form in 1869, which remained his favourite creation and has proved his most lasting. Throughout his working life in Paris Daudet never lost his almost umbilical attachment to Provence. These tales of that region are characterised by a tenderness and delicacy, a wistfulness and wry humour, which give moving substance to his claim that to invent, for him, was to remember.
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