Peachy Reads

  Paul from My Italian Bulldozer is back.  He has a remit to write a book on the philosophy of food, but can’t find his groove in Edinburgh.  A distant cousin offers him a quiet place to write in a villa she’s rented in France, but it doesn’t quite go to plan.  The writing is soon derailed by a cast of village characters that consume all of Paul’s attention.  And the “second worst restaurant in France” turns into a project, not unlike Restaurant Impossible, that Paul can’t resist.  This almost has the feel of a comedic television series.  It’s light and entertaining.  It reminded me of Peter Mayle’s fiction, and characters like Anne Tyler writes.

A collection of David Sedaris’s essays might be the perfect antidote to these anxiety-filled times.   As to be expected there are many laugh-out-loud moments, but some serious content as well.   Sedaris always mixes darkness with light, so his revelations about his sister Tiffany and his mother’s alcoholism counterbalance the oftentimes wacky encounters he has with people on his seemingly unending book tours. Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve read some of these before, maybe I have, but it also could be partly due to being a lifelong fan.