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The Second Worst Restaurant in France / Alexander McCall Smith

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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.

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