Review: I heartily recommend this book for those who love the pastoral life, human intimacies, and the raw experience of nature (or for those who don’t yet know they would enjoy such things!). While my favorite book of Giono’s so far is Song of the World, this one was a close second (of the five books that I’ve read, all so far in English translation). I savored its pages. Every scene, every moment, was rich with the wind, the floral fragrance, the wine of the collines of Provence. The frankness between people was refreshing. The honest experience of life portrayed with humility and love was inspiring. One of the facets of Giono’s writing I most cherish is that every sentence is poetry, and every one an integral part of the whole of the story. He doesn’t waste a word. As a writer, I have always found it difficult to write a single word unless I felt the word added music and meaning to the experience of reading. Giono, along with Exupery, are among the few writers that I can relate to in that way. Every word is an opportunity for magic, music, and rich poetry. It makes reading these works very much like enjoying a rich feast of one’s favorite foods. It makes it a joy to read and re-read. And one lays the book down fully satisfied, while fragrances and sounds of sweetness and freshness continue to unfold within one’s stimulated imagination#paperback#paperback#fiction