- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (4 Jun 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 014026583X
- ISBN-13: 978-0140265835
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 11.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 243,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Our hero, glamorous art photographer Andre Kelly, is on assignment for glamorous DQ Magazine--run by the glamorous Camilla Porter--in Cape Ferrat on the (you guessed it) glamorous Côte d'Azur. Snooping around an ancestral pile for some snaps, by chance he spies Old Claude, the ancient retainer of the immensely wealthy Denoyer family, packing the family Cezanne into a plumbing van. Puzzled, Andre investigates, and the game is afoot. Peter Mayle's latest effort, Chasing Cézanne, is a whodunit that shows good manners and impeccable taste. It takes its characters--graduates of all the best schools, of course--to some of the world's most posh locales. The plot device is high rent, too: a purloined painting worth a cool 30 million dollars. To call this book lightweight seems unfair and boorish besides. There's lots of travel, lots of opulence, lots of opportunities for Mayle to describe Paris and Provence, and all the yummies you'll find in both places. Who can worry about a mystery when the food's so delectable? --Ida Kulest
Product Description
A photographer on a visit to a house featured in a magazine he works for, discovers that a Cezanne painting has been stolen from there. With the editor of the magazine as the suspect thief, he is sent on pursuit of her and the Cezanne through London, the South of France and New York.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Peter Mayle has done it again ! - a beautifully written novel with realistic characters and an enthralling plot with several twists.
Format:Paperback
It is a bit difficult to find decent English books where I live - imports are usually the kind of John Grisham/Tom Clancy novels which I do not like - so, at times, I find myself reading material I would normally never touch.
This was the case with this cynical pretend story in which Peter Mayle trots out his usual French anecdotes in an attempt to entertain those English readers who think there is something innately funny about their infuriating shoulder-shrugging, "ooh la la" neighbors across the Channel with their comic language and ways.
The plot and characters are so thin - something to do with a faked Cezanne painting, a bitchy glitzy magazine editor, a photographer, an unscrupulous art dealer - that Mayle does not even try to do more than spin his material out as far as it can go. The ending is so sudden and lame that he obviously just ran out of clichés, decided to stop what he was doing and write "Fin"
Only an example can give you an idea of how excruciating and cliché ridden Mayle's prose is: "Franzen lowered his menu to look at Lucy. 'If I could give make a suggestion. There is one dish here that you cannot find anywhere else in France, or perhaps the world: the Canard Apicius. The recipe dates back to the Romans, 2,000 years ago.' He paused to drink some champagne. 'It is a duck, but a duck like no other, a duck roasted in honey and spices, a duck in ecstasy. You will remember this duck for the rest of your life.' He raised a hand to his lips, made a bouquet of his fingertips, and kissed them loudly. 'You will tell your grandchildren about this duck.'
This was the case with this cynical pretend story in which Peter Mayle trots out his usual French anecdotes in an attempt to entertain those English readers who think there is something innately funny about their infuriating shoulder-shrugging, "ooh la la" neighbors across the Channel with their comic language and ways.
The plot and characters are so thin - something to do with a faked Cezanne painting, a bitchy glitzy magazine editor, a photographer, an unscrupulous art dealer - that Mayle does not even try to do more than spin his material out as far as it can go. The ending is so sudden and lame that he obviously just ran out of clichés, decided to stop what he was doing and write "Fin"
Only an example can give you an idea of how excruciating and cliché ridden Mayle's prose is: "Franzen lowered his menu to look at Lucy. 'If I could give make a suggestion. There is one dish here that you cannot find anywhere else in France, or perhaps the world: the Canard Apicius. The recipe dates back to the Romans, 2,000 years ago.' He paused to drink some champagne. 'It is a duck, but a duck like no other, a duck roasted in honey and spices, a duck in ecstasy. You will remember this duck for the rest of your life.' He raised a hand to his lips, made a bouquet of his fingertips, and kissed them loudly. 'You will tell your grandchildren about this duck.'
Format:Paperback
It seems no one knows--or enjoys--Provence more than Peter Mayle. In "Chasing Cézanne," Mayle gives us even more humor, sometimes solid satire, as he once again
scores with the local color, painting the area as well as Cézanne did. Well, almost.It evolves into a part travelogue and part art mystery caper, and a humorous read it is too.
Andre Kelly, on photo assignment for a prestigious magazine to Cap Ferrat when he sees a Cézanne being loaded onto a truck near the home of a collector, who just happens to be away at the time. (Cézanne, remember, did to Province what Grandma Moses did to the American farm!). "Follow that truck," he must have thought as he pursues this objet d'art, for real. Not to be confused with the Marx Brothers' pursuits, still, Mayle is able to offer us "the great escape" in which we find all sorts of folks--art dealers, prominent collectors, forgers, greedy Americans, and "the parade of remarkable chefs whose mouthwatering culinary masterpieces periodically soothe the hero and tantalize the reader," says Amazon. And we mustn't forget the romance (it's France, after all!)-- Lucy, his agent and soon-to-be love interest.
"Chasing Cezanne" is a whodunit of good manners and impeccable taste. It takes its characters--graduates of all the best schools, of course--to some of the world's most posh locales. The plot device is high end, too: a purloined painting worth a cool $30 million. And there's lots of travel, lots of opulence, lots of opportunities for Mayle to describe Paris and Provence, and all the delectables you'll find in both places. Ooh la, la!
scores with the local color, painting the area as well as Cézanne did. Well, almost.It evolves into a part travelogue and part art mystery caper, and a humorous read it is too.
Andre Kelly, on photo assignment for a prestigious magazine to Cap Ferrat when he sees a Cézanne being loaded onto a truck near the home of a collector, who just happens to be away at the time. (Cézanne, remember, did to Province what Grandma Moses did to the American farm!). "Follow that truck," he must have thought as he pursues this objet d'art, for real. Not to be confused with the Marx Brothers' pursuits, still, Mayle is able to offer us "the great escape" in which we find all sorts of folks--art dealers, prominent collectors, forgers, greedy Americans, and "the parade of remarkable chefs whose mouthwatering culinary masterpieces periodically soothe the hero and tantalize the reader," says Amazon. And we mustn't forget the romance (it's France, after all!)-- Lucy, his agent and soon-to-be love interest.
"Chasing Cezanne" is a whodunit of good manners and impeccable taste. It takes its characters--graduates of all the best schools, of course--to some of the world's most posh locales. The plot device is high end, too: a purloined painting worth a cool $30 million. And there's lots of travel, lots of opulence, lots of opportunities for Mayle to describe Paris and Provence, and all the delectables you'll find in both places. Ooh la, la!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Sooooo good!
I've just finished this book and was hooked. The characters were fantastic, I learnt a lot about the art world and I laughed out loud many a time. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lucy Wilson
Chasing Cezanne
Very much enjoyed the book - different style to the previous titles by this author but enjoyable nonetheless. Bought other titles.
Published 4 months ago by Jaki
another mayle masterpiece
As always, colourful characters involved in a hilarious romp with an intriguing plot. I am never disappointed in anything written by Peter Mayle.
Published 14 months ago by jax
Chasing Cezanne book
Great to be able to get this hard-to-get book in good condition with quick service.
Published on 6 Feb 2009 by Mrs. Cm Jeynes
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