Mas Theotime [French]

By Henri Bosco

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: French
• ISBN: 2070361683
• ISBN13: 9782070361687
• Release Date: August 1972
• Publisher: Gallimard Education
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.3" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Henri Bosco's Tale of Old Provence

I came upon this title in 2000 while working on a project in Provence .... . A friend suggested that I try this book, even though Bosco is not heavily identified with provencal literature in the same way as Giono, Pagnol and Daudet. It's a "little" story. Not a whole lot happens, yet Bosco manages a high degree of suspense, in addition to some fine character development. You don't meet many people, and you don't go many places. In thumbnail form, the novel is about some remote farms in Provence [the word "Mas" means farm in provencal], lying far from the nearest village, and the interactions between the owners and tenant farmers who work the land. Most of the book happens right on these fields and hillsides. Family history plays a part in the plot. Romance and foul play are central to the plot, but this is not a thriller or a romance novel!! It's quieter than that, slower, more subtle.Bosco's imagery is less intense than Giono's but equally descriptive of the landscape. Forgive the analogy, but if Giono writes the way van Gogh painted, Bosco is more like Corot. I found myself increasingly drawn into this long-ago world via his descriptions of buildings, weather, seasons, clothing, people. I learned a great deal about how country people lived a century ago, how they treated one another, celebrated marriages and funerals, etc. If you happen to know the Italian film "Tree of Wooden Clogs" you'll be able to imagine the cultural riches that await you in "Le Mas Theotime."On rare occasions, I read a book and find myself so completely and perfectly satisfied at the end, I cannot bear to start another book. Just want to exist for a time, held in the magic of the work just finished. After two years I am still filled with the quiet beauty of it. A wonderful experience.