The Olive Season: Amour, a New Life, and Olives, Too...!

by Carol Drinkwater

Book Overview

Upon their return to the south of France as husband and wife, they find there is much hope--and work--to greet them. With a farm consisting of fifty trees producing some of the world's finest olive... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585675466
• ISBN13: 9781585675463
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 331 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

CANDOR, HUMOR, AND SENSUALITY

Countless readers enchanted with Carol Drinkwater's initial memoir "The Olive Farm" will find themselves similarly captivated with her eagerly awaited follow-up. The candor, humor, sensuality, and gift for the appropriate word, all the qualities we've come to associate with this talented actress/writer are again very much in evidence in her latest offering. "The Olive Farm" which traces Ms. Drinkwater's passion for an abandoned villa called "Appassionata" in the south of France, and her even greater passion for Michel, a French film director, allowed many to enter a world of which they could only dream. Despite the dire prognostications of friends she joined her financial resources with Michel's to purchase the villa with hopes of restoring it to former glory and overseeing a profitable olive farm. As "The Olive Season" opens with yet another marriage proposal from Michel, Ms. Drinkwater cannot quite bring herself to take that step and responds with, "Only if the King of Tonga marries us." She underestimates Michel, and their vows are repeated on an island in the South Pacific. It is more than a fairy tale wedding. Upon returning to their villa they happily learn that she is pregnant. She has miscarried several times, and now yearns to have their child. Yet thoughts of impending motherhood must be set aside as pesky boars are once again intruding. Further, the newly marrieds want the much desired Appellation d'Origine Controlee rating for their olive oil, which necessitates an infinite number of bureaucratic forms, inspections, plus an expansion of their farm. The setting of the Cote d'Azur, evenings on their terrace are incomparably beautiful; their work is exhausting. Once again Ms. Drinkwater peppers her narrative with vivid descriptions of lush countrysides as well as historical notes. Readers accompany her to villages that Napoleon once roamed and learn the origins of bamboo, which she is surprised to find near Baremme amidst apple and cherry trees. Bringing her own unique style and perceptions to these descriptive passages Ms. Drinkwater's words fairly sing with verve and rhythm. "And our poppies in the garden," she writes, "so hot is that colour, I hear the heroin cracked voice of a jazz singer, scarlet lips flush against a silver mike, crooning the blues." Dropping by Cannes for the film festival, the contented couple saunter through the Croisette. This area is described as a haven for swindlers or, in French, for an "escroc." Scoundrels abound, seeking out and bilking foreigners who long for a part of the Cote d'Azur. Escroquerie or swindling "is woven into the fabric of living here," she opines. "How could it be otherwise when money is the god? It is the yardstick by which worth is judged and valued." Visitors come and go at "Appassionata;" readers will never want to leave. We wish for just a little more time with Ms. Drinkwater, a charming hostess who enchants and delights with her tales. She is a spe

A SEQUEL TO BE CHERISHED

That Ms.Drinkwater's 'The Olive Farm' made me immediately want to pack and fly to see the verdant countryside she described, I never believed for a moment that a sequel could be so much more engrossing and personal.'The Olive Season' is filled with the stories of visitors to the farm, together with the difficulties of bringing the olives to fruit, but it is her baring her soul in dealing with the trauma of a personal tragedy that tears ones heart out. She must be a fighter for she went on with her life and her farm, and in the end one knows she will come out on top. A joy to read and to re-read.

What a read!

I loved this book ! This is one of the best travel books I have read in ages! I have and still am going through the same issues that Carol went through in this book and I am very grateful that she had an outlet for her pain. I am very happy that she wrote this tale of her journey, I was happy to be a part of her life for this book! I could not put it down! And it was funny too!My only question when is the next one?

Lovely and Tragic

As much as I adored Ms. Drinkwater's first book, The Olive Farm, this one touched me in a much more personal way. Not wanting to spoil it for anyone, I'll just say that I recently had a very similar experience to hers, and I know there are many, many women out there who share her pain with her. That doesn't make it any easier to bear but it did help me to know that there is that strong, silent sisterhood.This book had all the charm of her first one...the olives, the lovely farmhouse, the travels, the food, none of which were overridden by the sadness of her experience. If you want to read it for those aspects alone, you definitely will not be disappointed. I so hope that she's already at work on another book--I'll read everything she writes.