April has found its way to the Mayles' property and with it arrived a visitor-Tony. Tony is the archtype of a successful City businessman (they were just starting to bud in the 1980s) with his reeling mind and pinstriped suit.
What on earth did he come to Provence for? He wants to buy a house and hopes to avail himslef of Mayle's helping hand.
After all, buying a house in France is nerve-wracking. Not only do most properties cost more than the advertised prise (taxes), but you have also to know how to make use of loopholes in the French system. I wonder how it is today then.
What strikes a reader and Mayle most about Tony is his lack of feeling for cultural differences and his belief that money is an international language. Fortunately, it wasn't in the France Mayle described in this book , but today the tables have turned.
So you can imagine Mayles' sheer joy when Tony left them for good, but then tourists started to throng their property. The Mayles' certainly aren't antisocial, but they just want to savour a calm life, which is perfectly understandable.
They aren't bored by the life they are leading in Provence as they wanted to escape the undercurrent of frenetic activity, which characterises city life, and, instead, be elated by embellishing their house and exploring the French culture.
To tell the truth, everyone, no matter how she/he might love to live in the fast lane, dreams about a paradise on earth, like the Mayles', were to retire and be one with nature again.
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