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    The Matchmaker of Perigord: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Matchmaker of Perigord: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Matchmaker of Perigord: A Novel
    Ebook362 pages6 hours

    The Matchmaker of Perigord: A Novel

    By Julia Stuart

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “A hilarious romp.” —Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

    The charming tale of a small French town in which the local barber, whose business is failing as his clients grow older and lose their hair, decides to become the town matchmaker.

    Barber Guillaume Ladoucette has always enjoyed great success in his tiny village in southwestern France, catering to the tonsorial needs of Amour-sur-Belle's thirty-three inhabitants. But times have changed. His customers have grown older—and balder. Suddenly there is no longer a call for Guillaume's particular services, and he is forced to make a drastic career change. Since love and companionship are necessary commodities at any age, he becomes the town's official matchmaker and intends to unite hearts as ably as he once cut hair. But alas, Guillaume is not nearly as accomplished an agent of amour, as the disastrous results of his initial attempts amply prove, especially when it comes to arranging his own romantic future.

    For every reader who adored Chocolat, Julia Stuart's The Matchmaker of Périgord is a delectable, utterly enchanting, and sinfully satisfying delight.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061877575
    Unavailable
    The Matchmaker of Perigord: A Novel

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    Reviews for The Matchmaker of Perigord

    3.5/5

    19 ratings16 reviews

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    • 2/5
      At first, I attributed my reading this book at such a slow pace to not having enough time to read it. However, as I neared the end, I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped. Yes, the premise, a barber whose clients are going bald decides to take up the business of matchmaking, sounded interesting and comical, but I think that's all the author really had. I don't think Stuart's characters and sequence of events in the story were engaging enough. I had really high hopes for this book because I absolutely loved The Tower, but it just didn't deliver. It almost felt like Stuart didn't really have a story to tell, just an idea, and as a result the book suffered from a lack of material. Even the main character wasn't lovable enough. I suppose I should have been sympathetic to his worries and suffering, but his problems just weren't realistic enough because they had very easy and simple solutions. I gave it 2 stars on account of its creative plot and funny characters.
    • 4/5
      Enjoying this a lot. Sentence structure takes some getting used to, and it can be a bit heavy-handed on the charm, but she does portray very well village life in France. If you're interested in that, I would highly recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      I'm a bit torn on this one. I absolutely loved Julia Stuart's second book, The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise, which I read earlier this year. Loved it so much that it's one of my favorites. I really fell in love with the story, the characters, and Stuart's writing style.This was her first novel and I guess it suffered a bit. I didn't find myself engaged by the story nor did I like the characters very much (actually found most of them annoying). I forced myself to get through the whole thing just to get it out of the way.To be sure, this book is also full of clever phrases and lines that will make you chuckle. But I just didn't connect with it emotionally like I did with the second novel. I wonder if I had read this one first, if it would have changed my views at all. Would I have liked it? Or would I have felt the same and never even attempted Stuart's second book?As it is, I'm glad I read The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise first. If Stuart does come out with another book, I will probably check it out, hoping that her writing and storytelling have continued to improve.
    • 5/5
      One of the funniest and most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. I laughed out loud while reading in bed. Truly charming, with lovely characters, a rattling good story, unique observations of human behaviour, romance (or the lack thereof), a fascinating local climate, history, costumes, fetes, gardens and above all an emphasis on good food, wine and friendship. Beautifully written and an unforgettable gem.
    • 3/5
      Charming fluff. Perfect for the beach.
    • 2/5
      I just couldn't get through this book. I tried a couple of times, and this time I got farther than I did before, but still couldn't finish it. I didn't care much about the characters and couldn't tell them apart. I don't know why the story didn't appeal to me, but I am giving up.
    • 4/5
      Very cute and romantic. Why aren't there more little books like this?
    • 4/5
      Charming and absurd in turns, this book follows the new career of a village barber turned matchmaker in France.
    • 1/5
      This book was not for me. I only read one chapter or so and found it annoying. I usually like books with a French "flavor", but for some reason I couldn't warm to the characters. With so many books on my to-be-read list, I just didn't want to continue.
    • 4/5
      What fun!I got this advanced copy of The Matchmaker of Perigord from Libarything Early Reviewers and I'm so glad I did.The story takes place in a mountain village in present day France. A has-been barber trades in his shears for a Cupid's bow and arrow; he takes up matchmaking.This book is charming, laugh-out-loud funny and unique. Pick up this book.{Read for the Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge}
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed reading "The Matchmaker of Perigord". It was a wonderfully delightful escape from the humdrum of daily life, and I got completely, wonderfully, fantastically lost each time I picked it up. This book does remind me of Chocolat, and that is certainly a good thing. "Matchmaker" stands on its' own, however, as a separate and charming novel. I have happily recommended this book to my friends and family, and look forward to revisiting it again in the future. I can't wait to see what Julia Stuart does next!
    • 3/5
      For a book that is only 316 pages, this took me FOREVER to read. The two words I would use to describe the story are "sweet" and "tedious". Julia Stuart does a lovely job of capturing the charms and quirks of a small French village and its inhabitants. One almost feels as though they are watching a play with a cast of 33, each person acting out their strange persona and telling their own story all at the same time. In other words, the reader is getting a lot of details thrown at them at every stage of the story. Again, I say the book is sweet because of the overall plot; a failing village barber sets aside his life's craft to become a matchmaker. In a small town, there isn't much selection for matching so apparent hilarity ensues. But the story gets so bogged down in the details that it becomes irritating and by the time I finished the last page, I was glad it was over. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.Suggested With: The ability to speed read.
    • 4/5
      Guillaume Ladoucette is a barber with no customers. Since the arrival in town of a new barber (whose specialty in male hair design is called "the pine cone"), Guillaume's business has been in a slump. Despite his tremendous ability to cut and style hair and his great capacity to sell hairpieces and faux sideburns, the only customers that still visit his shop are balding. With almost no customers to grace his shop, he decides to remake himself as the small province's matchmaker, with hilarious results. The town, whose residents number only 32, are having their own problems when, after a water restriction imposed by the council, they are forced to bathe in a communal shower in the center of the square. Then there is the feud between Guillaume's mother and Madame Moreau, both women using comestibles as ammunition; and the return of Émilie Fraisse, Guillaume's long-pined-for love, who has purchased an ancient chateau complete with copious bat droppings. We also we meet other unusual inhabitants of the town, such as Yves Lévèque, the town dentist, whose inability to find love is rivaled only by his pickyness; Stéphane Jollis, the culinarily competitive baker; and Sandrine Fournier, the assistant ambulant fishmonger and mushroom poisoner. With Guillaume's new profession comes problems that only a small town can have. The pickings are slim, and everyone is so acquainted with one another that they don't see love matches among themselves, making the matchmakers job all the harder. But work isn't his only problem, for after finding out that Émilie Fraisse is back in town, his heart is in a whirlwind and he must decide whether to confess his secret adoration of many years to her, or to remain silent and lose his chance at love. Add one chicken that can only be described as a hooligan, and you have the delightful and curiously entertaining story of The Matchmaker of Périgord.I absolutely loved this book. It was quirky and unique and very cleverly comic. I loved the small touches that the author used to give it flavor, such as using the first and last names of all the characters at all times, and the reiteration of plot points throughout the story. This was a very verbose story, but I found that I didn't mind the packed pages at all. The author has a wonderful way of generously using her words with the effect that the townspeople and their situations came alive. The plot was deliciously fleshed out but not convoluted, and the humor was more cerebral than slapstick. At times I was astonished at the level of detail that went into this story, and though it is a comedic book, it is also a very literary one. This is not a book that you can let your mind wander over; it requires some attention to keep the myriad characters straight, but it was not a bothersome task at all. Though some of the plot elements were a little far-fetched, I found I was won over by the inventiveness of the story. The description of the foodstuffs in this book were wonderful as well. Some of the things that were eaten I had never heard of being consumable before, and although I wouldn't want to taste some of them, reading about them was a treat. In particular, the sections regarding the picnic basket competitions between Guillaume and Stéphane were surprising and fantastical, and I found myself wanting to share them with whoever would listen. Another great touch was the characterizations in this book, all of which were very developed and multi-layered. Each of the complex characters had their own back story, quirks, and particular behaviors. It was a very eclectic mix of people and situations, and it must have been a huge job to juggle so many elements in one story, but it came of seamlessly.Though my experience with comic novels is not very broad, I know what I like, and I know what works. This book succeeded in both categories. It was not laugh out loud funny, but rather the kind of book that you read with a continual smile on your face. This is the perfect book to curl up and unwind with. The humor is not biting or sarcastic, or filled with jokes at another's expense. If you are looking for something outlandish or offbeat, this is the book for you.
    • 3/5
      The excitement of being a first -time Early Reviewer recipient coupled with the book review by Joanne Harris, my hopes for an enjoyable were up. "The Matchmaker of Perigord" isa delightful book. The characters are full of personality, unique and quite odd,but all are vital to the story. Stuart's creation of Amour-sur-Belle was so wonderful. Such creative writing allowed me to'feel' the characters and places. I recommend this book and look forward to Stuart's next novel.
    • 4/5
      Poor Guillaume Ladoucette. He has been an excellent barber for his small French town for twenty years. But now he has a problem. Well, two problems, really. The population of the town has not changed much over the years. It stands, in fact, at thirty-three. (That includes the pharmacist who has been missing since the mini-tornado of 1999.) The population's hair is aging. You know what happens to aging hair. That's right, it falls out. Some of Guillaume's customers are going bald! To make matters worse, a new snazzy barber has set up shop in a neighboring town and some folks have been lured away by the fashionable haircuts that he is offering. Guillaume feels that he must remain true to conventional barbering wisdom and not be swayed by popular attitudes. But the fact remains, he has almost no customers left. What is he to do?He decides to make a clean break. Start over in an entirely new profession. Despite his own bachelor status and his inability to proclaim his feelings to the woman he has been in love with his entire life, he decides what the town needs most is a matchmaker. And he's the man for the job. He tears the sink out of his shop and, after a quick makeover, re-opens his shop as "Heart's Desire". Unfortunately, business is a bit slow at the start. Prospective clients looking for love are matched up with people that they are already VERY familiar with. It is a small town, people have already formed opinions about each other, getting them to change is difficult. Things aren't going so well for Guillaume. Then, suddenly, he seems to have a success! The postman has found someone he really likes! Poor Guillaume, the woman in question turns out to be the same one he has been in love with his whole life. Now it looks like he will lose her forever, to the postman. Will he ever muster up the courage to admit his feelings? What a fun book this is. It is witty and warm, filled with eccentric, endearing characters and fantastic descriptions of French food and pastries. It is a wonderful 'cassoulet' of a novel. Enjoy!
    • 4/5
      This Early Reviewer book is the mildly amusing story of a middle-aged barber turned matchmaker living in the southwestern French town of Amour-sur-Belle. Unmarried, Guillaume Ladoucette has only ever loved his childhood sweetheart, Emilie Fraisse, who moved away from Amour-sur-Belle when still a child. Shy with women and never able to court anyone in her place, Guillaume has lived for years with the regret he feels over not having answered the letter Emilie wrote to him after she moved away from town.The barber business goes bust – his customers hardly need his services anymore for many of them have gone bald and the ones who still have hair want to try the new haircuts which Guillaume refuses to do and so they take their trade elsewhere. He decides to open a matchmaking business even though he knows nothing about it.Most of the story concerns itself with the matches Guillaume makes for his customers, his own love for Emilie which comes to life once more when she moves back to town, making her home in the filthy old chateau that she bought specifically because its dirtiness will give her plenty of work to do, and the necessity for a public shower in the town brought on by the drought. There is a good deal of time spent on the eccentricities of the folk in this town – in the manner of most books of this type. I found three odd things about this book. First, the writer never – and I mean never – mentions the characters without using both their first and last names. Never. I thought that was a little unusual. Second, when she is writing about certain things – Emilie’s dresses, the ramparts of the castle, the spiral staircase, the cushion on the chair in Guillaume’s place of business – she uses the exact same words. Emilie’s dresses, no matter the color, always “appeared to have been shorn off at the knees”. The spiral staircase in the chateau is always described as having “lamentable repairs”. The ramparts of the castle are always “scandalous”. The third thing is the food. I am very used, in books of this type, to reading beautiful descriptions of the local food. The food always sounds so good! I wish I could be there so I could have some of it. Many of the foods in this book do not sound very good at all (the main exception being the pastry). Sliced cow’s muzzle?! Donkey sausage?! All excited over her date, Emilie takes a plate of broiled kidneys to bed with her. “Her excitement over Gilbert Dubuisson coming to dinner….could only be dampened with offal.” Made me shudder. But then I am not an ‘innards’ kind of person.That said, I found, after not too long a while, that I could almost feel that I was in Amour-sur-Belle. The author brought out the atmosphere of the village very well, I thought, and I felt that I was there. And even with the eccentric people and the oddball things that happened, I had a nice stay.