The Second-Worst Restaurant in France: A Paul Stuart Novel (2) (Paul Stuart Series)

Author: McCall Smith, Alexander

Color: Multicolor

Edition: 1st Edition

Number Of Pages: 256

Details:

In this delightful sequel to the best-selling comedic novel My Italian Bulldozer, Paul Stuart's travels take him to a French village, where the local restaurant's haute cuisine leaves a lot to be desired. Renowned Scottish cookbook writer Paul Stuart is hard at work on his new book, The Philosophy of Food, but complicated domestic circumstances, and two clingy cats, are making that difficult. So when Paul's eccentric cousin Chloe suggests that he join her at the house she's rented in the French countryside, he jumps at the chance. The two quickly befriend the locals, including their twin-sister landladies, who also own the infamous local restaurant known to be the second-worst eatery in all of France. During their stay, the restaurant's sole waitress gives birth mid-dinner service and the maître d' storms off after fighting with the head chef. Paul is soon drafted to improve the gastronomy of the village, while Chloe, ever on the hunt for her next romance, busies herself with distracting the handsome but incompetent chef. Could he be husband number six? With all this local drama to deal with, Paul finds it next to impossible to focus on his writing, and that's before he learns that Chloe's past is far more complicated than he'd ever imagined. Paul will have to call upon al his experience—with food and with people—to bring order back to the village. And he may just learn something about family—and about himself—along the way.

About the Author:

ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH is the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels and a number of other series and stand-alone books. His works have been translated into more than forty languages and have been best sellers throughout the world. He lives in Scotland. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1 Remarkable Cousin Chloe   It was one of Paul Stuart’s friends who said to him, “I can’t stress this enough, you know: breathing is important. Really important.”   “I’d already worked that out,” Paul replied.   “Oh, I know it sounds obvious . . .”   It does, thought Paul.   “But people forget. And they just breathe—you know, like this.”   Paul waited.   “Whereas,” his friend continued, “you should breathe like this.”   In, out . . .   “I thought I already was,” said Paul. “In, out. Like that?”   “Deeper. And hold the breath in for a while. Like this.”   There was silence. Then the friend said, “And while you hold it in, think. That’s the important thing. Concentrate your thoughts. Think of the present, Paul. The right now. The actual.”   “I’m thinking.”   “Good. You need to be mindful, Paul. Mindful. In. Think. Out. Still thinking.”   And he should also close his eyes from time to time, the friend said, and think about where he was and what he was doing, rather than about where he was going to be, and what he was going to be doing. And it was for this reason then that Paul, well-known food writer, celebrated cook, and a kind but slightly accident-prone man, now closed his eyes and took a deep breath.   He smelled coffee, and this was, he thought, a mindful sort of smell. In front of him, in the real world, was a freshly made, piping-hot cup of Brazilian coffee, its aroma drifting up to him on little wisps of steam. He loved the smell of that; a dark smell, a chocolate smell, but without chocolate’s note of sweetness. The smell of coffee, really; that, he decided, was the way he would describe it. He opened his eyes and gazed out of the window.   He thought—as he took a deep breath

— Should I go? He knew that was not mindful. He needed to think again, not about what he should do in the future, but about what he was doing now. But still the same question came back.

Should I go to France? Should I call Chloe right now and tell her: no France?   He exhaled. He could still smell the coffee, which was now.   *** It was late spring in Scotland and life was undoubtedly good—as was the v...

EAN: 9781524748296

Release Date: 16-07-2019

Languages: English

Item Condition: New

Binding: Hardcover