Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil

by Jean-Claude Izzo

Howard Curtis (Translator)

Available for the first time in English in Howard Curtis’s brilliant translation, this collection of personal essays shows Izzo at his most contemplative and insightful. He writes beautifully about the city he loved, the sea to which he belonged, and the literary movement that made him famous.

• ISBN13: 9781787701052
• Publish Date: 9 May 2013 (first published 7 May 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 120
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil is a collection of short sensual epicurean essays about food, culture, and experience by Jean-Claude Izzo. Originally published in 2003, this reformat and re-release by Europa Compass is due out in late July 2020. It's a quick read at 128 pages and is available in ebook format (earlier editions available in other formats).

This was a sweet and nostalgic collection of short writings about the author's love affair with the Mediterranean area and more specifically the Riviera. The author was something of a renaissance man, poet, playwright, and novelist, but these essays are more personal and felt more open and conversational. Despite being listed in the cooking, food, & wine categories, there are no recipes contained herein. This is a nice boutique collection of short musings.

This would be the perfect gift for oneself or others, especially given that travel is seriously restricted and/or simply impossible during the current pandemic situation and likely to remain so for some time. I got such a summery holiday feeling reading this short book.

Four stars. Lovely work.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes