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

by Carol Drinkwater

Release Date: 15 May, 2003

Edition: Hardcover

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The passion continues, but with a tear

In the Olive Season, Carol Drinkwater continuous Michel and her dream-come-true olive farm experience in the south of France. Other reviewers of her first book, as well as this reviewer, hoped for a sequel and Carol did not disappoint them. Although the book can be read and enjoyed without reading The Olive Farm, this reviewer strongly recommends that readers first read the Farm, as it provides the necessary backdrop and introduction to characters that enhances the enjoyment of the Season.

In the Season, Carol shares a lot more on personal level than in the Farm. Although I have enjoyed the first book specifically because it largely revolved around their farming experience and dealt less with them at intimate level, I can accept the change in focus because it is quite understandable when one reads about their tragic loss halfway through the book. The closing paragraph of the book confirms this conclusion. Do yourself a favour and do not read the last page of the book before you "legitimately" can after you have read the rest of it - apparently some people actually do that! It will not necessarily spoil your reading experience, but the story unfolds very well and pulls the reader closer to the author as it develops. Similar to the first book, the Season is well written and/or edited.

I again enjoyed Carol's description of the French rural characters she and Michel meet during their farming adventure. Although I appreciate her sharing of her research into various aspects of farming and nature, I find that those specific paragraphs tend to clash with the writing style of the rest of the book. Although short, they are almost reference book fact-like descriptions. However, they are far and in between and do not really distract from the overall reading experience. Their exploits into the French countryside and visits to interesting little shops and eating places do a lot to make the reader want to get onto a plane and explore those hide-away places!

If you have enjoyed The Olive Farm, you will also enjoy The Olive Season, although it is somewhat more "heavy" because of the dramatic events referred to earlier. Would I buy the next episode if Carol writes it? Yes, probably, even if only to find out whether they have managed to find a beekeeper! She clearly wrote, or at least completed, this one, inter alia for her own personal healing, but her writing style is such that I would support sequels in the Olive-saga much more positively than I would support Hollywood follow-on's!

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 spellbinding contemporary Scharazade who leaves us awaiting another missive from her paradisaical land.

- Gail Cooke