This is a beautifully laid-out book of mysteries and recipes. Well worth borrowing from the library for the beauty of it, though I admit I wasn't as enchanted by the food-spells themselves as I'd hoped to be. ( )

As a fan of Nick Bantock and Barbara Hodgson, I had always hoped to stumble across The Secrets of Pistoulet. It was not quite what I expected. It is less of an illustrated novel and more of a gift book. I should have picked up on its billing as "an enchanted fable." The illustrations are cute watercolor sketches in a quasi-Provencal style mixed up with photos, translucent vellum overlays and pressed flowers. The bare-boned story tells of a magical inn in the south of France where guests are refreshed by cooking that cures their ills. The book includes a series of recipes to help a quiet man speak more freely, a weary mother of twins regain her energy and so forth. Although the recipes include detailed instructions for purchasing beets from the farmer with the ruddiest complexion and tuning into a lively radio show while making the potage of babble, shopping for ingredients and actually cooking the magical soups are not really described in the story. An enjoyable hour but Pistoulet is probably not a place I will return to again. ( )

The Secrets of Pistoulet is an art novel which means it is as beautiful to touch and to look at as it is to read. It comes in a slip case with cutaway windows. The face of a woman on the cover of the book peeks out at you through these windows. She's smiling and you must go inside to find out why.

The moment it slid out of its slipcase I was captured by the spell of this lovely, creative, and inviting book. In the first pages we find an envelope of stationery from Hotel Splendid in Madras, India. When opened this envelope reveals a letter from the owner of a very special farm known as Pistoulet, located in the remote, untraveled southwestern French countryside. Pistoulet, we are told in the book is hidden from most everything, an unknown paradise with magical powers. The letter from Monsieur Simon (a world traveler) is to the care-takers of Pisoulet, Madame Claude and Monsieur Andre. It is advising them of the impending visit of Mademoiselle J. who has been withering in New York from a heartbreak too painful to discuss.

As it turns out, all of the guests at Pistoulet have come there or have been invited because they are in need of healing for various complaints of the heart and of the spirit. The splendid light, fragrance, bird-song, tranquility and scenery of Pistoulet go to work immediately, but it is the magical potages prepared by Madame Claude that seem to transform the guests. Each guest has unique needs and therefore requires a custom blending of herbs, vegetables, spices and magics to effect a cure.

A potage is a kind of soup, often brimming with vegetables and aromatic herbs, sometimes pureed, simple to prepare and always delicious. The recipes for the various potages served by Madame are found on decorated cards in pockets throughout the book. One guest, a troubled but brilliant composer, unable to speak above a whisper is transformed by Potage of Babble, made as follows:

To be prepared in the company of others, particularly those who are gregarious by nature.

PISTOU: With a mortar and pestle crush several aromatic cloves of garlic. Add a handful of freshly picked flowering basil. Let the guests crush the ingredients until a paste forms. Add olive oil, mix and set aside.
POTAGE: Purchase ingredients from the most outspoken farmer at the market. Saute two aromatic garlic cloves in the very best olive oil. Add two leeks (cleaned and chopped), two earthy potatoes (peeled and diced) and two handfuls of fresh white beans. Stir. Add chicken stock or water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer. Turn on the radio, tune into a lively conversation, and leave the room. About 20 minutes later, add salt and pepper and the pistou. Turn off the radio and serve with a crusty loaf and good wine.
CAUTION: Will cause excessive chatter.

Tucked into the text throughout the book are more recipes for delights like Tea of Courage, Tart of Sunshine, Celestial Croutons, Heart-Awakening Potion (made with naked pears and blood red wine and herb syrup) and several others. There are instructions for making dream pillows and sachets and a charm bag for prosperity.

Several pages are vellum parchment decorated with images of ivy and sunflowers or secret maps. Colorful and fanciful water color images border the pages and illustrate the story as do several romantic, sun-filled photographs. When Mademoiselle J. receives a gift from Madame and Monsieur, we see the charming gift card painted with crocuses on the front. We can open it and read it for ourselves just as Mademoiselle does.

The story follows Mademoiselle's healing process that takes place gradually without her realizing it at first. She has a mysterious chance encounter in the village and eventually is given the key to a strange dreamlike cottage called Le Tresor where she finds the notebook of the original lady of Pistoulet whose old photograph seems so familiar to Mademoiselle. Her dreams and her past and her present and future begin to seem intertwined and interchangeable. She learns more and heals more and one day...it is time for Madame to serve Potage Au Revoir.

I find this book utterly delightful for its art, its whimsy and romance and... for the recipes! Being short, gentle and transporting, it is a pleasant afternoon's diversion from the mundane. Its spell-craft is the simple kitchen witchery of sympathetic magic. The story is light and has simple poetic images and mood. It creates a French country atmosphere and easily transformed me and my day, making both more creative and hopeful and light-hearted. I love it and heartily recommend it to you.

Do not miss its sequel that I like even better, The Legend of the Villa della Luna, that takes place in Italy. ( )