Book review of Ten Trees and a Truffle Dog by Jamie Ivey

It’s the tenth day of Christmas and so it seemed a good idea to review Ten Trees and a Truffle Dog: Sniffing Out the Perfect Plot in Provence by Jamie Ivey today. This is Jamie’s forth memoir about his life in France and follows on from his Rosé trilogy. I really enjoyed his first book, Extremely Pale Rose: A Quest for the Palest Rose in France where Jamie, his wife Tanya  and friend Peter set off on a tour of France to find the palest rosé wine they could, following a bet made in a Provencal restaurant. This led to them falling in love with Provence where they tried to make selling rosé wine their livelihood. I really wish I could tell you that I’ve read all of the books, but unfortunately I can’t. I’m missing book two La Vie en Rose and don’t want to read book three Rose En Marche: Running A Market Stall In Provence before it. Twice a year I visit a local second hand book sale with close to 40,000 books to rummage through and although books one and three are always popping up, number two is proving impossible to come by. Having spoken to Jamie via social media it seems unlikely the Rosé trilogy will be released in ebook format, which is a big disappointment to me.

However, Ten Trees and a Truffle Dog is about a new chapter in Jamie’s life and I just couldn’t resist jumping ahead of myself. Now that they have a baby on the way, it is time for Jamie and Tanya to put down roots and settle into family life in Provence. What could be more perfect than a plot of land in a perfect location, giving them the chance to build the perfect house and that comes with it’s own prized truffle oak trees? Well, without giving too much away, let’s just say they hadn’t bargained on health issues, building (and especially dodgy builder) issues, puppy training issues and poachers. Jamie was able to turn these issues into an amusing read and he also included lots of delicious food delights of the region, washed down with a generous supply of rosé wine and I was in my element.

If you enjoy a memoir about the ups and downs of family life in Provence, are interested in the food and wine of France and you want to learn more about the delicious truffle and how to find it, I can recommend this book. I am also pleased to say that unlike the first three books this one is available in ebook and paperback, published by Summersdale. Links to Amazon are below.