But the books are not merely travelogues. They are a profound meditation on memory. Pagnol writes in the introduction:
Marcel Pagnol’s memoirs, and My Mother's Castle But the books are not merely travelogues
This is the secret of Pagnol’s enduring power. He does not write from the safe distance of old age but from the raw edge of memory. The sunlight of Provence is so bright precisely because it illuminates the shadows of grief. He does not write from the safe distance
My Father’s Glory and My Mother’s Castle are not merely memoirs; they are acts of resurrection. Marcel Pagnol, with a conjurer’s skill, raises the dead—his parents, his brother, his first friend Lili—and lets them live again, if only for a few hundred pages. He reminds us that every adult carries inside them a child who once believed a scrawny thrush was a trophy and a rented house was a castle. To read these books is to be granted permission to visit that child again, and to weep a little when it is time to say goodbye. Marcel Pagnol, with a conjurer’s skill, raises the
lists a "Fine first edition" hardcover for about $50.00, while rare versions published to commemorate Alice Waters' Chez Panisse can reach $150.00. Used Copies