The Rose Café: Love and War in Corsica

Though somewhat dated, this book gives a good sense of the rhythm of life and the turning of seasons in a small Corsican town, before the advent of mega tourism, yachting clubs and all-night discos. The book feels slow paced but that is surely intentional and part of the charm. While mostly devoid of plot, the book provides a fascinating and lyrical glimpse into European culture in the 1960s. Definitely worth reading, particularly for those lucky enough to travel to the "island of beauty."

Memoir of young American study abroad student who finds staying in Europe, particularly a summer in Corsica,more rewarding than risking draft and Vietnam. He has a good eye for characters and detail.

The recipient of the gift loved it.

I really enjoyed this. Initially was looking to pass the time waiting at an office and got it off kindle unlimited. But quickly fell into the story and personalities at the cafe and the author's ability to bring these people to life.

This is an easy and superb read to better understand the Corsican culture, especially that of the region. Highly recommend.

50 years later after this took place, Corsica has changed. We didn't visit L'Île-Rousse on an extended trip in 2010 (we'll be back) but there were things in The Rose Cafe that were definitely evocative. This is a sweet story even if you have no clue about Corsica but I recommend it particularly if you are planning on visiting beyond the tourist beaches.Also, read Columba by Prosper Merimee, a novella that helps explain the somewhat darker past of La Corse.

This is a great summer read! Or, perhaps even better, if you read it in winter, it will warm you up! The author is best known for his deep explorations into an eastern Massachusetts square mile tract, known as Scratch Flat, but he's wandered away from his known territory in recent books. The Rose Cafe, his latest and, I think, his best, takes us to the sun-drenched island of Corsica in the Mediterranean where Mitchell lived for nine months in the early 1960s. It is, in part, a memoir of a pivotal time in his youth that launched him into his writing career. In his typical lyrical style, Mitchell weaves a magic spell as he introduces us to the breathtakingly beautiful, sensuous, and fragrant land of Corsica, where an odd collection of local types --- dreamy, eccentric, troubled, lovely, even some from Corsica's underworld --- frequent the charming, somewhat isolated cafe/auberge where he worked. In keeping with the subtitle, Love and War in Corsica,there is a lot of love in this book and a lot about the remnants of wars, World War II in particular; and you'll relish reading about delicious Corsican food and how it is prepared. Wild nature and local history serve as a rich metaphorical backdrop for this delightful book.

I was so sad when this book ended. It is a beautiful book how it draws you into the place where it is set, an auberge during a summer in Corsica. You get to know all the people that come and go, and the landscape, and the culture. It is like really taking a summer in Europe, which you can't always do in real life!The writing is gorgeous. And you are drawn in, not wanting to put the book down, which is a rare thing with travel-type books.