The Most Beautiful Villages of Brittany Book

Hugh Palmer's study of Brittany's architecture has such evocative photography that it is easy to overlook James Bentley's text. But this distinguished travel writer's succinct portrait makes it necessary to rethink France's north west peninsula that is too often dismissed for its familiarity. Bentley focuses on the unique aspects of each Breton village by region: Finistère, Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and Côtes-d'Armor. His easy command of history reveals a legacy of ancient tradition amazingly intact in an increasingly contemporary France. The text is short on the getting-there aspects, though an appendix points to festivals, restaurants and tourist information centres. But getting there isn't the mission of this arm-chair traveller's tour of Brittany. Palmer reveals aspects of the region that a snapshot traveller can only hope to capture. His particular use of natural light to frame views adds textural dimensions often lacking in similar books and ensures that Brittany doesn't end up as a study in shades of gray slate, granite and sky. This is a collaboration, not a marriage, with Bentley often describing a view while Palmer's photographs on the same page capture a different landmark or landscape. But together they invite the reader to stop and look beyond the ferry ports and autoroutes that pass through Brittany to the rest of France. --Kathleen BuckleyRead More