The Stones of Balazuc: A French Village in Time

By John M. Merriman

Book Overview

Balazuc is a tiny medieval village carved into a limestone cliff that towers above the Ardeche River in southeastern France. Its dramatic landscape and Mediterranean climate make it a lovely destination for summer visitors, but for its residents over the centuries life in Balazuc has been harsh. At times Balazuc has prospered, most notably in the nineteenth century through the cultivation of "the golden tree" and the silkworms it fed, a process whose rigors and rewards are gleefully detailed in this splendid book. But the rewards proved fleeting, leaving only the rigors of life on the "tormented soil." Historical events from the French Revolution, through the Paris Commune and the two world wars, sent ripples through this isolated region, but the continuities of everyday life remained strong. Twenty-eight men from Balazuc signed the list of grievances against the king in the spring of 1789; the families of nineteen still live in the village. This is a story of resilience. It is the French story of tensions between Paris and the village expressed in battles over the school, the church, the council, and people's livelihoods. Most of all it is a love letter from an acclaimed historian who with his family has made Balazuc his adopted home. With a new "golden tree," tourism, now flourishing, the struggles of the village to prosper and to retain its identity continue, transmuted to a world of cell phones and an imagined village past.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393051137
• ISBN13: 9780393051131
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A Wider Lens For Village History

The village study, whether history or anthropology, is a familiar genre in French studies. Some worthy precursors (E. Le Roy Ladurie, "Montaillou;" L. Wylie, "Village in the Vaucluse") detail local developments and tensions but still cast a vaguely romantic aura around the little community. But Merriman's instructive tale is of poor peasants struggling in a harsh environment with stony, infertile soils (partly human-made problems), and influenced by economic change more than national politics. He shows how Balazuc reflects broader French patterns: cash crop cycles (17-18C chestnuts & wine, 19C silk production), 20C tourism, and chronic hemorrhage of rural youth through outmigration. Such trends characterize rural life around the world, not just in France. His family's residence in Balazuc enriches a warm, insightful but sometimes critical account. BTW, writing a book is a splendid gift to one's adoptive hometown, requiring no justification.

How the other 90% lived

This is the story of a small, isolated town in southern France from shortly before the French Revolution until today. It is a specific example of how the "big events" affected (or not) everyday life. Although the author is not an economic historian, the book is also about how the village becomes increasingly involved in the world economy. As it turns out this has a far greater impact than the political events do. The book is written in an accessible style, but could have used some better editing. In several places two almost identical senteces follow one another. It is well documented and noted, so anyone wishing to follow the research will be able to. If you are interested in how "everyone else" lived in France for the past 300 years, this is a good book.