The Stones of Balazuc

£22.00

If you look at Michelin sheet 80, in the north east corner, you will find Balazuc, a tiny medieval village carved from a limestone cliff that towers over the Ardeche river.
This is where the American academic John Merriman has lived with his family since the early 1990¿s. He has obviously fallen in love with the village and like many incomers may well care more for the village, and be more committed over its future than the long standing inhabitants who are rapidly deserting Balazac for a more secure futures.

Merriman¿s devotion has produced this study of the village, beginning with the rich pre-history of the Ardeche valley, the site of the oldest cave drawings ever discovered, and ending up with a long dissertation on the supposed benefits of tourism. In between there is some pretty dense stuff on the French Wars of Religion, the Revolution and the changing economic fortunes of the village through the nineteenth century. Merriman concludes that the impact of external political events has been minimal, for the fate of the village is determined by nature and that the geography of the area has condemned the village to poverty. Chestnuts, silkworms and wine may bring relief and some prosperity, but it will only be temporary. Even the advent of two World Wars only hastens the inevitable decline of the village.

The secondary theme will be very familiar, for it is the very contemporary argument that any community needs certain basics to survive. Merriman argues that the triptych of modern rural life has been the school, the café and the store, and the existence of none of these is assured, hence the village is doomed.

Tourism does provide an income for many and he cites the huge increase in the number of gites, from a mere 7 in 1956 to 900 in 1976. But at the same time the absurdity of tourism means that to qualify as a village of character and to be included in the guide published by the Association Les Plus Beaux Villages, Balazuc has to create street names that never previously existed. As Merriman says ¿The streets of the various Disneylands also have names. In both cases, tourism arguably has helped to create a false cultural heritage¿. Ironically the wealth which we all take for granted has resulted in a huge growth of second homes and retirement homes, a development that leads to a largely absent and/or aging population, who with the exception of the author contribute little to the life of the village. In the meantime outside of the season the grocery store is open only in the morning and the restaurants remain closed.
The book is a serious history of Balazuc, with 80 pages of notes, though strangely no index.
In that sense history is determined by geography.

Reviewed by Andrew Steed, Purchasing Manager, Stanfords.