There are books that describe a place, and then there are books that possess it, tenderly, obsessively, with the type of intimate attention only a local or someone thoroughly bewitched can bring.

Les Kellen’s, My Little World, is the latter. A slim, quietly luminous volume about the town of Blaye, France which happens to be my adopted little corner of the world, the one tucked along the Gironde estuary like a secret shared among friends.

Blaye is one of those places that insists on being felt before it is understood.

The picturesque French spot is a village where the 17th-century Vauban citadel broods magnificently above a town that, let’s be honest, could use one more great restaurant, and one desirable retail therapy opportunity.

But that is precisely what makes Les Kellen’s book so special. He writes about Blaye not as a postcard or a tourism campaign, but as a world, in fact, his little world, full of texture, quirks, and soul.

Kellen’s writing has the gentle melancholy of someone who’s watched a place evolve and occasionally devolve. He captures the rhythms of Blaye in a way that makes you nod knowingly if you live here, or sigh wistfully if you don’t.

Blaye isn’t Bordeaux.

It isn’t Saint-Émilion.

And thank goodness for that.

Blaye is something more intimate…a village with a UNESCO-listed fortress, a ferry to Medoc, the magical Grand Cru oasis, that always seems to be either five minutes late or five minutes early and showcases sunsets over the estuary that make you forget every flaw you cursed earlier in the day.

What Kellen, a wine officianado, winery and wine store owner and, classic car collector offers and what I adore about the book is a familiar yet unexpectedly incisive reflection on the everyday.

He writes about the cafés, the markets, the vineyards, the characters, his talented life partner, Clarissa Schaefer, the outstanding project manager, artist and wine maker, and the imperfections with a tone that is neither romanticized nor cynical.

If you have ever walked through Blaye at sunrise, or bought huge stalks of leeks at the amazing biweekly Blaye market, or sipped wine at the La Petite Cave in town while the church bells ring or the pigeons coo from the classic terracotta rooftops, you’ll recognize yourself in these pages.

Kellen reminds us why places like Blaye endure: because they are loved. Not abstractly, not by tourists passing through, but by people who choose to live in them who anchor themselves in the beauty and forgive the flaws.

As someone who has a home there, I felt — page after page — a quiet affirmation of why we chose Blaye in the first place.

If you love Blaye, you should read this book.

If you have never been to Blaye, you should read this book and then come visit, preferably on a day when the market is full and the sun rays are reflecting off the Gironde River.

After all, as Kellen beautifully proves sometimes the smallest worlds are the ones worth cherishing most.

As with the bestselling novel, A Year In Provence by Peter Mayle, My Little World is worth a small investment for a huge return.

Instead of always asking me about Blaye, live it for the moment.

Here’s a link to the  book.

“My Little World” by Leslie Kellen – E-Book with Illustrations