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Summary: Re-visiting beautiful Tuscany
Review: I have to admit that I am one of those readers who just loved Under the Tuscan Sun and was eagerly awaiting the release of Bella Tuscany, hoping for more of Mayes' stunningly poetic writing.I found Bella Tuscany a little slower, even, dare I say it, boring in some parts, however it still held all those elements I loved about UTTS. In this book we learn about the pros and cons of italian style gardens with some beautiful sentiments borrowed from Pliny about gardens, happiness and life spent in elegant, intellectual freedom. I loved the idea of this and realised that this must strike a cord with the moneyed, intellectual Mayes. Once again my mouth watered with Frances' descriptions of gastronomic feasts and then marvelled over the simpler pleasures of cooking with unfamiliar greens growing wild amongst your garden. I loved the historic feel to the book also. Ideas and thoughts borrowed from the inspiration of Roman roads, Renaissance landscaping and Sicilian/Tuscan/Venetian history. Mayes spends more time in this book acquainting us with the ever-present yet somehow elusive Ed. We get more of an idea of the things they like to do, eat, see, explore. If you bought this book because you enjoyed the renovation of the farmhouse in UTTS you may be disappointed to find that they spend a good deal of time away from Bramasole. However, if you wanted to dip back into the lives of Frances and Ed and follow and join them as they explore "their" Italy, you will find this book every bit as enjoyable as UTTS.
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Summary: Frances Mayes should have stopped after the first book.
Review: Please tell me what vacationing in Sicily and Venice, attending a funeral in Minnesota and a wedding in California have to do with Tuscany. The reader buys the book expecting several hundred pages filled with insight into Tuscany only to be bored to tears with the ramblings of a self-indulgent author. Frances Mayes has taken her fantasy of becoming the next Martha Stewart to the pinnacle. First she's a poet and travel writer, then a chef and now a landscape designer and art historian. Even Martha wouldn't attempt this many feats as a mere mortal! This book was written for one reason, to coattail on the success of her first book and to rip the reader off!
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Summary: Well written, but not inspiring or fantastic
Review: The book is simply boring. It is well written, but boring. I ended up exchanging it after about thirty pages - I should have read this much before leaving the bookstore. I live in Lucca some 4 months a year and although this is "old hat" to me, I feel the writer, although competent, lacks the insight of what makes Italy and Italians "tick," and this shows on the pages. Italians are special because of, and for, many reasons - it is too bad this writer cannot express them. In the time it would take you to quickly skim through this troubled book, you could slowly enjoy three cups of coffee in a run down Italian café and soak up a greater feel for "Italy."
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Summary: amazon rips off customers
Review: amazon sells book of the month quality book, indicating $25 retail value, while reader is sure few if any would pay $25 for a book bound so poorly. Poorest quality hard back binding i have ever incurred.
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Summary: Spiritual and gastronomic ecstasy in Tuscany
Review: I could not put this book down. The descriptions of landscape, people, food, and wine were captivating. I felt as if I were there experiencing them with Ms. Mayes. I was as relaxed as she was, walking to town, having a capuccino, picking plants, buying wine. I was there with her and Ed. Maybe I should just show up as one of their guests one summer!!
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Summary: Olive Oil Ecstasy
Review: Frances Mayes just does it again. One reads Bella Tuscany with the feeling that one has caught that 24 hour stomach virus that's been going around. The rolling hills and olive groves of Tuscany come to life and actually start to speak to you in a voice that is reminiscent of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Soon, visions of Garfield appear and before you know it, you've logged on to the internet again to order Martha Stewart's new book on Hors D'Oeurves. Ah, the winemakers of Italy: so vastly underappreciated and not once mentioned in the latest edition of Goodman and Gilman. But here, Frances, just zonks you with the whole Italian winemaking craft while not once making you think about your root canal visit at the dentist tomorrow. Let your mind wander to Tuscany with the rich, harmonious prose and best poetic voice since Macgruder's Poems for an Unyear. And when you go to Tuscany, do not, I repeat, do not forget to bring along your copy of Daniel Dennett's "Consciousness Explained". This will all make perfect sense, but not in this universe.
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Summary: Reading this book was my fourth trip to Italy
Review: I have been to Italy three times and was fortunate to travel many of the same paths Ms. Mayes vibrantly takes us. This is a true treasure to read and ponder. I wish I had met her when I was at SFSU.
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Summary: Delightfully warm and inviting. A trip of the senses.
Review: Mayes again invites me into her Cortona, Italy villa, Bramsola. It has been too long between visits and it was nice to see how life has settled into a routine of enjoying the gardens, repairing the villa, and exploring more of the Tuscan region.
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Summary: Second course
Review: This book is like a second course in a sumptuous dinner. Frances and Ed have now cpmpleted most of the major alterations to their villa in Tuscany and are now able to spend more time touring the rest of the region, sampling the local wines and cuisine, enjoying the magnificent architecture and generally continuing their love affair with Italy.
This book definitely inspires the reader to visit this wonderful sounding region of Italy and to be able to feel part of such a warm, rich culture.
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Summary: Lovely Dreamscapes into the Heart of Italy
Review: Who has not dreamt of escaping to a colorful villa in Europe, preferably Provence (France), Tuscany in Italy or some obscure litle hillside in Central Europe? Frances Mays did just that! She describes the delicious details of this idyllic existence in this precious and charming book.Her sensitive, seductive descriptions are irresisible reading.
The reader is introduced to the sights, sounds, and smells of this magnificent dreamy region of the world. The book is interspersed with Italian phrases, increasing the allure of her exotic choice for a second home, Tuscany, Italy. All the senses of the reader are aroused into full alert by the aroma of freshly baked bread, the smell of newly turned earth awaiting seeds for the vegetable garden, and the enticement of early morning capuccino ...One can just hear the Italian accent in the greeting, "Buon giorno, una bella giornata" ("Good morning, a beautiful day")!
Along with the author, the reader participates in selecting flowers for a garden path and making a trip to the wine region for "sfuso" (house wine) ... bought from local vintners from their own local brew. We take side trips to Venice, and a gondola ride down the main canal, reminiscing of the past. We take a trip to the famous Capella Palatina, a former residence of kings. It has Arabic and Byzantine architechtural influences from many hundreds of years historical importance ... We go to Sicily and taste the local seafood at a restaurant recommended by the hotel clerk, who assures us, this the restaurant the locals choose for the "best seafood". Indeed, there is no disappointment, the appetizer is "futta di mare", a variety of fried fish and a spicy eggplant dish made with cinnamon and pine nuts. We are served stuffed squid and veal, rolled around with a layer of herbs and cheese. The day concludes with a visit to the market, where lamb, fish, shrimp, candied fruits and various cooking utensils as well as a large variety of food is sold.
This book is richly detailed with the experience of creating a new life in a foreign country. The reader along with the author is learning many things ... building a garden with hearty plants that survive all year round, planting the proper vegetables by the right season, remodeling a home, and partaking of customs and religious feast days of the region. It has wonderful descriptions of side trips to local and distant places of historical interest and of physical beauty ...I have never read Frances Mays first book so have no basis of comparison. However, this book is clearly an artistic achievement similar to a painting on canvas. This author possesses the power of selecting the right words to create nostalgia and longing in the reader ... to experience *her* Tuscany. Erika Borsos (erikab93)
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