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Summary: A captivating journey in Italy
Review: I randomly picked this book out of a friend's collection and was not expecting anything special. Little did I know that I would find an absolute treasure of a novel. Mayes' descriptions of the Tuscan countryside and the other Italian regions she visits (Sicily, Venice...) are totally engrossing. It makes you long to hop on the next flight to Italy! I adored the lush description of her home in Cortona and the local recipes included in the book. More than that, I was really struck by how much Mayes loves not only her own Tuscan home, but the people and the culture of Italy. Her deep affection for her Cortona neighbors gave this book a strong emotional core, and I was really moved by the experience of reading it.
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Summary: It hit me what I don't like about this book
Review: Her descriptive language is well thought out, but almost no emotion comes through in this humorless travelogue. She shares very little about herself and her feelings and the book is left with being a very well written still life.
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Summary: Can't get enough of Frances
Review: After a chance encounter with Frances's first book chronicling her adventures in Tuscany I could only hope that she would follow it up. This follow up book does not disappoint! I love the way she weaves classic Italian recipes into her story telling of harvesting her gardens. The insight into the local people is both engaging and exciting to read. If the first book didn't make you want to move, this one will have you calling your real estate person.
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Summary: Not all that bad
Review: I don't understand why so many people think Frances Mayes hates having guests. She wasn't complaining about all of her guests; just the clueless and boorish ones who invited themselves, slept until noon, and didn't understand that she and Ed had work to do and couldn't spend every waking minute entertaining them. And for those of you who keep comparing Mayes to Peter Mayle, Mayle also criticized/made fun of guests he didn't like. Remember Tony from A Year in Provence?? Even if that wasn't his real name, Mayle still took the time to physically describe him so that the man would no doubt recognize himself when he read the book.
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Summary: a very mediocre and biased account of Italy
Review: While this book was enjoyable in parts, I just don't see what sets this book apart from other travelogues. I'm glad the author enjoys living and entertaining in Tuscany (who wouldn't) and tending to her garden, but the bottom line is that I just didn't find these vignettes all that interesting. Maybe it's because I'm not a gardener - I tended to identify more with the eating and cooking aspects of the book which were at least lively and interesting. If you're visiting Italy or just like armchair travel you may enjoy perusing this book. It's passable, just not the most exciting book I've ever read. I think most generic travel guides (like the Rough Guide) are more interesting reads.Plus, even though she claims to be the sensitive American living in Italy, she has so many silly mafia stereotypes and "canned" portraits of Italians that I almost didn't recognize Italy from the actual weeks I've spent travelling through the country. Mediocre by any standard.
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Summary: Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy
Review: Quick and simple...bad. I have lived in Italy for the past 3 years. As an American, I am embarrassed as Ms. Mayes personifies the term "Ugly American". A pleasant writing style is no excuse for bad manners. I think that Ms. Mayes should know how to embrace the customs and ways of another country.
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Summary: An imaginary Italy.
Review: This is a very frustrating book, especially for anyone who is involved with Italians or things Italian. The book is generally well and lyrically written. The real problem with both "Bella Tuscany" and "Under the Tuscan Sun" is that they are not actually about Italy. Rather, they are set in an imaginary Italy whose only citizens are stereotypes of the most astonishing obviousness. One is tempted to compare Mayes's project with older elitist visions of Italy--the tradition of James, Hawthorne, and Waugh. Here too the protagonists travel from the complexity and corruption of the metropolis to a bucolic paradise where the simple inhabitants have little more to do than laze around in the sun eating pasta and drinking wine (although at least in these earlier narratives Italy became a theatre in which the political and social dramas of the "first world" were played out). The concerns of Italians--inhabitants of a modern, richly complex and changing society--are completely elided by the narrative. Indeed Mayes doesn't seem to speak enough Italian--after several years there (!!)--to communicate with them substantially. This book is good for those who are looking for a fantasy Italy with which to exorcise the demons of modernity, but is utterly useless for those who love or who wish to understand the real country and its people.
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Summary: Not as good as Under the Tuscan sun, but close
Review: This book was not as engaging as "Under the Tuscan Sun" which was Frances Mayes first book on her experiences in Italy. I found the chapters to be way too long. I don't know why this matters, but it just struck me that way. Maybe some ideas were "over covered"? However, this book had it's own charm. I did find her discussions of meals and food to be a bit too much at times. I guess too many details that attempt to display her growing knowledge of the local cuisine, that are not useful facts to me as a reader. Also the recipes are limited for use in the average suburban home here, as the ingredients are not that common. However, this was true for Under the Tuscan sun as well. It just did not seem to be emphasized as much. Her momentary concentration on the "Mafia" in Italy, I was prepared for as I read previous reviews. Her vehemence struck me as been one that one feels when they find a flaw in a cherished item. Her illusions of Italy are ones of an idyllic place and the presence of the Mafia or anything that does not fit that, obviously struck a dissonant chord with her. She may very well be relating the opinions and attitudes of the people around her and not just her own. I find it hard to think that these opinions as a foreigner here were not influenced by the local people she deals with. Some of the comments struck me as ones only a local could perceive. What I did find a bit rude was her characterizations of some of her visitors. I certainly hope this was shared with them prior to publication. Like Ann Landers says you can't be taken advantage of if you don't allow yourself to be (or something like that). If you are looking for more on Bramasole, this book may disappoint. This book featured more of her trips beyond Cortona and even into Venice. Some people may find her self-absorption a bit over done at times, as she relates bits of her childhood and life outside of Italy. However, I found it interesting to see how the "other half" lives. I liked her way of relating her current thoughts with past actions. Like collections and family life. It is nice to get into her head. I think we all do that to some extent and when we get a glimpse of what another thinks, it shows first that we are not so weird after all, but just how different or similar another's experiences are. I guess what makes these books special to me is her way of describing the day to day surroundings as an American would see them. This I feel makes them real for me. She is going in with American expectations and when these are different she relates this. I then feel like I have been there right along with her. I wonder how a local feels when they read some of this? All in all, it was a decent follow on to Under the Tuscan sun. Not as good, but close. The couple of pictures on the dust cover and the diagrams inside helped flesh out the area she was referring to. The engagement calendar, does an even better job at that. I have bought the next book she does on her life in Italy (In Tuscany)and am about to start it. I feel she has a lot to offer as a writer. In Bella Tuscany, she experimented a bit more in her writing, with some successes and failures. I hope to see how she reacted to Bella Tuscany's impact with "In Tuscany". Also I'm looking forward to the pictures included in "In Tuscany" to further flesh out this world.
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Summary: Ugh
Review: This is a pretentious, boring, self-absorbed book. I couldn't finish it. The writer comes across as someone I would never want to meet or spend time with, although I'm willing to believe that this was just the effect her writing had on me. Her attitude toward Italy and the Italians I found patronizing and uneducated. And if I buy a book about Tuscany, I'm not looking to read about the author's family and childhood, etc. Highly UNrecommended. Read MFK Fisher for good food writing, and anyone else in the world besides Mayes for good travel writing.
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Summary: Frances Mayes takes you to Italy with her
Review: This description of life in Italy is wonderful. Reading it, I felt like I was there with the author.
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