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Summary: Good medicine
Review: A great story of the richness of travel, love of life and truly enjoying who you are. Description of travel was worth it and the lessons learned invaluable!
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Summary: Fraser is a delightful writer
Review: I chose this book because I've enjoyed everything I've read by Laura Fraser -- she writes well -- and because I've lived in Italy and wanted a chance to reminisce. The book did not disappoint me. I enjoy Fraser's sensitive, aware, and slightly sarcastic approach to things; I had some difficulty with the story line -- after several encounters with her Italian lover, I began to getfrustrated with him & I hoped that she would give him the boot. I understood at first -- Fraser's husband leaves her for an old girlfriend, she heads off to Europe to sooth her soul, she meets the beautiful professor on an island near Naples, they have an affair, sensuas, sexual -- I'm tracking so far -- but the continued, ongoing meetings in the States and abroad, that seem to be entirely at his discretion, at his beck and call, are more of a challenge to accept. Fraser is a smart, self-accepting woman, and I was a little disappointed that she would be in this type of a relationship. This would be a great little book if it were fictional. Because it is autobiographical rather than fictional, I find myself wanting to take Fraser aside on occasion and ask her what she is doing.
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Summary: Breezy, but doesn't tackle the tough questions
Review: The first thing that strikes you about "An Italian Affair" is that Laura Fraser chose to write in the second person. For a writer baring your soul this is an easy choice to make: You are writing highly personal things, and it is much easier to do this if you think that you are writing solely to yourself. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if other memoirs have been written in the second person in their early stages. The difference, of course, is that Fraser doesn't convert these internal conversations into the first person. While this could be considered a simple choice of literary device, I believe the effect creates a distance between the writer and reader. "You" are the subject of the book, not Fraser. While she hasn't written herself out of the memoir, she has created a piece of work with her thoughts and feelings once removed.My guess is that Fraser did this because ultimately she hides more of her relationship with M. than she reveals. Certainly she reveals the sensuous and sexual aspects of their relationship, as well as the the surface tension of their relationship, but such things, despite some of the reviews of this book that say otherwise, are not truly daring. The distance of second person clouds the fact that she refuses to tackle the REALLY tough questions. The toughest: After being dumped for another woman, how can she reconcile becoming an "other woman?" Fraser glosses over this as a simple cultural difference, but it is clear upon close reading that M.'s relationship with his wife is crumbling or at the least not happy. Fraser never addresses the deeper meaning of her relationship with M. and how it may affect his relationship with his wife or his children. Nor does she address other difficult relationship issues. In fact, her ardent wish appears to be that her Italian affair be nothing more than a happy dream. Ah, if life were only so simple. As a dream, this book is a breezy joy. As a memoir it is a disappointment.
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Summary: Simply delightful!
Review: I read this book in two days and wished there were others like it! The story is well told (except for the fact that it is written in second person which was very distracting for a good portion of the book!)and the descriptions of italian places are very vivid so I could really picture Laura and her lover there.
I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to savor some romance that is enjoyed in beautiful and quaint settings. I would have given it 5 stars if had it been written in first or third person.
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Summary: Fun Breezy Read
Review: In this "turning-a-corner" book, Laura Fraser recounts her affair with M., a married Parisian professor whom she meets while vacationing in Italy (specifically Ischia---made visually famous in the film "The Talented Mr Ripley.") At 35+, Laura is sensitive about her weight and particularly vulnerable about herself as a woman all due to the emotionally depleting fact that her husband, a San Francisco lawyer has left their less than 2 year marriage for another woman. Enter the professor--an intriguing combination of sophistication and magnanimousity in as much as he seems to know what Laura needs even before she does while worshiping her body in a way that her husband never has, would or even could. Although Laura knows from the get-go that there is no future to their relationship, she cannot help but wonder about what could be. She moves through the self-questioning phases of her divorce and her feelings about her inadequacy in the light of the failure of her marriage. Only the short duration rendez-vous with M. act as steadying high points of light in the otherwise dark tunnel portion of her life. However, rather than detail the agony of vulnerability, the author cheerfully focuses mainly on the magical healing quality that the pure physical pleasure her relationship with M induces. Wise M. knows instinctively when she is healed and without a fuss he disappears as quietly as he appears. As additional succor of the gods, Fraser includes wonderful travelogue descriptions of exotic trysting places while simultaneously reporting her progress towards a new life through the acute observations that M. makes each time they meet in a new locale.
The story is told in the second person a la Italo Calvino; this technique moves the tale along quickly and smartly. Originally, I picked this book up thinking it was a novel and intrigued as it seemed to be about Italy, a country I have an immense fondness towards. Even though, the story is true, and has less to do with Italy than I first perceived, I would still recommend it as a pleasant 2 evenings worth of fast and fun reading.
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Summary: yes and no
Review: Yes, it's a travel guide that gives the reader insights to places in Italy that are not on the usual tourist stops. Actually, it's easy to understand why. I liked that. But no, I couldn't get drawn into the intent of the author for her memoir to be seen as her recovery of self by having an affair with a Frenchman. She's also a little too easily flattered by the attentions of two Italian men she bumps into in Stromboli. This book has more the tinge of a college girl's traipse through Europe than a mature woman's escape to self-discovery.
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Summary: LOVED IT!
Review: This book was great! I read it in one day! This is a yummy, satisfying read. I just finished the book and I am seriously considering reading it all over again because I am not ready to put it down. This book took me away to Italy, San Francisco and other exotic locations, while fulfilling fantasies of being savored as a beautiful woman, with a woman's body. Read this book!
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Summary: Narrative style annoying
Review: I found the narrative style (using you instead of I) so annoying that I didn't bother finishing the book. This author teaches magazine writing so surely she had a good reason for using this style. Any ideas on the reasoning? By the way, I have loaned this book to friends who loved it so maybe it is just me.
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Summary: An Affair to Remember...
Review: Forget Fodor's -- An Italian Affair is the best guidebook to Italy ever! I was totally mesmerized by Laura Fraser's descriptions of Italy (and beyond), its landscape, city life and food. Reading this book was just as good as being there -- and the fairy tale romance was the "cherry on top of the cherry on top of the sundae." Written as a travel memoir, I was a bit surprised that An Italian Affair turned out to be a true story. It sounded like such a great fiction novel, so knowing this story actually happened to someone made it all the more incredible. Laura Fraser's story begins when her husband of one year dumps her for his high school sweetheart. Devastated, Laura decides to visit her friends for a therapeutical trip in Italy. Exploring one of the outer islands, Ischia, on her own one day, Laura crosses paths with her destiny. M., a dashing Frenchman, on a vacation of his own, finds Laura having breakfast in the same hotel, and from there a spectacular romantic rendez-vous ensues. M.'s and Laura's love affair is at once sweet and nurturing, but also has magical healing powers. Since meeting M., Laura's post-divorce depression has had a back-burner storyline in her life, and through M., Laura has been able to become the independent, strong woman she thought she had lost for good. Endearing and smart, An Italian Affair is a wonderful testimony of being a woman, falling in love and getting back your life. Highly recommended for a fabulous, quick read.
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Summary: A Wonderful Travel Writer
Review: I picked up this book because I read a magazine article (based on a chapter in the book)and enjoyed the writing. As expected, I loved the author's evocative descriptions of the varied destinations she visits as well as the delicious food she enjoys. What I did not enjoy were her descriptions of herself and her pitiful relationships. Many of the characters, especially her older lover, are unlikable and even a little mean. Her descriptions of herself (her photo on the back of the book shows she is an attractive woman) are self conscious and way too focused on her weight. While confident enough to travel by herself, the author cannot keep herself out of a destructive relationship. At the end I wished I didn't know as much about her as I did. For me, the author should stick with writing about her travels and keep her private life to herself.
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