Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

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Summary: I suddenly long to travel to Tuscany
Review: Without a doubt, this is my favorite kind of book, but this is a particularly wonderful example of the genre. Frances Mayes just transported me to Italy, to Bramasole, to a land of sun and olives, garlic and pasta, roses and lavender. This is the kind of experience I believe we all long for at one time or another, the in-depth immersion into another culture, happiness untempered by guilt (oh how I love those passages on allowing herself to be happy, and oh how I'll try to learn from them). The bottom line is, Under the Tuscan Sun made me feel very happy and full of possibilities, and I would highly recommend it to anyone

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Summary: Intoxicating.
Review: Ms. Mayes' writing can only be explained as intoxicating. She literally transplants the reader into a world filled with sun, Roman roads, herbs and many other splendid characteristics. She removes you from your modern life and introduces you to one that nobody can resist. She truly shows how to live in Italy. How to experience it for what it is rather than what you can buy there. Through her experiences of fixing up a deteriorating historic home she allows you to experience the seasons in a way nothing else can. Nothing can be closer to heaven than reading this book.

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Summary: Cash In Your 401-K and Head to Tuscany!
Review: UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN warms the reader as much as the sun in its title. You live every frustrating and joyful moment of Frances Mayes's purchase and renovation of her beloved Bramasole, the delicious foods of the region and the pressing of her very own olive oil. The only thing that could have made this book more perfect would have been information about what it all cost. I know I can't afford to do what she did, but I'd like to know how far off I am

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Summary: Food, Stone, Gardens, HOME
Review: With Callas and Puccini on the CD, black olives, cheese and wine to nibble on, I likewise devoured this marvelous book about Italy. Though I'll never be a gardener or cook or house restorer like the author, she gives us so much more than just these. History, politics, religion, bump up next to Italian drivers and martyred saints mystically experiencing the foreskin of Jesus in their mouths --all to give a marvelous picture of Italy. I read this book soon after An Italian Education by Tim Parks and found them wonderful companion pieces.If you like Italy, you'll love this book. No pictures necessary because her descriptions are so vivid and evocative

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Summary: Beautifully descriptive experiencesof author'slife inTuscany
Review: The author, a creative writing teacher at San Francisco State University, draws us a poetic picture of her experiences in Tuscany. Frances Mayes' lyrical descriptions of her villa's renovations combine with delicious recipes for the regional cuisine to make your heart and soul long for the sunny Tuscan skies. Her adventures exploring the nearby Tuscan countryside, from ancient Etruscan tombs to Renaissance churches, fill you with wanderlust. A beautiful country tale artistically told by an American who loves what she sees and where she is. Her story took me away, tempting me to travel to the book's location to search out her villa, her gardens, her Italian Tuscan sun

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Summary: Browse our favorite reviews:
Review: "Her book is a romance for people who'd rather read M.F.K. Fisher than Barbara Cartland. There are nods to Gaston Bachelard's "Poetics in Space," insights into Renaissance painting and references to James Joyce and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but what Ms. Mayes mostly provides are the kind of satisfying personal crotchets and enthusiasms you might exchange with an old friend over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table..." ---Alida Becker, The New York Times Book Review ////////// "Somehow, this is a narrative at once joyful and full of common sense, a balance that few other writers have struck so perfectly. It's as intimate as a lover's whisper, honest and true, and vividly captures a sense of place." ---Brian St. Pierre, The San Francisco Chronicle ////////// "What also sets this book apart from many of its expatriate compatriots, books about running away to live in the place of one's dreams, is that Mayes is not really running away from anything unbearable. She's running to somehting delightful, to a place she has found that feels utterly natural and comfortable to her." ---Susan Salter Reynolds, The Los Angeles Time

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Summary: Let the Tuscan Sun into Your Life --
Review: I cannot say enough about Frances Mayes' lovely book. For the armchair traveler, for the lover of poetry, for the dedicated gardener and cook, this book is a delight on every page. Though when I first picked it up, I was surprised that it contained no photos, after reading I realize I don't need them, for Mayes creates pictures on every page with her vivid, graceful prose. Unlike the humorous Provence books, Mayes' memoir (though often humorous) reflects a womanly sensibility, one imbued with passion and sensuality and a great appreciation for the place, its people, its history. I know I will return to it, as Mayes returns to Tuscany, again and again.

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Summary: Lovely, lovely Tuscany
Review: Even if you never plan to visit Tuscany, it is worthwhile to saturate yourself in Tuscan sunshine, inhale the aromas of Italian meals and feel the heartbeat of the countryside by reading this book. Mayes' words are so evocative that the scenes she describes transport you from your armchair to Tuscany immediately.
I put off reading this for quite a while thinking it must surely be overhyped. I'm glad I got past that and allowed myself the pleasure of seeing Tuscany through Frances Mayes' eyes.
I think some of the negative reviews on Amazon carry overtones of jealousy. Sure we would all love to have the funds to have a second home in a scenic spot on the planet. Wouldn't we enjoy having the summer off to indulge ourselves playing lord of the manor? I sure would, but reading her book gave me the chance to experience it vicariously and I thank her for that.

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Summary: Very Nice!
Review: The author, a professor at San Francisco State University, loves Tuscany, Italy. She often spent summers there. One summer, at the spur of the moment, she decides to buy a second home there. She describes the Tuscan people, land, culture and food like only one would who has an extreme love of the area. Her book was so popular, that Hollywood could not resist in turning it into a major motion picture starring Diane Lane. Frances Mayle's recipes in the book are easy to follow and delicious! Some of the recipes included in this novel are Hazelnut Gelato, Folded Peach Tart with Marscapone, Cherries Steeped in Red Wine and Basil & Lemon Chicken!


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Summary: A Book of Dreams
Review: Under the Tuscan Sun is a book about following your dreams. Frances Mayes does an incredible job of describing each situation to the fullest; each page throws you into the book with minute details that put you right alongside the main character. At the end, when the main character is encountering all of the old churches, the story-line becomes slightly confusing, but the rest of the book is as clear as her "natural well water".
The book starts with a woman buying a house in Italy. You travel along with her as she deals with renovating an old Tuscan farmhouse, adapting to the natural Italian lifestyle, and repeatedly having to leave her new beloved way of life. Each meal that is cooked, every olive tree that is picked, all of the people she meets, and every path she travels makes you dream of escaping to a foreign country and unearthing your own story of Under the Tuscan Sun. This book can easily be anyone's dream- whether your dream is of discovering life in an old forgotten town or finally realizing where your home is at, anyone who reads this book will realize that dreams are worth discovering.