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Summary: Pasta and Vino Anyone?
Review: All this book did for me was make me hungry. The author incorrectly categorized this piece as fiction and literature, when in fact it is a glamorized cookbook with some house restoration spices thrown in. I am going to cut out the recipes (most of which look quite appetizing) and use the rest of the book for firestarter.
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Summary: Not at all what I expected
Review: Although I never saw the film, I wrongly assumed (since there is a picture of Diane Lane on the cover) that the movie was adapted from the book, and therefore I was purchasing a romance novel. I am not even halfway through the book, and I have already read my fill of cheese, fresh vegetables and run down summer homes. Although Frances Mayes does a wonderful job describing Tuscany and all it entails, after 150 plus pages, I find it hard to concentrate. This is more a traveler's journal of Mayes' summers in Tuscany. If this is the type of book you are looking for, I am sure you will love it. If you are looking for romance, look elsewhere.
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Summary: delicious details
Review: Frances Mayes provides beautiful descriptions of the landscape to the point you feel you're their.
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Summary: Primi, Secondi, Mindless Pap
Review: This memoir reflects upon a wondrous journey to a fertile and passionate place, a place which oozes life well-lived, Tuscany. Unfortunately, the journey was taken and commented upon by the puddle-deep Ms. Mayes, a pompous, self-absorbed West Coast pseudo-intellectual who is quite impressed with herself, thank you very much. Her mindless quasi-philosophical musings irritate more than enlighten. Her distant, almost clinical analysis of the lovable and idiosyncratic people around her in Italy infuriates, and confirms, again, that she is missing the point by a mile. This is a woman who doesn't know where she is from: Georgia, Italy or San Fran. As she writes, she tries to find balance between the three and sell its reasonableness. She fails. Her truth is not to be found in Italy. That said, the recipes are good.
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Summary: A Treasure
Review: A friend recommended this wonderful book to me and I have since purchased BELLA TUSCANY and IN TUSCANY. The trio makes a great gift for armchair travelers. Frances Mayes is an inspired author and a courageous woman. I love her descriptions of the Italian countryside, her recipes, her personal thoughts and the very fact she took time to share so much with us. Get comfortable and go on a journey to Tuscany reading a great non fiction book. Once there, your imagination will take over. You will feel that sun, pick olives, taste the wine and the delicious variety of Italian food, go on drives up and down the mountains, visit the little towns, climb stone walls, walk on roads built by ancient peoples, spend time in the many churches and museums and marvel at the art. You may think remodeling a house in America is quite a job but wait until you read how Frances Mayes makes a huge old stone fortress (?) into a comfortable and inviting home. She makes so many decisions, meets her neighbors, and eventually becomes part of the community. This book, and her other books, allow us to share her excitement and adventures in this country in a unique way. It is a book you want to reread just for the sheer pleasure of "feeling the music". She is an exceptional writer. Don't miss any of her non fiction.
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Summary: The book and the movie very different
Review: For those of you who see the movie first and buy the book expecting the same story you will be sorely disappointed. While the book has Diane Lane bemoaning about finding love the book revels in restoring bramasole and the adventures Frances has around Tuscany. This book would have made a great PBS movie. When you are done with the book you walk away with a feeling of having experienced southern Italy.
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Summary: I need romance when the subject is Italy...
Review: Mayes did a great job with detail regarding the restoration of her new summer home...even so much that I too dreamt of owning a Tuscany home where olives and pinnoli nuts were only steps away in my own backyard, but i thought Italy was a land of romance?!? I don't even care if she lied to me about romantic endeavors, but if she had just put half the effort she put into the construction of the house into her marriage or her own personal growth, it would have been a more enjoyable read. This is something they did together to find solace and i do not get a "togetherness" vibe at all. Emotions are something we all encounter, especially i would assume, had i bought a new villa with my husband in the country we adored. WHERE ARE THEY? :(
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Summary: Italian Fairy-tale Written by a Non-Italian
Review: Being 1/2 Italian, and having family in Northern Italy, and having visited Italy 6 times I have to say... buy this book ONLY if:
1) You've never been to Italy, and
2) You love to cook (and read recipes), and
3) You want to read what it's like to be able to afford a home in SF and renovate one in Tuscany, and
4) You want to cling to a fairy-tale vision of Italy, or
5) You're on a deserted island with nothing else to read. However, if you really want to know what it's like to live/be in Italy, and what Italian culture is really like, I suggest you read any or all of Tim Parks' books ("Italian Neighbors Or, a Lapsed Anglo-Saxon in Verona", "Italian Education", or "A Season with Verona: Travels Around Italy in Search of Illusion, National Character, and...Goals!"). Tim is an Englishman who married an Italian woman and moved to Italy and had kids. Parks' descriptions of Italian life are real... Mayes' descriptions of Italian life are a bit too syrupy for my stomach.
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Summary: Stick to your writing, Frances.
Review: This book and film are probably wonderful escapism for women who read house and kitchen magazines. The descriptions of gardens, food and construction are vivid, but without much substance. The abridged version, read by the author, is a trial to listen to. She reads in an adenoidal, flat voice with almost unrecognizable Southern pronounciation. She should be quiet and express herself only in writing.
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Summary: WARNING: If you have the audio version of this book ...
Review: My husband and I listened to the unabridged version of this book while driving from New Jersey to Kentucky (about 12 hours). There should be a warning on these tapes cautioning you not to listen while driving. Fortunately, I managed to stay awake during the times that I was at the wheel, but as soon as my husband took over, I was drifting to sleep almost immediately. Once in a while, I would return to consciousness and ask, "Who's getting married in the house?" "So, have they finished the kitchen yet?" "What happened to the Etruscan wall?" Most of the time, I found that my husband hadn't been listening either, even though he was supposed to be awake. Fortunately, we returned home in one piece ... but thank goodness for several pit stops to stoke up on good black coffee (not expresso, I'm afraid). The two chapters on summer and winter recipes were particularly soporific. I might have enjoyed this book more had I been able to read it and skim through the most tedious parts, but listening to 11 hours of narration can only be recommended to those needing a good night's sleep.
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