Rating: 
Summary: a most pleasant suprprise
Review: I did not expect to like this book because it has been so popular, and I have not wanted to put it down. Frances Mayes has made evcerything about her journey sound interesting, even the part wehre she explains how they have to get rid of her trash! Most of all, it has made me feel like I am in Tuscany, and has probalby openend up the country to more tourism than a million guide books would!
Rating: 
Summary: Nice images, Nice Recipes, reads like a diary
Review: Frances Mayes "Under the Tuscan Sun" is filled with beautiful images of Italy's most famous region, Tuscany. Her greatest achievment is not the book itself, but her courage after a divorce in middle age to roll the dice in a new country with new rules and regulations, dealing in a foreign language and coming out a winner buying farmhouse hundreds of years old near Cortona, that by her description sounds like heaven. The story of how she did it, dealing with the quirky workers and contractors and transforming an abandoned shell into a Tuscan dream is fascinating. I admire her determination to turn a vision into reality. The problem I had with this book is that it I often felt like I was reading someone's diary, something by choice I would normally avoid. I think Mayes could have done more to remove the reader from feeling that he/she was simply reading notes she (Mayes) had jotted down over the years. I also felt that sometimes the writing was forced. It sounded sometimes like she was really working hard to lusciously describe something, but I often saw her effort, not her subject. The second to last chapter is a bizarre tour of Mayes childhood in Georgia in which she tries to compare strange customs in her native rural Georgia to the strange customs she observes of Italians. The problem is I don't want to read about Georgia or the strange customs of the South. I want to read about Tuscany, Cortona and her adventures there. That chapter compared to the rest of the book was unpleasant. Despite that there are nice descriptions of the region. Her sentimental thinking about family members who must have lived in the house, and the recurring story of an old man who continuously drops off flowers at a shrine to the Virgin Mary on her property are little glimpses of Italian life that most Americans never think of. Although it was unusual I appreciated the recipes in a couple of chapters of the book, they look delicious, though I have yet to put any to the test. Perhaps my timing affected my appreciation of the book. I had just read Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" which is better organized and more cleverly woven together. Reading "Under the Tuscan Sun" immediatley following, made Mayes' book a little dissapointing. But I don't regret buying or reading the book. As an Italian American it was a delightful trip back to the old country. I just felt it could have been more polished.
Rating:
Summary: An Italian dream
Review: Frances Mayes is one lucky woman.She has a stimulating university teaching job that just happens to leave her summers free, a devotedly helpful lover/mate who also just happens to have free summers and to share her passion for Italy, and a farmhouse called Bramasole in a Tuscan valley. Mayes writes about her summer house in this account: the hassle of buying it, the headaches and pleasures of renovating it, the joy of discovering a new place that slowly becomes a second home. If only I could contain my jealousy! And now she's a bestselling author, too. Is there no justice? My envy colored my reading of this story, to the point where I cast overly harsh judgements upon Mayes. Despite my prejudice, Mayes deserves the praise she has garnered for her lush writing style evocative of the beautiful views and delectable tastes of Italy. If only I could be there, too...
Rating: 
Summary: The literary equivalent to a bag of potato chips
Review: You enjoy it while it lasts, get a little heartburn about half way through, and you feel a little funny after you're done. And you know that it's all just empty calories... I was debating whether or not I should do a cycling tour of Tuscany when I spotted this book. I took it as a sign from above, so I immediately purchased it in hopes of being inspired to do the tour. Well... I WAS inspired, but not as much as I would've hoped. Much like others have said, the first third of this book is quite sweet and captivating. It does a great job of drawing a sparse, beautifully concise mental picture of the Tuscan countryside. I really enjoyed her literary 'frugality'. However, the only frugality she exhibits appears to be in her prose... As the book drags on, it becomes more and more the transcribed diary of a spoiled little rich girl who has trouble keeping the reins on her pocketbook. I found the references to shoe-shopping addictions to be particularly shallow. And after the umpteenth complaint about cost overruns on the house renovations - followed by inexplicable spending sprees - I began to hear the phrase, "Awwww, the poor wittle baby" going through my head more and more. If everything's so darn expensive, why do you keep buying, and buying, and buying? But I must admit that there is the odd sprinkle of profundity throughout the text. Every twenty pages or so, there was something - perhaps only one sentence - that would strike a chord within me, and would make me put the book down, look out the window, and remark to myself, "So, so true." In particular, her description of travel and its effect on the traveller was especially meaningful to me. It put into words what I've felt in the past, many times, but was unable to explain. Overall, this book is charming, frustrating, occasionally profound, but mostly vacant. A perfect book to read while sitting in a hammock - or the tub - when you have absolutely no desire to stretch your intellectual capacity.
Rating:
Summary: Tuscany and its Splendor
Review: Frances Mayes brings all of the splendor of Tuscany into the reader's home. Having been to Tuscany, I can relate to all of the beauty of the people, places and food; however for those who have not visited Tuscany, this book will transport you to it. Mayes brings the Tuscan life into focus as opposed to seeing the area in the eyes of an tourist. If anyone wants to experience a little bit of Tuscany and its beauty in the region and people, sit down with this book and a cup of cappucino and be ready to be transported into a wonderful world.
Rating:
Summary: Very well written
Review: I'm not particularly interested in Tuscany, and I'm certainly not interested in restoring ancient houses. However, I found Mayes' style very enjoyable. She combines amazing descriptions of landscapes, personal encounters and her thought process with a somewhat dry, down-to-earth humor.
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Summary: Makes me want to go to Italy
Review: I did not expect UNDER THE TUSCAN SON to hold my interest, assuming it would be another book that should have only been an article. On the contrary, I was held by the magnificent descriptions of the countryside, food, people, and the enormous effort that went into renovating their home in Tuscany. Each little story was like a mini-vacation in that setting, making me want to be there to see the lighting and color and taste the foods she describes. A delightful reading excursion that has made me decide to explore the country of my ancestors. ~Joan Mazza, author of DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE and DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF
Rating:
Summary: A gentle and entertaining read
Review: It is with interest that I have read some of the less flattering reviews for this book. I think it is a lovely opportunity for a little escapism, in the warmth of an Italy that many of us will never have the good fortune to experience. So what if it is somewhat of a self oriented story that makes little mention of the people? It is a gentle and interesting story, and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.
Rating: 
Summary: Does Ms. Mayes really know any Italians?
Review: Background: I lived and worked in Italy for a year, and have since returned for a total time of about two years spent in central Italy, primarly Bologna and the Lazio region. I speak Italian well, and have very close Italian friends whom I see regularly. I passionately love the country, its traditions, language and culture, and when I picked up 'Under the Tuscan Sun', it was in the hopes of finding a kindred spirt of sorts, an American with a love for Italy and all it has to offer. Boy, was I wrong. At one point, I threw the book across the room in disgust. I finished the book, as I wanted to discover the answer to the questions I developed early on: Did Ms. Mayes ever talk to any Italian who didn't work for her? Does she have Italian friends who aren't financially obligated to her in some way or another? Does she know any Italians that she can invite for dinner with no business goal to discuss? Has she ever really listened to what any of them have to say, or do the ubiquitous hand gestures that so fascinate her monopolize her thought processes all the time? In all the years that she has been going to Italy, has she ever made a close Italian friend? My conclusion to all of these questions by the end of the book was negative. I have two Italian friends that read and speak English, and I gave them a copy of the book, without letting them know how I felt ahead of time. Their reactions were the same as mine: they were insulted by her condescending descriptions. It's an old story for Italians -- Americans and British expatriates long for a place missing the messiness and tedium of everyday North American/British life, and invent one in Italy. The problem is, this invented reality leaves out the day to day lives of everyday Italians. It's a fantasy life for expatriates rich enough to afford the illusion, but it doesn't allow for actual Italians. Basically, I agree with a reviewer above: This is Martha Stewart does Italy. Ms. Mayes is a good writer, so it's well-described Martha Stewart book, but fundamentally it's lacking in any depth at all. This book is just another addition to the long series of books and movies about those cute, rustic Italians and their adorable hand gestures.
Rating:
Summary: A book to savor
Review: This is a wonderful book that gives you the opportunity to ride shotgun with Frances Mayer as she and her husband purchase a run down farmhouse in Italy and restore it. It details the time from when they found it until years later when the bulk of the major work is done. It is rich in detail and commentary. What makes it especially interesting is that as a "typical" though well-traveled and educated American, she brings a perspective that only a foreigner with no roots in a country can bring. She sees the locals customs as new and not entirely understood. Probably the way most of us would see them. I especially enjoyed it as I'm not widely traveled. I loved reading the characterizations of the locals. It is funny to realize that we all think somewhat alike when we take to watching people. We try to put a story to their lives from what we see. Her recipes are created to make use of local produce and very Tuscan in character. Most did not appeal to me as they seemed fairly involved. However, they as well as the book were interesting to read. It is interesting too to see the other side of a professor's life. Too often those of us who have attended college or for that matter high school imagine our professors as substantially different from ourself. I wonder what her students thought. As a person who has various homes and has gone through the remodeling game through both my efforts and that of hired help, I recognized that leap of faith when you have to choose a contractor. To do that in a foreign country in a second language for that level of work makes it even more terrifying. At any moment I'm sure she felt the walls would come tumbling down. On top of that when your home is not in order, neither are you. It was nice to read about other people experiencing that same terror and trials. It was also nice to see it work out. Before I was 1/3 the way through this book, I bought the follow on book Bella Tuscany. I didn't want the journey to end. Neither will you.
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