Rating: 
Summary: Bravo!
Review: Charming and beautiful, Frances Mayes' "Under The Tuscan Sun" captures the spirit of Tuscany in wonderful flowing words. I could taste the wine and the food and see the olive trees in her terraces. I've fallen for Tuscany. Other readers may hate this book, but this one made me feel good. Life is beautiful.
Rating: 
Summary: Under the Tuscan Sun
Review: I'm half way through this book. I told a friend of mine, who is married to an Italian woman and spends every summer there with his family, that I was reading this book. His comment, "She's a snot". My thought, "Exactly". That this writing has become so popular gives me the chills. Mix thinly minced Scarlett O'Hara with marinated Martha Stewart and saute with a luke warm Danielle Steele novel. This is junior college night class writer's workshop fare. Throw in a lot of foreign words to spice up your writing. Keep a diary of your inner thoughts. Cookbook writing oxymoron. Say arugula. However, the recipes do sound tasty and I think I'll try them. I spent some time in the south and came to recognize the new clothes of racism and the overweening sense of entitlement that still flows in those bloodlines. Instead of pickaninnies we have the more PC Italians, Poles, whatever, whose every gesture amuses Frances with their quaintness. She is actually jealeous of their sense of ample time and lack of hurry. They don't work near as hard as Frances in her busy, professional life back in San Fransisco. And look, a whole valley full of other writers, expats, literati who have all done rennovations. Break out the grappa. I smell a lucrative divorce settlement in the past..."The glass house in California..." Were there a lot of old Good Housekeeping magazines in that house? Do I seem like a frustrated, middle age man who has never pursued his dream and is stuck in a high work volume profession? Maybe. But I still don't like this book. Read Bruce Chatwin instead...real writing...real intelligence...real compassion.
Rating:
Summary: Italian Phrase Primer might have been a better title.
Review: I found this book to be very aggravating with Italian words and phrases constantly interjected. It totally took away from the momentum. I would not purchase another book by Ms. Mayes. She got extremely lucky when this book placed on the bestseller list.
Rating:
Summary: Grub, Grubbing & Grubbiness
Review: My goodness - she does eat a lot! And she does go on a bit too long about the Etrucans in the middle of the book ... and (as others have commented) she is a little 'wordy'. But apart from that, she certainly conjures up the lifestyle, the countryside & the FEEL of Italy - sorry, the feel of TUSCANY - quite unlike other parts of Italy. At times I could almost smell the air filled with the scent of hay, peaches & herbs. We have relatives there with friends who renovated an old house - she could have been describing their place, on the same hillside! If you haven't been to Tuscany, this will make you wish to be there ...
Rating:
Summary: Go see "Tea with Mussolini"
Review: This poor book. The author tried to write "A Season in Tuscany," but, alas, she is no Peter Mayle. She wanted to write "Villa," but she is no Tracy Kidder. If Mayes wanted to explain how to fix up a villa, she didn't go into enough detail. For example, I'd like to know if she put in surveillance cameras. And one does bristle at the comments about the indigenes. Perhaps we have poorly prioritized our use of time, those of us who read the whole of this dreadful book and then spent more time reviewing it. I don't have time to write more. I have to finish reading the last 20 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Sunny Tuscany At Its Best
Review: A tour de force from Frances Mayes. Mayes is to Italy what Mayle is to Provence. Frances captures the essence of Tuscany perfectly: the wine, the olive groves, the music, the food. This could well be the best advertisement for Italy ever written. Highly recommended for anyone who loves Italy or is planning a trip there.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated & Overfed in Tuscany....
Review: I'll be honest here-I'm probably exactly the wrong reader for Frances Mayes writing. She seems absolutely obsessed with food, & when she isn't eating she is examining her navel. I'm sure overeducated intellectuals with exaggerated views of themselves will enjoy her writing. I did not.I found her never-ending eating recollections to be boring (I kept wondering who did the cleaning up & how they found time to do anything else) & since I have little use for poetry & she is a published poet....well, you get the picture! I also felt it presumptuous that someone who only spent 3 months a year in Tuscany had the audacity to write about "life" there. No Frances, spending your vacations in Tuscany is not "Life", it is an escape from it! When your entire existence is dependant upon the olive yield, & you've lived at Bramasole thru a few calendars THEN you can call it "Life". But, not all is lost in reading this book. Tuscany sounds beautiful, the medieval walled towns around Bramasole sound exquisite, & if Ms. Mayes would confine herself to writing of those subjects this book would be enchanting. Less Frances, more Italy next time please!
Rating:
Summary: Nice book
Review: I liked this book. It's very relaxing and enjoyable. The sweet and cheerful life in Italy will allow you to take a break from the busy life of your own. A good book for vacation.
Rating:
Summary: Okay on the Food!
Review: This author was very descriptive in the locations and her house and, most especially, in the local cuisine. It makes me want to go to Italy to try the fresh veggies and pasta - and I shall never look at olive oil the same. But the book was twice as long as it needed to be and got to be boring. Enough with the food - we need more details about the people.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but shallow
Review: On the one hand, her desciption of the Italian cuisine would make anyone salivate. However, I was rather disappointed in the rather shallow descriptions of Italy and the Italians for that matter. I don't believe she captured the core of the Italians she met. She seemed to describe them as "The Italians", rather than individuals like you and I. Though I must admit she wrote beautifully, she tried too hard to write from an "Italian" point of view and failed miserably. As an Italian reviewer wrote, try Tim Parks' An Italian Neighbour or An Italian Education.
|
