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Summary: It's about search of self, not just about melanzane!
Review: Frances Mayes is surprised to find Tuscany is home. Well, it is for many. The continuum from Etruscans to ribollita is endemic to the locals. Frances thinks she cannot become an Italian because she is not dark enough and cannot conjugate the verbs, but I don't think she believes that. She has come to know herself better through a profusion of enigmatic Etruscans, basilico, and other local flavors. Photographs would have been interesting, but would have limited our visions and feel of the place, and, more importantly, interfered with our own experiences, real or imagined. At times, the high quality of the prose is distracting.
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Summary: Well-written but pretentious
Review: I had just returned from Italy on my honeymoon when I heard about this book. Naturally, I was very interested in reading it, if only to maintain the high I was feeling having experienced Italy for the first time. I have to admit that at first glance, the book is very well-written, to the point of being enrapturing in its description of the land, food, scenery and sights. Where it failed, however, is two-fold. For one, the narrator has a very pretentious high-brow feel, almost as if being a seasonal expatriate is the only way to achieve satisfaction. However, how realistic a goal is having a summer home in Tuscany time-wise, let alone financially, for the vast majority of people. Granted, our American society (especially that of the urban centers) leaves much to be desired, but don't offer such an unattainable remedy! Secondly, I felt that the character development was nearly nonexistent, which was ironic considering that part of what I felt her concern was with San Francisco (which was not felt in Italy) was the impersonality of big-city life. If such was the case, then I would have expected to have felt more about each person met along the way in the book. Instead, I felt nothing; indeed, I completely failed to understand the author in many ways, such as, if she was troubled about her divorce, what was she doing with Ed and why was she buying a summer house halfway around the world with him? Puzzling. In sum, well-written on the surface, but once that is scratched, it comes across as shallow.
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Summary: An Italian real estate agent's dream
Review: Frances Mayes sweeps the reader straight to the heart of Tuscany in the middle of summer and makes the reader long for a Tuscan home of one's own.
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Summary: Shallow and stiff -- a disappointment.
Review: Here is writing about Tuscany that exhibits all too many of the worst aspects of travel writing. The author maintains a superior, snooty, "aren't I great" tone throughout. The characters in her book fail to come to life -- often described simply by their nationality, e.g. "the Poles" or their occupation. If you are really interested in finding out about Italy, I suggest that you buy both of Tim Parks' books -- "Italian Neighbors" and "Italian Education". Parks has a sense of humor and and a novelist's deft touch of character and description. You'll have more fun and learn more from a chapter of Parks than with the whole of Mayes' book. Indeed, when her own powers fail her, Mayes quotes Parks!
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Summary: A good book to soften the heart
Review: After reading "L.A. Confidential" I needed an antidote for the adrenalin. This is such a sweet, kind book. Very poetic and gentle on the soul. An evening book whose last words of the day carry me to slumber.
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Summary: Wonderful book
Review: This book has the rare ability to transport the reader to the sunny slopes of tuscany along with the author. The simple joys and the hard work of transforming a dilapidated ancient farmhouse and fields to a real home was at times breath taking. Pick a bottle of your favorite italian chianti, sit in a sunny place and prepare to magically transfer yourself to tuscany as it was, is, and could be.
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Summary: You almost feel you are there
Review: A very personal and vivid account of the restoration of an old Tuscan house. The house and its surroundings come to life as the new owners work on it. Mayes's loving observations on her adopted summer country are evocative and engaging. You can live through the restoration and tour Tuscany without having to deal with redoing the plumbing and the plaster.
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Summary: An enjoyable easy read, despire my envy.
Review: I enjoyed this book very much as I am an Italian and thrive upon reading stories from my great-grandparent's country. The author portrays her experiences very honestly which is refreshing since many books are claiming to be fantasies of Martha Stewart. I now long to visit Tuscany and leisurely enjoy the food and atmosphere.
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Summary: Mouth Watering
Review: This was a wonderful read. My only complaint was that I was perpetually hungry the entire time I read this book! Mayes not only includes some evocative descriptions of Tuscany and the Italians....she also throws in some wonderful recipes and tempting descriptions of the various meals she prepared while at Bramasole. I recommend this book with a warning: don't read this if you're on a diet!
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Summary: Wonderfully evocative book with one glaring omission.
Review: UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN is such an enjoyable read, with a terrific sense of place. Her descriptions of Cortona, one of the loveliest towns in all Italy, and its surroundings, rang completely true. The pleasures and pains of returning her "fixer-upper" of a house into a beautiful home were lovingly, and honestly portrayed, without honey-coating the back-breaking labors she and others experienced. She made us feel her pains and frustrations as well as her joys, both large and small. Her dealings with the local workers and townfolk were sensitive, yet forthright. Only one thing was wrong with the book - where were the photographs of the house, before and after? She led us every step of the way in the renovation. Ms. Mayes could see the results. We couldn't! Terribly frustrating for all of us.
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