Rating: 
Summary: Another very enjoyable memoir of life in Tuscany!
Review: I would have bought this book just for the beautiful photo on the dust jacket (which makes you want to leap, Alice-in-Wonderland-like, into the picture). If you have read Under the Tuscan Sun, it will be impossible not to compare the two, but these are definitely different perspectives of Tuscany, written in distinct but equally enjoyable voices. If you have already read Mayes's book, Ferenc Máté's will draw you once again into that languid, colorful world, filled with wonderful tastes, smells and sights. (I worry that Tuscany will be overrun with American tourists. I know that if I don't get some pici with funghi soon, I may faint from hunger!) The Mátés have actually lived year-round in Tuscany since the late '80s, and this book explores their early years of finding a house (already restored), furnishing it, making friends and learning the local ways; his self-deprecating descriptions of bumbling through learning Italian and doing things like cutting hay are very funny. I find it astonishing that his prose is so fluid and easy-to-read given that his first language is apparently Hungarian. Candace Máté's small illustrations throughout are just wonderful. (On another note, just from reading his short bio on the dust flap, I'd really like to see Mr. Máté write his life story, from his escape from Hungary through his many careers and moves. I think it would be fascinating.)
Rating: 
Summary: Ho Hum. Here we go again.
Review: I've read a stack of books on living, working or travelling in Italy. Most of them have been pretty good, and some have been superb. Ferenc Mate's attempt at describing the trials and tribulation of living in one of the most stunning regions of Italy is a rather dull read, churning out the same tired cliches in a not very well written series of experiences we are supposed to fawn over. Not me. Having been fortunate enough to have stayed in Tuscany many times I can vouch for the stunning beauty of the landscape and architecture, the simple joys of food, friends and wine surrounded by such ravishing scenery. Mate does not convey this very well and the reader is left turing the pages wanting something to fire his imagination but instead is left bored and un-inspired. When reading a book I usually mark a passage or a phrase I like with a light pencil line. This is about the only book on Italy I have that has not got one such indication. All in all, it's an insipid, banal read compared to the envy inducing descriptions of Italian life in other books.
Rating: 
Summary: I could see myself in Tuscany
Review: I've read both Frances Mays two books and I found my soul taking flight to Tuscany to find that bit of peace and happiness that only my mind has put into form.
Someday I'm going to take this mind trip and make it into my own special reality.
Rating:
Summary: Italian delight
Review: I've read most of these 'move to Italy(or France)' books and can say without reservation that this is my favorite. The writing style is delightful and really funny, and the author and his wife are truly likable people (he adores her and doesn't speak about her like the odd chair observed from afar like Mayes refers to her mate.) You feel very much in the middle of all the activity, because he feels that way... a nice change from the other books. The warm and giving 'Italian personality' comes through in all these books, even seen from so many different views, but in this book it blends so closely with the author's own that it is less 'reported on' and more part of the fabric of his story. He is truly at home in this place.... which means he doesn't have to tell you that. The Hills of Tuscany has a refreshing warmth and reality that make it stand out in this category. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Overall this is a good report of life in Italy.
Review: I, too feel that the book is poorly written. I had to go back several times to clarify what was being discussed and who the author was speaking about. If you know a little about Tuscany, it is a very enjoyable book to relive moments when time was spent there. The vivid transformation in the mind of memories past is always enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs-Up for "The Hills"
Review: If you liked "Under the Tuscan Sun", you will love this book. Both books describe how an American couple settles in an old house in Tuscany, and the obstacles they had/have to overcome. Where they differ: Mate and his wife live in Tuscany for good, and I would think that therefore they have a perspective which is a little bit different, more wholesome. I also slightly preferred Mate's book because he writes with a down-to-earth sense of humor, making it easy for the reader to relate (when he describes his first attempts at understanding the speech of a native Tuscan, for example - quite a humbling experience for him!). But like the "Tuscan Sun", this book is a declaration of love for Tuscany, its landscape, its people, and its delicious food. All in all a very enjoyable read!
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs-Up for "The Hills"
Review: If you liked "Under the Tuscan Sun", you will love this book. Both books describe how an American couple settles in an old house in Tuscany, and the obstacles they had/have to overcome. Where they differ: Mate and his wife live in Tuscany for good, and I would think that therefore they have a perspective which is a little bit different, more wholesome. I also slightly preferred Mate's book because he writes with a down-to-earth sense of humor, making it easy for the reader to relate (when he describes his first attempts at understanding the speech of a native Tuscan, for example - quite a humbling experience for him!). But like the "Tuscan Sun", this book is a declaration of love for Tuscany, its landscape, its people, and its delicious food. All in all a very enjoyable read!
Rating:
Summary: Exactly like the pictures
Review: Imagine my surprise upon arriving in Montepulciano and pulling this book out of my luggage, one I had quickly grabbed at the bookstore before leaving the U.S. It served to be an excellent guide to the area and I was intrigued enough with the descriptions and drawings in the book to hunt down the house near San Biaggio. I did find the house one hot August afternoon after asking locals and was told that I was only one in a stream of tourists that afternoon looking for the house. Mate artfully describes "God's country" and sprinkles some of the magic Tuscan dust on the reader.
Rating:
Summary: The Hills of Tuscany: A New Life in an Old Land
Review: In the best-selling tradition of Under the Tuscan Sun & A Year in Provence, this lush, witty memoir chronicles the charming, funny & life-enriching experiences Ferenc Mate & his wife had when they quit their jobs & bought an ancient farmhouse in Italy.
Rating:
Summary: The good and bad news!
Review: Let's start with the bad news. This book along with "Under the Tuscan Sun" from France Mayes will create a shortage of houses and lodging in the years to come in Tuscany. The good news is that it serves the Italian economy and in your town. After reading the Hills of Tuscany, you will want to travel in Tuscany and experience the way of living of the Italians. Also, you will want to make Italian friends, to buy more funghi, pasta, pici at your grocery store. I almost suspect that such books is sponsored by the Italian tourist bureau. Everything you've read in the previous review is true. It is a wonderful book which will transport you in the heart of Italy and its tradition and wonderful people. Thank you M. Mate for this book.
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