Customer Reviews

Follow Your Heart

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Our book club just finished reading Tamaro's "Follow Your Heart." The general concensus was that this very unasuming little book is a powerhouse. The saying "Still waters run deep" is so applicable here. The author uses a letter, which might never reach its destiny to entangle readers in a cross-generational web. A grandmother writing to her estranged granddaughter, (it can't get any simpler than that) and Tamaro takes her readers on a journey through four generations to teach us some very important life lessons. A most definately enchanting strategy.
"Follow your Heart" is a testimony for all women, everywhere. Mothers and daughters should read this book together and behold the unquestionable power that women have on each other, their marriages, and children. This influence is so very powerful that as Tamaro shows us it travels from one generation to another.
If you are looking for insightful reading, yet simple prose,
"Follow Your Heart" is an excellent choice.

As a reader of Plato, Seneca and Hume, it was by accident that I stumbled with this book,in Rome's airport 5 years ago. Many have spoken about the stereothypes allegedly contained in this work by Tamaro. However, I believe that hardly any book can present, in such a simple manner, an intimate journey into the realities of real life (as opposed to the ideal perception of it and the future as a projection of expectations) and the complexity of choices we are compelled to make in our existence, from the moral standpoint. A refreshing exploration about the reconciliating and liberating effect that truth, and the revelation of one's defects, can have upon others that are struggling to mark their own path, but find themselves paralized by the fear to act and, mostly, to err. A very ligth reading, but with profound impact upon those with sensibility enough to value poetry in prose form. It recalls intimate thoughts about one's relationship with its parents and grandparents in a moving and sometimes disturbing dimension. A MUST READ

I first found this book while studying Italian in Florence, Italy the summer of 1996. This book has become a reminder of where I lived and what I learned. No other book has kept me as intrigued as FOLLOW YOUR HEART, and no other book has had to endure as much marking up and underlining. This book speaks eloquently and hauntingly about what our family of origin has created us to be and how the choices we eventually come to make will either keep us bound or set us free. Not only does this book remind us and inspire us to choose ourselves and our hearts, but it also shares the beauty and the history of Italy. I have been fortunate enough to find this treasure while still in its beautiful homeland, and nothing will ever compare to the time I spent riding the train through the Italian countryside while imagining myself to be the pupil of such a wise and loving grandmother. Who doesn't come away from this book desiring the opportunity to spend just a few days with this imaginary character? My life has never been the same, and on days when I need a little inspiration, I open up my book and read it all over again. What a wonderful gift Susan Tamaro has given me.

Tamaro reaches deep into your soul as she speaks to you through her character. No matter who you are, you can definitely relate to this book. There is such a strong conversation that goes on the moment you start the book. Tamaro's offered one of the best advice I've received so far in this book: stop for a moment, and listen to your heart.

This book made me reflect on my relationship with my own mother and grandmother. It truly moved me! I would recommend this book to any woman who is open enough to look at her own life with all its mistakes. The grandmother in this book is very human. She has made mistakes, admits to them, and has learned from them. At the end of her life, she wants her granddaughter to know her family history and also wants her to be able to make the right decisions in regards to her future. She is completely unselfish with her granddaughter's well-being. I had to share this book with my grandmother! Do not believe the reviewers who only gave this 1 star!!! They do not have a heart to follow!

This book is deeply moving because it deals so closely with issues close to the human heart. The prose is simple and uplifting, the story just an excuse to reveal to us universal truths that we all know but refuse to acknowledge. Critical and cynical people might brush this book aside but I feel that one really has to look very deeply into it to really discover its true worth. This must be read with an open mind and I feel that the ending is particularly apt because there is none. This situation could be so easily applied to our daily lives and the author is telling us in simple gracious terms that patience and undersanding should be the forefront of our relationship with our family. Despite the somewhat muddled use of the flashback technique and several narratives that are a little to rambling, this is a jewel that teaches love, in a world where there is little to be found.

I first saw this book at Times, and the title alone made me want to read it. And it is a truly beautiful and observant book. Simple phrases that have deep meanings, the depiction of memories and surroundings are straightforward but nonetheless vivid and touching. I think it's one of the best books that one could write in these times.

I BOUGHT THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS IN ITALY(MY HOME LAND)AND READ IT IN ONLY ONE DAY! IT REALLY TOUCHED MY HEART AND FIND THAT THE RELATIONSHIP WITH MY MOTHER HAS MUCH IMPROVED(I TOLD HER TO READ THE BOOK!) GRAZIE SUSANNA!

While reading "Follow Your Heart", I found myself questioning all of things I have found important in my life. I feel that the book teaches you many life lessons, especially to follow your heart. After reading this book, I felt like I learned a lesson that was priceless.

In a gentle and simple way a story of quiet beauty unfolds. I have never read a story that affected me as deeply as this memory of one woman's love. To feel as close to the main character that my eyes blur with tears as her memories weave across the page. It helped me believe in a world where wonder and beauty still exist, and in what it means to love.