Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
For Die Hard Tuscan Fans Only, August 13, 1999
Let's face it, would we be reading this book, or would it be published if the author grew up in Belgrade or Prague? Probably not. But Everything Tuscan is hot right now. Even the Seinfeld show has made fun of the latter, with their episode, and line: You can't go to Tuscany, it's booked up! I can't really recommend this book before you read all the other books on Tuscany by you know who (Frances Mayes), or Tim Parks, or even William Hoffman (his was on Umbria). In fact read Peter Mayles books on Provence first. He can write. Seek out Eric Newby's book on hiding out in Italy during WWII. It's a gem. Kinta's memoirs are too full of "And then we did that...". I will give her credit for finding a written "voice" of a child as she writes. It does not read like a book written by a woman in her 80's -- which she was when she wrote this. There is little attempt to develop people as real characters, although some truly real characters spent time with her family. Her beloved brother dies in WWII in but one sentence. You never really get a any sense at all about Kinta, who she was, etc. Read anything by Primo Levy, Carlo Levi or Natalia Ginzburg first. They can write about real life in Italy. I'm afraid Kinta's book is merely family oral history which may have sounded better as told to her children. She seemed to have lived an interesting life. That doesn't make it a great read.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Out of Italy....., February 1, 2002
Prior to her death, Kinta Beevor wrote only one book -- A TUSCAN CHILDHOOD -- which would have been better titled "My Life in Tuscany" as it really is the tale of her connection to Tuscany over period of 40 years that included her childhood. Beevor, whose maiden name was Waterfield, was the daughter Aubrey the artist and his wife Lina Gordon, both British ex-pats who lived and worked in Italy during the first half of the 20th Century. The family owned the fabulous 15th Century Fortezza della Brunella which the family called "the castle" and Lina inherited Poggio Gherardo which was almost as old. Both properties came with extensive farm lands. As a result the Waterfields lived lives of comfort -- socializing with the rich and famous (D.H.Lawrence for one) and feeding them to-die-for meals and sending their much neglected children back to England for schooling. Though I became weary of name-dropping, I found Beevor's book an enjoyable read. Her mention of various rich and famous folks is as natural as can be--just tiresome in the same way a story told over and over by an older person can be. She says her son encouraged her to write down what she could remember, and I suspect he did so after he heard her stories several times. Fortunately, someone had the good sense to publish the book for a wider audience. Ms. Beevor obviously loved Tuscany--her father's castle where the family restored and maintained a beautiful garden on the roof, her mother's house which Beevor's mother gained the use of on the death of her Aunt Janet, and the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Beevor's description of the sea as the train approached Aulla for her summer vacations from school in England is as well written as anything Lawrence ever wrote, and no doubt she was quite knowledgeable of his works given he was a family friend. After WWII, faced with death duties on the Poggio Gherardo following the death of Beevor's brother John, and huge expenses owing to the damage inflicted on both properties during the war (the retreating Nazis and the encroaching Allies made a mess, the latter found an autographed photo of Mussolini in the castle and wrecked havoc) the family was forced to sell up and return to England. Beevor's book contains passages that reminded me of bitter-sweet scenes in "The English Patient", the "Jewel in the Crown", "Tea With Mussolini", "Out of Africa", "Room With a View" and other works written by European ex-pats returned to their home of origin. Ms Beevor was undoubtedly well read and understood the withdrawal of the British Empire following WWII, and in her closing chapters she shares her thoughts about the effect of that withdrawal on Italy. Italy of course was not a colony, but the British had truly made themselves at home in Italy before the war (and may have done so once again).
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MEMORIES OF A GARDEN IN THE SKY, July 22, 1999
By A Customer
GIST: A high-society British family resides in a castle in Italy at the beginning of the twentieth century. Written by the late Kinta Beevor (whoever SHE was). HAMMOCK-TIME: You'll need several days' rest in your hammock, or beach chair to finish it. Some sections are sluggish. Yet the insightful characterization of people, countryside, and events is a potent incentive to finish the book. SKIMMING QUOTIENT: You might easily skip a section towards the end, an overemphasized recollection of the author's jaded coming-of-age society years. STYLE: Interesting blend of the stiff British upper-lip attitude and subtle, dry humor, with a more down-to-earth vulnerability gained, as if by osmosis, from the Italian staff members whom Ms. Beevor befriended. SUBSTANCE: Intriguing, at times, humorous exploration of a childhood in Italy, as part of an expatriate British family. My favorite passages center on a roof-garden, that became an idyllic retreat for the family and their guests. QUIBBLES: Is there anyone the author or her relatives didn't know, in high society during those early eras of the century? The name-dropping gets a bit much, but does not really affect the overall charm of the book. BROWNIE POINTS: I was happy to see that Ms. Beevor engages only rarely in patronizing behaviour towards Italians. She seems to enjoy learning from them, absorbing their knowledge of the land. It's a surprising feat, viewed against the aloofness that the rest of her family, and the rigid social class in which she is reared, displays. As an Italian-American, I find her attitudes refreshing. Sometimes I worry about Italy: all these rich foreignors settling, usually in Tuscany, where they are squeamish about the food, the art, the social structure, the Italianness (horrors!) of natives of Italy. Haven't we read enough books by that sort? COMPLEMENTARY BOOKS: There's a current barrel of books on Tuscany. Perhaps you might approach the region from a different angle. Try exploring one book entitled, Tuscany: The Beautiful Cookbook, which displays memorable photos and recipes. Logistically, it's a huge book, reminiscent of how delightfully big our books seemed to us as children, in managing the pages. The dishes outlined are intriguing - every one I tried turned out delicious so far, although it's a chore stuffing those closed-petal squash blossoms (yes, stuffing them). # # #
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
