Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy (Paperback)

by Frances Mayes (Author) "I AM ABOUT TO BUY A HOUSE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY..." (more)
Key Phrases: olive terraces, always stone, front terrace, San Francisco, Signor Martini, Lake Trasimeno (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy, and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed. At the same time Mayes brings a literary and intellectual mind to bear on the experience, adding depth to this account of her enticing rural idyll.

From Publishers Weekly
Mayes's favorite guide to Northern Italy allots seven pages to the town of Cortona, where she owns a house. But here she finds considerably more to say about it than that, all of it so enchanting that an armchair traveler will find it hard to resist jumping out of the chair and following in her footsteps. The recently divorced author is euphoric about the old house in the Tuscan hills that she and her new lover renovated and now live in during summer vacations and on holidays. A poet, food-and-travel writer, Italophile and chair of the creative writing department at San Francisco State University, Mayes is a fine wordsmith and an exemplary companion whose delight in a brick floor she has just waxed is as contagious as her pleasure in the landscape, architecture and life of the village. Not the least of the charms of her book are the recipes for delicious meals she has made. Above all, her observations about being at home in two very different cultures are sharp and wise.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Edition, Second Printing edition (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811808424
• ISBN-13: 978-0811808422
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (443 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #445,347 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Richly written - a great escape, September 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy (Paperback)

As someone who is used to taking frequent Mediterranean vacations but was marooned stateside this past summer, I thanked my lucky stars for happening upon this book. It was just the escape I needed. As I got deeper into it, I felt myself becoming more and more enamored with Tuscany, Bramasole and its cast of characters. Mayes hits her stride with rich, textured detail of her environment after the first 50 pages or so. Before that, she gets a little too bogged down in renovation process. I really felt that I was there, right down to hearing the crickets singing in the hot summer sun. Unlike so many others who reviewed this book, I was not offended at all by her descriptions of the Tuscan locals or the lifestyle. She was very complimentary and respectful of everyone she wrote about. One thing that could have been left out - the references to Mayes childhood that screamed "I'm wealthy!" The recipe chapters were an added bonus and inspired me to get cooking. Try the mushroom lasagna with bechamel sauce in the later food chapter - it's divine. The bottom line - if you're looking for a wry, humorous account of life as an expatriate, a la Peter Mayle, this book won't do it for you. But if you want to immerse yourself in a richly written tribute to the rolling hills of a gorgeous, faraway land, Tuscan Sun is not to be missed.

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Does Ms. Mayes really know any Italians?, September 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Tuscan Sun (Paperback)

Background: I lived and worked in Italy for a year, and have since returned for a total time of about two years spent in central Italy, primarly Bologna and the Lazio region. I speak Italian well, and have very close Italian friends whom I see regularly. I passionately love the country, its traditions, language and culture, and when I picked up 'Under the Tuscan Sun', it was in the hopes of finding a kindred spirt of sorts, an American with a love for Italy and all it has to offer.

Boy, was I wrong. At one point, I threw the book across the room in disgust. I finished the book, as I wanted to discover the answer to the questions I developed early on: Did Ms. Mayes ever talk to any Italian who didn't work for her? Does she have Italian friends who aren't financially obligated to her in some way or another? Does she know any Italians that she can invite for dinner with no business goal to discuss? Has she ever really listened to what any of them have to say, or do the ubiquitous hand gestures that so fascinate her monopolize her thought processes all the time? In all the years that she has been going to Italy, has she ever made a close Italian friend? My conclusion to all of these questions by the end of the book was negative.

I have two Italian friends that read and speak English, and I gave them a copy of the book, without letting them know how I felt ahead of time. Their reactions were the same as mine: they were insulted by her condescending descriptions. It's an old story for Italians -- Americans and British expatriates long for a place missing the messiness and tedium of everyday North American/British life, and invent one in Italy. The problem is, this invented reality leaves out the day to day lives of everyday Italians. It's a fantasy life for expatriates rich enough to afford the illusion, but it doesn't allow for actual Italians.

Basically, I agree with a reviewer above: This is Martha Stewart does Italy. Ms. Mayes is a good writer, so it's well-described Martha Stewart book, but fundamentally it's lacking in any depth at all. This book is just another addition to the long series of books and movies about those cute, rustic Italians and their adorable hand gestures.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Massive Case of "The Emperor's New Clothes", July 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Tuscan Sun (Paperback)

Verbose, cliché-ridden, superficial, and materialistic, this book stars not Tuscany but Frances Mayes, who treats Italy like a gigantic mall. In her view, Italian architecture, food, wine, art, history, and even people exist only as products to decorate the author's personal Disneyland. The book's success can be explained only by marketing hype and critics' reluctance to speak the truth. Fellow readers, the emperor is naked. Save your money, and a tree. If you want to read about Italian food, go to the real authorities: Marcella Hazan or Mayes's own source, Elizabeth David.