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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I really loved our bookclub "discussion" of this book. We enjoyed a wonderful outdoor meal full of delicious food and company. It was wonderful. The book was very peaceful. I never felt rushed reading it and enjoyed it over the course of two months.
Nice job restoring a house
Scenery wonderful
Taste the food
Not much to the story
Scenery wonderful
Taste the food
Not much to the story
I'm re-reading this in anticipation of our upcoming trip to Tuscany. It will, hopefully, be a relaxing read after having taken in so many art history books, and Dante! This is a good, but not a great book. There are sections where I can clearly see the market or the house and it's funny repairs. There are others where I sort of zone out. Still, much, much better than the movie.
I hadn’t realized going in that the house she lived in was an abandoned house that she and her partner then restored, so I was very excited to realize that was the main concept of the book, as I’m a bit obsessed with house restoration and abandoned places, and love the idea of Italy. I haven’t seen the movie so I didn’t really have any expectations. The beginning of the book isn’t told chronologically, and is a little disorienting but then it picks up once they dive in fully to the work. Unfortunately the last half of the book is an almost unending barrage of Italian tourism and shopping and cuisine adventures, which sounds fascinating but is dry and unrelatable the way she does it. So many tombs! The ending focuses on one last project and then devolves into some kind of stream of conscious/creative writing essay that doesn’t really fit and only indirectly relates to the rest of the book. I do want to watch the movie, as that is likely more cohesive with a stronger and more focused through line.
Re-read June 2015. This book is a lovely story - and I love the movie - but at times the story veers from Francis's life and starts ruminating on the saints, or the romans, or a too long history lesson. So those parts I would have been happier to skip. But the personal story - Francis and Ed, the re-modeling, the cooking - that I love.
I think this book is an acquired taste. I've been to Italy twice myself, so I thought this book would be fun to read and see if there were funny stories about living in Italy vs. the US. But sadly, I didn't find many. Some parts were good, I liked seeing the recipes and some of the stories when they first started to renovate with the poles.... Otherwise for me, not the most interesting book to read.
I thoroughly enjoyed taking a journey to Tuscany through Frances Mayes beautiful writing. If you pick up this book expecting to read the same story you’ve seen in the movie, you will be disappointed. The only thing they have in common is the title. Frances’ book is basically a journal of her life in Tuscany. Her thoughts, feelings, insights, recipes, and discoveries on living in a foreign country. A great travel memoir that is far superior to the movie.
There is no technique, there is just the way to do it.
Now, are we going to measure or are we going to cook?
Like a great meal or a fine wine, I took my time enjoying this gem. I could see the countryside and taste the meals she enjoyed.
Now, are we going to measure or are we going to cook?
Like a great meal or a fine wine, I took my time enjoying this gem. I could see the countryside and taste the meals she enjoyed.
DNF - Could not get past the writing style of this book. I was utterly confused the whole time as the author would switch topics mid paragraph. Got 80 pages in and sadly decided I couldn’t finish the book.