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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
Sadly, not as good as I'd expected. And absolutely nothing like the movie. Though, if they'd made the movie like the book it would have been a travelogue.
I started reading this book in January and have slowly returned to it from time to time, finally finishing it. However, do not let that lead you to think it is not well-written. As I have said with other books by Frances Mayes, she brings a level of detail and beauty to her writing that is so descriptive, you can almost feel, smell, taste, and otherwise experience her surroundings.
I loved reading about "Festina tarde... Make haste slowly". I looked the phrase up on the Internet, and "festina lente" showed up in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festina_lente), saying: "The meaning of the phrase is that activities should be performed with a proper balance of urgency and diligence. If tasks are rushed too quickly then mistakes are made and good long-term results are not achieved. Work is best done in a state of flow in which one is fully engaged by the task and there is no sense of time passing". In addition, I also I found this French poem on that same site:
The French poet and critic Nicolas Boileau, in his Art poétique (The Art of Poetry) (1674) applied the dictum specifically to the work of the writer, whom he advised in those words:
Hâtez-vous lentement, et sans perdre courage,
Vingt fois sur le métier remettez votre ouvrage,
Polissez-le sans cesse, et le repolissez,
Ajoutez quelquefois, et souvent effacez.
(Slowly make haste, and without losing courage;
Twenty times redo your work;
Polish and re-polish endlessly,
And sometimes add, but often take away)
Finishing the book during the COVID19 pandemic is especially moving, as I couldn't help but think of all the people in Italy, much less Tuscany, who have suffered and continue to suffer. I would love to visit that area some day but it is hard to think of the charm Mayes describes in the book without wondering whether that same charm unfairly made the population there even more of a target for this horrible disease.
I loved reading about "Festina tarde... Make haste slowly". I looked the phrase up on the Internet, and "festina lente" showed up in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festina_lente), saying: "The meaning of the phrase is that activities should be performed with a proper balance of urgency and diligence. If tasks are rushed too quickly then mistakes are made and good long-term results are not achieved. Work is best done in a state of flow in which one is fully engaged by the task and there is no sense of time passing". In addition, I also I found this French poem on that same site:
The French poet and critic Nicolas Boileau, in his Art poétique (The Art of Poetry) (1674) applied the dictum specifically to the work of the writer, whom he advised in those words:
Hâtez-vous lentement, et sans perdre courage,
Vingt fois sur le métier remettez votre ouvrage,
Polissez-le sans cesse, et le repolissez,
Ajoutez quelquefois, et souvent effacez.
(Slowly make haste, and without losing courage;
Twenty times redo your work;
Polish and re-polish endlessly,
And sometimes add, but often take away)
Finishing the book during the COVID19 pandemic is especially moving, as I couldn't help but think of all the people in Italy, much less Tuscany, who have suffered and continue to suffer. I would love to visit that area some day but it is hard to think of the charm Mayes describes in the book without wondering whether that same charm unfairly made the population there even more of a target for this horrible disease.
A modern day academic certainly couldn't afford a 2nd home in Italy...
It was so completely unrelatable
It was so completely unrelatable
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this book anyway. This book made me want to hop a plane to Italy. The gorgeous prose transformed a book that would have been boring in the hands of a different author.
thought I'd be reading the plot from the movie, but felt that I was reading a home improvement book. 25% of the way in I decided to stop. It's just not my thing.
This book was nothing like the movie. There were sections I enjoyed reading, such as the descriptions of meals and some of the characters that worked on the renovation. But, this was largely a yawn for me. Book club selection.
It was like I took a trip to Tuscany in my head. I loved it!
I read this a long time ago but just saw the atrocious movie and feel the need to go back and read the true story again.
I hated this book and I hate that I wasted so much time plodding through it rather than surrendering it to the recycle bin, or better, the woodstove. There's no point to it except indulging the writer's ego at having renovated this perfect Tuscan stone home and indulging in all things Tuscan while tormenting the poor reader.
I read both this book, and Eat, Pray, Love; because they were getting so many rave reviews, and was disappointed by both for the same reason. Privileged, pampered people with self-centered expectations aren't my favorite tour guides to a world they never quite open up to being truly humbled by, themselves, no matter its vast variety.