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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
This book is about 100 pages too long. It’s not a long memoir, but it is long-winded. There are beautiful moments and fun stories interwoven with didactic ramblings and meaningless history lessons. The book took me a year and a half to finish because I couldn’t give it my attention for more than a chapter at a time. If you love stream of consciousness writing and don’t want a story or plot, you’ll love this book.
This is a wonderful book, not so much that it is so well written but because it is one of the few books I truly want to step within and live. I'm sure the restoration woes were much more harrowing than are described, but as with most memories such sharpness is mellowed with time. There is just enough detail to give the feel of the countryside, the people, and the food -- oh, the food! I drive to work listening to audio-books, and this one literally had my mouth watering as I drove with images of pastas, herbs, and the glorious cheeses of Tuscany presented to my imagination's pallet. The Many recipes are within do not at all detract from the story but instead underline the simplicity which is all that is needed when the ingredients are gathered at the peak of freshness and ripeness. In her preface, Mayes writes "A Chinese poet many centuries ago noticed that to re-create something in words is like being alive twice. ... Under the Tuscan Sun maps such a place. My reader, I hope, is like a friend who comes to visit...", and so I hope to visit again in her later books.
I bought this book right after the movie came out (which I loved!) But found the book to be boring and stopped reading it. Here I am years later wishing I hadn’t given up on this one (I never give up on books). So I purchased it as an audiobook hoping it would be more engaging to listen to. I really really wanted to like it. I did find myself dreaming of exploring far away places and I loved the adventure of purchasing a home needing to be fixed up in Italy. Unfortunately, I found her narrative to be rambling, a little too much food talk, and not enough of a story to pull me in. I finished it this time around, so there’s that!
The narrative of the book doesn't draw me in. The way that Mayes conveys the tastes, sights and sounds of Italy, however - a country I love - makes my world melt away as I can very nearly taste the olives in the air. This isn't a book I recommend out, but it is a book that never fails to transport me. And in the end, that is what makes a book great.
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
I loved this book! The sense of place is crafted wonderfully.
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
So sweet and I wanted to like it! I guess long descriptions of architecture and vegetables aren’t for me.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
This book may be a nonfiction book, but it was incredibly beautiful. The fact that Mayes Is a poet means that mundane happenings are described wonderfully and one can really imagine being immersed in Tuscany. This was an awesome book.