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greaydean's review against another edition
3.0
A good range of emotions and experiences, but not much story.
alundeberg's review against another edition
4.0
It is fitting that I should become acquainted with Devon travel writer, Eric Newby, while I was traveling in Devon, browsing the the bookstall at the Tavistock Pannier Market. There I purchased his “Love and War in the Apennines”, his account of being an escaped POW in Mussolini’s Italy who was sheltered by many Italians. Twenty-five years after the war, he and his wife Wanda purchased a dilapidated farm house near those who risked their lives to save him, providing the basis for “A Small Place in Italy”. While not as dramatic as “Love and War”, this book is a touching memoir about what is now a lost way of life, and I couldn’t help but feel wistful thinking that while the modern era has given us so much ease and entertainment, it has taken so much from us: connection, communication, camaraderie with others and the land. Newby’s wry and gentle humor and astute abilities for observation make him a sympathetic guide to the past. As he and Wanda are literally “Newbys” to the area, they must prove themselves to their neighbors and learn the Italian way of life, from building a home, joining harvests, making wine, and participating in all of the festivities. Although it is episodic, it is a nice escape to the past to see how life once was, and it reminded me a bit of Laurie Lee’s “As I Walked Out One Summer Morning” about pre-Franco Spain and Julia Child’s “My Life in France”.
Highly recommend if you are looking for classic travel literature.
Highly recommend if you are looking for classic travel literature.
caroparr's review against another edition
4.0
It's been done too many times - let's buy an old house in Italy/France/Greece/Spain and see what happens! - but never as well as here. A refreshing contrast to Frances Mayes.
lreify's review
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Very enjoyable, lighthearted look into someone's life as they buy a second home in Italy and subsequently become evolved in the bucolic life around them
sara_o's review against another edition
2.0
It was charming, but I never felt compelled to pick it back up once I put it down.
anesh's review
4.0
I finally decided to rate it 4 stars because despite being a bit boring it does describe beautifully and in details woven with history, a place dear to my heart in times that are now longed for, a story not too different from that if the places my parents grew up in.
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