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| Under the Tuscan Sun | 
 enlarge | Author: Frances Mayes
Publisher: Bantam Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (3) Collectible (1) from £2.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 217351
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 289
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 055381611X
Dewey Decimal Number: 910
EAN: 9780553816112
ASIN: 055381611X
Publication Date: March 1, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: In stock in UK. Books are securely wrapped in jiffy-type bags and dispatched daily.
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Amazon.co.uk 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 colour, 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. --Amazon.com
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Escape with Frances Mayes September 13, 2008
Frances Mayes, an American professor in her late 40's, buys a derelict house near the Tuscan village of Cortona. She is recently divorced, and having spent many happy holidays in Italy before, decides to take a big risk in buying this small estate with 5 acres of land that is half way across the world. This book is about "what happens next" as she and her partner Ed begin the long process of renovating an old house that has not been lived in for over 30 years.
Due to their teaching schedules, they are able to devote an entire summer every year, plus a Christmas break, to the renovations. In between removing eco-systems of spiders and scorpions, linseed oiling the cotto floors, cleaning windows, designing the new kitchen and bathrooms, clearing the terraces of weeds, they also make trips to other parts of Tuscany where Mayes describes the food, the architecture, the people, the landscape. As the renovations progress, you get to meet the local tradespeople, some of the villagers, as well as Mayes' guests who visit from America.
I love this book and read it about once a year. Warning! By the end you will be longing to jump on the next plane to Italy, if only to find a good trattoria and sample some of the foods & recipes Mayes presents in her book. It is a quiet book, which may not appeal to those who saw the movie starring Diane Lane, but if you are looking to read something heartwarming on a cold winter's day, do read this one.
 A Good Start! July 15, 2008
I found this book quite funny at the beginning. As a foreigner living in Italy for these last 12 years I laughed out loud reading those everyday life incidents and lets call them diplomatic misunderstandings that different cultures bring with them.
I could just simply relive the bizarre situations that the authors describes and in a way feeling a bit relieved I wasn't the only one having problems.
Somewhere in between the book became a bit boring and I had to plod my way through the pages. The author seems to love a lot Italian cuisine because she's always describing what she's eating in the various restaurants she's been at, in different places in Italy, especially Tuscany.
 Very evocative January 15, 2007
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
I can't imagine why anyone would not have liked this book, I found that it made me absolutely LONG to be in Italy, and was so very evocative and beautifully written. I am not a cook, so the recipes went over my head somewhat, but I must admit that they did titillate my tastebuds. It made me want to read so much more and I was sad to come to the end.
 Is there more to this than meets the eye? March 25, 2006
10 out of 18 found this review helpful
What a great subject... this has got to be a good read. But no I am afraid not. I tried really hard, Frances, but had to give up at about page 50 before my brain turned to mush. I found this so shallow and inconsequential that I felt offended at my time wasted on every turn of the page. It's like being stuck in a dentist's waiting room with back issues of House and Gardens magazines. The tone is conceited: she's clearly self absorbed. Shame I wasn't. What worries me is that this is an international best seller. Mmmmmm!
Constructing a dream March 6, 2006
6 out of 14 found this review helpful
A classic in its genre, this calm and soothing read is a chamomile tonic for a stressed out life. Frances and her partner Ed live a dual life re-building a ruin in Tuscany with work in San Francisco. An enchanting,poetic, beautifully descriptive work written succinctly with intellectual fervour. At times the paragraphs run as richly as brandy butter on the tastiest christmas pudding ever, let the eyes skim and dream of blue skies , rolling hills and tranquilo Italia. As deeply moving as Eh? Is for ants, as inspiring as Driving over lemons, excellent.
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