Eye8Pudding
Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
Under The Tuscan Sun -- "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...She revels in the sunlight and the color, 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." -- from www.amazon.com
After watching the movie quite a few times, I thought I would read the book it was based...thinking a would find it, if not exactly the same, than at least close to the charm of the movie. I was extremely disappointed. The "Frances Mayes" in the movie is sweet, kind and a little naive. The "Frances Mayes" in the book is a self-absorbed, self-pitying snob. In between dramatic descriptions of the sensual, voluptuous landscape/food of Italy, were pages and pages describing Frances' woes. Apparently, I was supposed to feel extremely bad for her when it proved difficult to decide on which ancient, beautiful and extremely expensive Italian villa to buy. If only we were all burdened with such troubles! Her snobbery is outrageous. She writes a great deal about the locals but most of her descriptions are more about what they do for her than who they are as individuals. She expresses frustration at a houseguest who constantly compares everything in Italy to it's apparent superior equivalent in the US. Yet Frances does the same thing in reverse. Nothing in America is ever as wonderful/fantastic/sensual/voluptuous/fabulous as things are in Italy...but that doesn't mean Frances is willing to give up her high paying job in California to become one of the marvelous farmers in Italy. Doing so might mean selling their expensive cars, taking fewer vacations (yes, vacations from their fabulous villa in Tuscany!) or cut down on their massive consumption of alcohol. If you want to read a book about the woes of an overpriced, self-pitying "have" who's not satisfied with the many gifts given to her, than this is a book for you. If you're looking for a nice book about the culture of Tuscany, stay away from this book.
Under The Tuscan Sun -- Started: July 17, 2013 Finished: July 26, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #58
Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
Under The Tuscan Sun -- "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...She revels in the sunlight and the color, 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." -- from www.amazon.com
After watching the movie quite a few times, I thought I would read the book it was based...thinking a would find it, if not exactly the same, than at least close to the charm of the movie. I was extremely disappointed. The "Frances Mayes" in the movie is sweet, kind and a little naive. The "Frances Mayes" in the book is a self-absorbed, self-pitying snob. In between dramatic descriptions of the sensual, voluptuous landscape/food of Italy, were pages and pages describing Frances' woes. Apparently, I was supposed to feel extremely bad for her when it proved difficult to decide on which ancient, beautiful and extremely expensive Italian villa to buy. If only we were all burdened with such troubles! Her snobbery is outrageous. She writes a great deal about the locals but most of her descriptions are more about what they do for her than who they are as individuals. She expresses frustration at a houseguest who constantly compares everything in Italy to it's apparent superior equivalent in the US. Yet Frances does the same thing in reverse. Nothing in America is ever as wonderful/fantastic/sensual/voluptuous/fabulous as things are in Italy...but that doesn't mean Frances is willing to give up her high paying job in California to become one of the marvelous farmers in Italy. Doing so might mean selling their expensive cars, taking fewer vacations (yes, vacations from their fabulous villa in Tuscany!) or cut down on their massive consumption of alcohol. If you want to read a book about the woes of an overpriced, self-pitying "have" who's not satisfied with the many gifts given to her, than this is a book for you. If you're looking for a nice book about the culture of Tuscany, stay away from this book.
Under The Tuscan Sun -- Started: July 17, 2013 Finished: July 26, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #58