Frances Mayes lives in Cortona, Italy and San Francisco, where she teaches creative writing at San Francisco State University. A widely published poet as well as a prolific food and travel writer, she has written for the New York Times, House Beautiful, and Food and Wine.
Amazon.com
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 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. 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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Mayes's favorite guide to Northern Italy allots seven pages to the town of Cortona, where she owns a house. But here she finds considerably more to say about it than that, all of it so enchanting that an armchair traveler will find it hard to resist jumping out of the chair and following in her footsteps. The recently divorced author is euphoric about the old house in the Tuscan hills that she and her new lover renovated and now live in during summer vacations and on holidays. A poet, food-and-travel writer, Italophile and chair of the creative writing department at San Francisco State University, Mayes is a fine wordsmith and an exemplary companion whose delight in a brick floor she has just waxed is as contagious as her pleasure in the landscape, architecture and life of the village. Not the least of the charms of her book are the recipes for delicious meals she has made. Above all, her observations about being at home in two very different cultures are sharp and wise.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
In a carefully written story, poet Mayes (Ex Voto, Lost Roads, 1995), who chairs the creative writing department at San Francisco State University, recounts the purchase and renovation of an abandoned Tuscan villa. She begins with the 1990 search with her companion, Ed, for a summer home to take the place of the rented farmhouses of past years. They finally decide on Bramasole ("Yearning for the Sun"), a villa with 17 rooms and a garden that has been standing empty for 30 years. There is the ordeal of getting money transferred via the tangled Italian banking system, as well as bringing together the owner, builders, and government officials to get the necessary work done. The daunting process requires several years. Meanwhile, Mayes finds Italian country life a healthy antidote to hectic San Francisco, enjoying, for example, the fruits of her own garden, friends in the village, and the first olive harvest. This is an unusual memoir of one woman's challenge to herself and its successful transformation into a satisfying opportunity to improve the quality of her life.?William R. Smith, Johns Hopkins Univ. Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
The New York Times Book Review, Alida Becker
an intense celebration of ... "the voluptuousness of Italian life." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From AudioFile
Let the Tuscan sun warm you. Listeners can savor the delights of the countryside, fresh food, flowers and Italian village life through Frances Mayes's memoir of restoring a stone villa in Tuscany and her exploration of the surrounding countryside. For listeners who prefer to hear authors reading their own works, poet, teacher and food critic Mayes reads this abridgment version. While clear and engaging, her voice reflects her Georgia upbringing and caused this reviewer some consternation as she described an endearing Italian scene with a Southern accent. Mayes's intent is to guide readers as one would a guest, showing them all the delights of the place she finds so magical. One additional plus, a small booklet includes actual recipes from some of the memorable meals. Despite her accent, listeners will find themselves immersed in her vivid perceptions. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
From Booklist
It takes a determined effort to read this account of restoring and enjoying a Tuscan farmhouse without experiencing a violent attack of adolescent jealousy. Why her and not me, you'll be screaming as writer and professor Mayes describes languorous lunches on the patio, local wine flowing freely and olive pits casually pitched toward the nearby stone wall. Yes, there were problems--wells running dry, workers vanishing--but the image Mayes creates of her house, the Italian countryside, and her summers there with fellow professor Ed and sundry visitors is nothing short of idyllic: a real-life version of the film Stealing Beauty, but without the funny-looking sculpture scarring the landscape. Mayes' delightful recipes, evocative descriptions of the nearby village of Cortona, and thoughtful musings on the Italian spirit only add to the pleasure. This is armchair travel at its most enticing. Can we really blame ourselves for wanting to strap Mayes down in some ratty armchair while we go live in her farmhouse? Bill Ott --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
A New York Times Notable Book of 1997
"This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy. loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it's so delicious, read it first yourself."
--USA Today
"Irresistible...a sensous book for a sensous countryside."
--Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls 'the voluptuousness of Italian life'."
--The New York Times Book Review
"Armchair travel at its most enticing."
--Booklist
"Mayes [has] perfect vision."
--Los Angeles Times
Review
A New York Times Notable Book of 1997
"This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy. loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it's so delicious, read it first yourself."
--USA Today
"Irresistible...a sensous book for a sensous countryside."
--Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls 'the voluptuousness of Italian life'."
--The New York Times Book Review
"Armchair travel at its most enticing."
--Booklist
"Mayes [has] perfect vision."
--Los Angeles Times
Product Description
Now in paperback, the #1 San Francisco Chronicle bestseller that is an enchanting and lyrical look at the life, the traditions, and the cuisine of Tuscany, in the spirit of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence.
發表於2024-05-29
Under the Tuscan Sun 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載
10幾年前的一個深夜,我不知道是因為什麼心事,輾轉反側,最終我一個人跑到客廳打開電視,CCTV8海外劇場正在放一部電影《托斯卡納艷陽下》,轉瞭一圈彆的颱實在沒彆的電視好看,隻好看這個瞭。結果卻深深被這部電影打動。它淺淺的,悄無聲息,沒有波瀾壯闊的劇情和畫麵,但就是...
評分不管是在陰雨天的房間,還是嘈雜的地鐵,抑或熙攘的咖啡店,讀這本書都能感覺到很平靜很溫暖。 數次讓我記起在墨西哥的那個下午,和朋友什麼都不做,也不聊天,就依靠著坐在廣場上曬瞭很久的太陽。我能清清楚楚地想起當時朋友的笑容,成群的小學生,街上販賣的小吃和水果。其...
評分這段日子,除瞭電影,還看瞭兩本書,佛朗西斯梅耶絲的《托斯卡那艷陽下》和《托斯卡那的甜蜜生活》。書是在當當做活動時買的,不貴,卻挺好看。托斯卡納的這兩本書的風格跟彼得梅爾的《山居筆記》也就是《永遠的普洛旺斯》很像,都是描述一頭城市職業動物從繁華都市來到鄉間的...
評分著名的連嶽說過:“每次我最愛引用這句話‘你要按你所想的去生活,否則,你遲早會按你生活的去想’,但總有人說,你想就能行嗎?中國這種地方太多無奈!請注意,這類人就是那類‘遲早按你生活去想’的例證。尖銳敏感如連嶽這樣的文字工作者都能沒有放棄追求理想夢想、過上屬於...
圖書標籤: 旅行 意大利 托斯卡納 英文原版 Travel 英文 電影好像不錯 散文
看得齣來作者對自己的生活著瞭迷,不過書寫得拖拉又瑣碎,真是讀不下去。
評分非常喜歡~
評分電影跟書還是有不少差彆,書更像是散記;托斯卡納的生活好美好,但是全文閱讀起來略瑣碎。。
評分詩一樣的托斯卡納。。
評分看得齣來作者對自己的生活著瞭迷,不過書寫得拖拉又瑣碎,真是讀不下去。
Under the Tuscan Sun 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載