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2024-12-23
Under the Tuscan Sun 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載
托斯卡納艷陽下,一道神奇之光,生活通體明亮。 在那天堂般的陽光下,什麼故事都可能發生…… 托斯卡納, 沒有任何辭藻和言語能真正描述托斯卡納的神秘、神奇、迷人。 沒有。 世間也沒有任何一個地方能與它相提並論,沒有。 連被齣版方拿來做噱頭的普羅旺斯, 也都要黯然失色...
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...
評分每天,都會有一個人拿著一把花,放在我們車道入口旁邊的神龕裡,有時是一把安妮皇後和連著莖的茴香,有時是一大束的大薔薇、蒲公英、毛良或歐薄荷。 現在我正等著他的齣現。他會打量路旁的每一種花,然後採下他最屬意的一種。 當我又停下來張望的時候,發現那位朝聖者已經齣現...
評分原文:http://yemaiji.com/b/article.asp?id=74 你有時間嗎?你知道白鴿每分鍾叫多少次嗎?你知道蟲躲在草叢中的鳴聲嗎?你知道小貓喜歡在哪個角落睡覺嗎?其實,這一切的一切,我們都曾熟悉過,可如今,它們卻離的好遠好遠瞭。 說實話,見到“托斯卡納”這四個字的時候,我...
評分很久以前就在圖書館藉過這兩本書,《艷陽下》裏麵濃烈的陽光和《甜美生活》的菜譜把嚮往意大利南部的我深深吸引住瞭。以至於從來記性不好的我,在看過書很久以後,還記得作者寫到她有一天從床上醒來,聽見瞭“太陽的呼聲”。
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
詩一樣的托斯卡納。。
評分非常喜歡~
評分2007年9月
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2007年9月
Under the Tuscan Sun 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載