Customer Reviews

In Tuscany

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A delicious feast for the eye and heart. If you have read the book, if you have travelled in Tuscany this book brings it all home visually.

I have all three books about living in Italy by Frances, and visited Italy 2 1/2 years ago. I feel as though she is seeing and experiencing through my eyes! How exciting that Frances captures the exotic land and people with such accurate detail. I can't wait to go back!

After having lived in Italy, I can say that this book catches the true essence of that country. The quietly beautiful photographs recall the Italian masters and the scenes portray the everyday life of Italy and it's people. This 3rd book of Frances Mayes is not filled with the hilarious anecdotal stories of the first two, but it is broader and told with more assurance of time and place. How can one read and look at this book and not fall in love with Italy ?

I fell in love with this book as soon as I took it out of the Amazon.com box it arrived in. It is beautifully made. I love all of the pictures Mayes has incorporated into her latest work of art. It was so great to actually see Bramasole and various individuals she always writes about. I had invisioned what Bramasole and all if the individuals looked like while reading Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, but now I feel enriched because I have an insider's view of them. As always, the recipies she includes are delicious, authentic, and easy to make. Giusi's Pasta al Ragu is almost identical to the recipe my family in Italy makes. If you make it top it with some Pecorino Romano, take a bite, close your eyes, and you will feel as though you are dining at a trattoria in Italy. I am holding my breath in anticipation of a 4th book in this series!

This latest book from Frances Mayes is a book to savor just as one would savor a fine bottle of wine or a cool Autumn evening in front of a crackling fire with nothing in front of you but hours of time to read ...lovely! Ms. Mayes has the soul and the eyes of a poet to produce such a book. More, more.

I had been waiting eagerly for the next book in the Tuscany series and I am not disappointed. The format is certainly different than the other 2, but Mayes' love for and delight in her Tuscan home and adopted land comes through as clearly as ever. Her use of language is absolutely perfect, the photos beautiful and evocative, and the author's love of detail comes through wonderfully! At times, I felt I could almost touch the objects she describes, and taste the food so lovingly depicted! Bravo, and I'm already looking forward to the next volume!

The photos in this book are really above average. However, the photos are about all that's in the book. There is not nearly as much written content as I expected, and the photos are not as breathtaking as needed to support a simple picture book.

The photos in this book are really above average. However, the photos are about all that's in the book. There is not nearly as much written content as I expected, and the photos are not as breathtaking as needed to support a simple picture book.

Having been to Tuscany several times, I find myself longing to return while reading this book. I find it a quality read with great pictures and typically flowing Frances Mayes style of writing.

Frances Mayes adds "In Tuscany" as the third in her seemingly never-ending series about life in Bella Toscana-- following her hugely successful "Under A Tuscan Sun," its sequel "Bella Tuscany," and several calendars. Unfortunately this latest effort left this reader greatly disappointed, as the author fashions verbal portraits of standard aspects of Italian life (e.g. the cucina-- kitchen; piazza, etc.). This time around, she adds complementary photos-- but many are soft focus, artsy blurred images, rather than the stunning, breathtaking images found in many other books, such as "Most Beautiful Villages in Tuscany." Take a peek before you lay your money down. This book leaves much to be desired-- at least for me.