Under the Tuscan Sun | 
 enlarge | Creator: Frances Mayes
Publisher: Random House Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $25.94 (100%)
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Rating:  432 reviews
Sales Rank: 1382311
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Number Of Items: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 4.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0553525204
Dewey Decimal Number: 945.5
EAN: 9780553525205
ASIN: 0553525204
Publication Date: January 20, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Items Range from Average to Good Quality
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Amazon.com 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 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.
Product Description
Frances Mayes--widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer--opens the door to a wondrous new world when she buys and restores an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. In sensuous and evocative language, she brings the reader along as she discovers the beauty and simplicity of life in Italy. An accomplished cook and food writer, Mayes also creates dozens of delicious seasonal recipes from her traditional kitchen and simple garden, all of which are included in this audio. Doing for Tuscany what M.F.K. Fisher and Peter Mayle did for Provence, Mayes writes about the tastes and pleasures of a foreign country with gusto and passion. A celebration of the extraordinary quality of life in Tuscany, Under the Tuscan Sun is a feast for all senses.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 Under the Tuscan Sun September 24, 2008
James A. Avena (Georgia)
The story line is good,the only thing that didn't get 5 stars from my wife and I was that the author read the book. She should have used a proffesional. The book and the DVD got our 5 stars. J.A.A.
 You too, can write a book! August 8, 2008
Elvera Evangelista (Blue Ridge Mountains, NC)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
How is it that this even got published? I am a voracious reader, even books I don't really care for I finish just because I want to see what happens in the end. But I just couldn't do it with this one. How can you be so possibly boring?? Have you ever been stuck on the phone with someone who just loves to talk about themselves? You listen, occasionally give a few grunts as acknowledgement, and sigh in relief when they finally run out of words and use for your ear. This book was that, in text form. Frances Mayers needs someone to talk to, I guess no one would listen, so she wrote it all down in book format. If this is all it takes to publish a book, maybe I'll become a writer!
Subject 5--Delivery 0 June 27, 2008
Cathi Rosengren (san diego ca)
This is a wonderful, wonderful, journey, adventure, book. By all means, it should be read....just not aloud by the author. Why do people think that if they write a book they have the skill to read it??
 Under the Tuscan Sun June 3, 2008
Anna M. Ligtenberg (Chicago)
ISBN 0767900383 - As a fan of lists, I'm always curious about books that make bestseller lists. I rarely read them, but I'm always curious. This was the case with Under the Tuscan Sun until a rather beat-up, unsellable copy fell into my hands. My curiosity, but little else, has been satisfied.
A recap of the plotline is usually the second paragraph for me. The trouble here is that this book doesn't actually have a plotline. The author and her boyfriend bought a house in Tuscany, living there during the summer and restore it and the land around it. Seriously, that's it: no actual point, no build up, not a character to root for (although there were moments I admit to rooting for the house to fall down on them, just to liven things up). So much for the recap!
Beautifully written, Under the Tuscan Sun isn't without redeeming qualities. Tuscany sounds like a bit of Heaven on Earth and Mayes, reputed to be a good cook, turns out to be a decent writer, at least so far as descriptive writing goes. A few short sections are even well-done humor. For that, the richness of language, the way you can nearly smell the food and hear the quiet of the countryside, for that, Mayes gets 5 stars. For boring me nearly to death, ZERO stars! An average of 3 stars seems a reasonable compromise. There are definitely readers for this type of book, I just happen to not be one of them. If you're looking for a relaxing read, this one certainly fits your needs; if you want a storyline, something more exciting than recipes, this book is a snore - if your blood flowed to the rhythm of this book, you'd be dead.
Disappointed April 29, 2008
S. Sell (Tempe, AZ United States)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was so looking forward to reading, "Under The Tuscan Sun". An avid traveler, I love to explore various places through books since having 3 kids doesn't allow me to travel as much as I used to. I assumed the book would be good considering it was a #1 New York Times Bestseller.
Maybe my expectations were too high. I found the book to be monotonous, laborious and rather self-indulgent. The relationships Mayes appears to have developed seem superficial at best and imagery of the old, deep south conjured in my mind as I read about her cook "Wille Bell" and her seamstress as a child in Georgia. I thought I would relate to this part of Mayes' life as I too grew up in Georgia, but, again, the absence of any emotional impact left me wanting just to finish the book and be done with it.
Aside from the rehabilitation of her home in Tuscany which was written about mostly at the beginning of the book, I found the book to have a lack of continunity and really any depth. The self-proclamed pagan describes churches and locations, but doesn't capture the romance, innocence and intrigue that will keep you flipping pages.
Mayes does appear to be a fabulous cook and I would probably like a cookbook by her. However, if you are looking for a novel with a plot to sink your teeth into, this is definitely NOT it. I much prefered "Eat, Pray and Love" and the first chapter (which I am now reading) of "Almost French" is wildly more clever and intriguing.
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