Under the Tuscan Sun was a confusing book for me. Confusing in the sense that the whole point of the book is so bizarre. Would Italians want to read about an Italian who came to North America and renovated a house and learned how to make burgers? Would they enjoy hearing the intricacies of how to make the perfect patty? And oh yes I get it. Italy is muchly much much more romantic than America and therefore easier to write romantically about. And all of us sun starved people far north of the equator are desperate for any type of warmth we can get even if it’s in Tuscan sun book form. And yes it’s her journal of their time in Italy I get it. I did enjoy reading about the Italian people although I was very sick of reading about the Estrucians or whoever those ancient people she kept drooling over. There were also pages and pages about her food. Which made me depressed because now I want to eat bread dipped in my own olive oil from my terraced hillside in the sun next to my 30 climbing rose bushes. The cabin fever is rapidly taking over. Send help

This is about a University professor from San Francisco who is in a new relationship after a divorce. She falls in love with the Tuscan countryside after spending several summers there. She and her significant other decide to buy and renovate an old house that has been standing vacant for years. I was glad I read it because I learned a lot about the Italian culture, but it didn’t absorb me like a good novel. It’s a book you can read for a couple of hours and put down and not pick up again for several days. I was disappointed that she didn’t include some photographs and was also surprised that she didn’t become involved with the local people on a social level, but just to hire them to do projects for her. Simply put, I suggest you skip this one unless you're really interested in: a. Italy, b. Food, or c. Travel.

I saw the movie first and didn't realize it was based on a book.

So first of all, this is not a novel. It's a woman's journal of the purchase and clean up of an old house in Tuscany. It includes recipes, gardening directions, weather reports, menus, etc. And if that's what you were expecting, it's actually very good. However, I unfortunately saw the movie when it came out, in complete ignorance that it was a book first.

And. . . I'm still confused about how *this* book got made into *that* movie. I'd already read Extra Virgin, and felt that this book was a weak imitation.

Had I not known the movie or the other book, I think I'd have liked this better. And I'd strongly recommend it to anyone travelling there (or moving there). Her descriptions of food were amazing! I especially liked the way she described menus, and how they ate what was in season and accessible. It made me crave cheese and fruit!

This was a re-read, and I loved it again. I know there's plenty here who
don't think much of this book, but it totally appeals to my utterly romantic
notions of running away to live in Europe someday....sigh.... ;-) Haven't
been to Italy yet, but this book *was* largely responsible for my subsequent
trips to France, Spain, and Turkey. And my list (TBV list - "to be
visited" - tee hee) has been growing ever since.

This was also my first PalmPilot read, and I was pleasantly surprised to
find that I completely enjoyed reading on my teensy little baby computer. I
wonder if we will ever reach that vision of the paperless society that was
touted when the first home computers came out way back when. Could the Palm
Pilot finally represent the beginning of the end of cutting down massive
tracts of forests to support our voracious appetite for the printed word. I
particularly found the PP nice for reading in bed. Lightweight, clear
easy-to-read font, easy thumb clicks to turn the pages, and complete with
its own light. Very cool. Donna's a happy PalmPilot reader. ;-)
Unfortunately, my tiny little book budget will still keep me library-bound,
but I look forward to the occasional e-book splurge.

I want to start by saying that reading this while actually in Tuscany is just unfair because of her beautifully accurate descriptions of Italy. It really is this gorgeous. I feel like while I loved much of the prose that at times she lost me when talking about the people she’s hired to rebuild Bramsole and her attitude about what it is actually like to live in Italy versus a romanticized version of it. All of that is to say I deeply romanticize it also and don’t want to leave Tuscany (however I would not make a wild purchase on a whim while being unaware of myself/thoughts/actions)

I love travel writing and was really looking forward to reading this book. Sadly for me, about a third of the way through I realized that I wasn't reading a book about Italy or travel, I was reading a very long, very dry book about home improvement that just happened to take place in Tuscany.

If you start this book thinking you'll get more of the movie, you'll be a little disappointed. This is a well written book about moving to Italy, repairing an old villa and getting accustomed to a new culture and new neighbors. The atmosphere is relaxing and this is a great book to read in the autumn.

Nikad me srce ovoliko nije zabolelo prilikom ocenjivanja.

By no means is this a perfect book. It's not groundbreaking, in any sense of the word. Mayes does ramble at times and I can't say I was inspired to read every single word with the greatest intensity of concentration. In fact, I found her tendency to throw in Italian words here and there fairly annoying by the end of it all. However, if you are looking for a quiet, beautifully descriptive read about the magic of creating something with your own two hands, Under the Tuscan Sun might be just the book for you.

Read my full review n  HEREn.

I guess what struck me more than the story was being introduced to Tuscany and the simple cooking of that region, and perhaps the laid back character of the people of the region. I listened to the book on tape while I was recovering from eye surgery and could not read. Every time my husband would walk into my room the tape would be saying something like: "add four fresh tomatoes, smashed, with a quarter cup of virgin olive oil and two tablespoons of pine nuts..." It always prompted a "How can you listen to that?" from him, but I felt like I could taste it and could hardly wait until I recovered enough to try the recipe out.

I am surprised by how many bad reviews this book has received here on goodreads. Yes, the movie version is very loosely based on this book, so don't come looking for that story here. And yes, it is a memoir and not a novel. And yes, Mayes is a privileged woman who has earned the ability to buy a decrepit villa in Tuscany as a second home, renovate it and furnish it. So? Who hasn't dreamed of doing just that? I thoroughly enjoyed her descriptions of the renovation process, the land, the people, the ancient history of the area and oh, the food! Thank goodness she has included a few recipes to try.

In spite of some very mixed reviews, I loved this book. Probably the main reason it captured me is because I bought a copy at a bookshop in Cortona, where the author lives. In fact, I even took a photograph of the house and the chapel on the cover of my paperback edition, before I even spotted the book! So it was very interesting to read about the Italian countryside while you are actually in it.

However, I'm sure I would have enjoyed the book anyway. I love old houses, and books about restoration, so that aspect was very appealing. The author writes beautifully and the book contains many poetic images of nature -- a church dome rising from the fog while illuminated by a rainbow, for example. And anyone who loves to eat will enjoy her descriptions of Italian food and many of her recipes are included.

No, the book is nothing like the movie -- in which the main character is a single woman. The book is a strictly factual account of restoring a house and living in Italy by the author Frances Mayes and her husband Ed. Apparently the author had no criticism of the extensively-rewritten movie script. As she put it: "In the movie I have an affair with a hot Italian guy. Who would complain about that?"