Last week I talked about how I focused my recent reading on books about Italy, in response to my withdrawal from such an amazing place.
I reviewed The Thief Lord, last week, which takes place in Venice. I also read a book set along the southern coast, and one set in Tuscany, which is my focus for this week.
I knew I would like Tuscany (at least the wine!), but I wasn't aware I would love it as much as I did. Wow. It was beautiful.
I've watched the movie Under the Tuscan Sun before. In fact, I watched it again just before leaving for our trip. I picked up the book to read on the plane, but I didn't get far. So I devoured it when we got home.
The book is COMPLETELY different from the movie. Do not pick up this book expecting it to be the same, or even similar. You will not be happy. Indeed, even though I knew they were different, I was still surprised that there were so few similarities.
First off, this is a nonfiction book. Do not expect much of a plot; there isn't one.
There is, however, beautiful, lyrical prose. Mayes is a poet, originally, and her writing style shows this.
Mayes and her husband buy an abandoned villa in Tuscany. It's a vacation home; they spend summers there, and some Christmases.
The big focus, especially at the beginning, is the restoration of the villa. They uncover hidden treasures and hidden problems. They struggle to pay for enhancements and refurbishments and the disasters that arise.
They come to understand the nearby village(s), the locals, and the customs. They take on the slower pace of Italian life, and marvel and the differences in cultures.
I recognized some of the towns, and even got to spend a few hours in Montepulciano, which is nearby the setting of this book.
And they cook and eat.
A lot.
Amazing, amazing food, that Mayes describes in beautiful, sensory detail.
This was my favourite part of the book. Mayes describes growing food, the love that she experiences in harvesting olive crops, picking fresh fruit, collecting herbs, and using it all in her cooking, then sharing a meal with her husband or daughter or friends or workers, often under the trees in the garden.
There is something wonderful about the sharing of food together, something about the long meals, the bottles of wine, the laughter and practice of eating, that we lose so often in North America in our hustle and bustle.
Mayes even includes recipes, divided into seasonal sections.
I will be trying some of these recipes.
Even reading them (don't skim them!) brought me to a little villa, the chopping and sizzle and crackle of food being prepared and cooking, the smell of fresh lemons, or a savory sauce.
Yum. Yum, yum.
Again, do not expect a riveting tale. Do not expect "chicklit". But if you like travel writing, if you want to escape into the fantasy of living in a Tuscan villa, then read this. And if not, at least check out the recipes. Give them a try.
And then invite me over for supper. Yum.
What's your opinion on nonfiction? Do you like travel writing?
Would you ever take a chance and do something as extreme as move halfway around the world to live in a different culture? Where would you go?