return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
twitter Bookmark and Share mail to a friend Email
   Summary and Book Reviews

Under The Tuscan Sun: Summary and book reviews of Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, plus links to an excerpt from Under The Tuscan Sun and a biography of Frances Mayes.

Under The Tuscan Sun

Under The Tuscan Sun
At Home In Italy
by Frances Mayes
Hardcover: Oct 1996,
280 pages.
Paperback: Oct 1997,
255 pages.

Publication information
Read an Excerpt
Reading Guide
Reader Reviews

Author Biography
Author Interview
Books by this Author
Critics' Opinion:   good
Readers' Rating:  Three Stars
About BookBrowse Rankings
Buy This Book
Themes Members Only Read-Alikes Members Only Add to Reading List  Members Only

BOOK SUMMARY

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.

Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table.

BOOK REVIEWS

Media Reviews

Good  Booklist
Armchair travel at its most enticing.

Good  USA Today
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.

Good  The New York Times Book Review
An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls 'the voluptuousness of Italian life'.

Good  Los Angeles Times
Mayes [has] perfect vision.

Good  Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Irresistible...a sensuous book for a sensuous countryside.

Good  USA Today
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.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Tom orlando
Under the Tuscan Sun
Tedious. For people who have never traveled. The movie is much better but it has nothing to do with the book except the name.



Rated 1 of 5 of 5 by amye
SO BORiNG!
I am not a reader but when it is good I love to read. And Under The Tuscan Sun sucked! Like someone already said it is hardly Italian and way more American. I am half Italian and I know how things go.. and this lady had no plot what so ever!

Lists of books with similar themes


Read-Alikes


Other books by Frances Mayes
Buy This Book:

Become a Member
Click Here
Editor's Choice
  •  Feb 22 
  •  Feb 20 
  •  Feb 18 
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Katherine Boo
Behind the Beautiful Forevers Jacket From Pulitzer Prize-winner Katherine Boo, a landmark work of narrative nonfiction that tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the twenty-first century's great, unequal cities.
A Good American
Alex George
A Good American Jacket An uplifting novel about the families we create and the places we call home.
Three Weeks in December
Audrey Schulman
Three Weeks in December Jacket Evoking both Barbara Kingsolver and Andrea Barrett, this enthralling fiction, wise and generous, explores some of the crucial social and cultural challenges that, over the years, have come to shape our world.
Defending Jacob
William Landay
Defending Jacob Jacket Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis - a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.
The Quality of Mercy
Barry Unsworth
The Quality of Mercy Jacket Spring of 1767: Erasmus Kemp has brought back fugitive settlers from America, among them Sullivan, an Irish fiddler....The Quality of Mercy is rich and rewarding historical fiction of the highest order from the master, Barry Unsworth.
Click Here
Recent Reader Reviews
A Good American by Alex George
I received this book at a preview in October, read it in days. Usually one book grabs me at these previews and this book was it. Beautifully... read more
The Healing by Jonathan Odell
I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It was sweet, funny, and sad. You know a book is great when that happens. I loved the way the... read more
A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer
I purchased this book many years ago at a garage sale and let it sit on my shelf, knowing that one day I would have to face it and read it. I feared... read more
RSS RSS feed More...  
Most Viewed This Week
1. Brooklyn Bridge
Karen Hesse
2. The Dry Grass of August
Anna Jean Mayhew
3. The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls
4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot
5. Vaclav & Lena
Haley Tanner
More...
Book Club Recommendations
Madame Tussaud
by Michelle Moran
Paperback (Dec/11)
1Q84
by Haruki Murakami
Hardback (Oct/11)
City of Tranquil Light
by Bo Caldwell
Paperback (Oct/11)
The Maid
by Kimberly Cutter
Paperback (Oct/12)
More...
First Impressions
Members read and review books often months before they're published. See what they think in First Impressions!
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
by Katherine Boo
4.5 Stars            (Feb/12)
The Dressmaker
by Kate Alcott
Four Stars            (Feb/12)
Accidents of Providence
by Stacia Brown
Four Stars            (Feb/12)
Before the Poison
by Peter Robinson
4.5 Stars            (Feb/12)
King Peggy
by Peggielene Bartels & Eleanor Herman
4.5 Stars            (Feb/12)
A Good American
by Alex George
4.5 Stars            (Feb/12)
No Mark Upon Her
by Deborah Crombie
4.5 Stars            (Feb/12)
More...
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Why I Read by Roberta Rich
Flooded with Understanding by Tamara Ellis Smith
Recommended Reading on North Korea
What Do a Pedophile, a Polygamist and a Tattooed Girl Have in Common?
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
  Latest BookBrowse News
Amazon removes Kindle versions of IPG books from sale (Feb 22 2012)
Amazon has removed all ebooks published by Independent Publishers Group (IPG). IPG is the second-largest independent book distributor in the USA representing... Full Story
Journalist and author Anthony Shadid dies in Syria (Feb 17 2012)
Anthony Shadid, a foreign correspondent and author who wrote dispatches from the Middle East for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
 
BookBrowse Poll
Q: How do you find out about new books? Choose all that apply
Recommendations from friends/family
Bookstore/library staff recommendation
Advertising
Search engines
Professional book reviews in print or online
Reader reviews online
Blogs
Social networks
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters

Online Book Club

More about
The Healing
Join the discussion!


Win This Book!
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Jacket Image

Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"I T A V To R A C"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Isabel Allende
Lysley Tenorio
Alex George
Krys Lee
frame bottom
HOME Submissions | Advertising | Libraries | Media Inquiries | Reviewers | Contact Us