Under the Tuscan Sun 1st (first) edition Text Only

Excellent read! One smiles through the book and marvels at the simplicity and history in Tuscany. I would love to go there! Absolutely recommend this to anyone yearning to travel or those who travel vicariously through authors.

The book is a fantastic read. Really will intrigue readers who love cooking or are in the midst of a move/remodeling a home. A very versatile style with pieces like chapters dedicated to recipes.
This book will be loved by readers who enjoy memoirs that almost read as fiction, such as Blood, Bones, and Butter (another great read) or Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight.

Some reviewers were right. The author comes across as self absorbed and materialistic. It lost my interest. Lack of literary ability to communicate the breathtaking locale and its people (unlike Peter Mayle did in the Year in Provence etc.).

The lanuage and visualizations are stunning. I enjoyed the pictures the author paints not just of the country itself but of the food and the people. The base story is a bit hard for me though, most of us that have such trials in our life can't afford to "buy" happiness so it makes the heroine a bit tiresome.

I loved the Under the Tuscan Sun Engagement calendar. I have bought them in previous years because I feel like I am in Italy, not to say, keeping my engagements in order. The photographs are beautiful, the captions are so Francis Mayes. When I read them it takes me right to the picture and or scene. I love all of Francis' books and hopefully one of these days , soon I will follow her to my beloved Italy....................

Inspiring story about taking a chace and watching it evolve into a whole new life. Loved how the locals accepted them over time. The food & cooking descriptions are.tantalizing and enhanced the reading experience. Now I wanna go cook some Italian inspired food!

The word "Tuscany" alone conjures up rich images of rolling green hills and an endless flow of red wine. This book was a pleasure to read. The beautiful descriptions of castles and food ... and more food made the daydreams we all have had about packing our bags, leaving the smog, and setting up house on an Italian countryside almost a reality.

I bought this book because I really liked the movie. I wanted to experience the movie again in the book form. I was prepared for some differences between the book and the movie. I wanted to love this book as much as I love the movie. The book and movie have a house in Tuscany that is bought and renovated. That's about it.

The only full-blown characters in the book is the house and the author. The rest of the people, including Ed, remain either nameless or almost in name only, wandering in and out of the house in Mayes' orbit, drawing all of their interest and personality from being involved with her. When they weren't interacting with the author, they didn't exist. I could not get involved with any of them, including the house. Mayes was too busy taking up all the space with her own personality.

There is NO PLOT. Nothing much happens except they come and go to Italy and the house is renovated and they eat alot and drink wine.

To be fair, I was interested for a page and a half about how houses are metaphors for ourselves, our past lives, our futures. She admits she got the idea for this from some other author. I might buy that book.

I found myself thinking how rich this woman must be to have a house in Tuscany and another apartment in San Fransisco, which might be the most expensive place on earth to own property. All that jetting around from Italy to the US and back again, massive renovations on the house? Where is all the money coming from? Oh wait, yes, I bought the book.

I read the book, every single word, and here's my opinion. The person who wrote the script for the movie should have written this book. It was a great movie. It is a lousy book. I gave it one star because that is the bottom of the scale. Use the money instead of buying the book to buy the movie instead. Mayes is the most boring, self-absorbed writer I have read in a long time.

Inspiring story about taking a chace and watching it evolve into a whole new life. Loved how the locals accepted them over time. The food & cooking descriptions are.tantalizing and enhanced the reading experience. Now I wanna go cook some Italian inspired food!

The word "Tuscany" alone conjures up rich images of rolling green hills and an endless flow of red wine. This book was a pleasure to read. The beautiful descriptions of castles and food ... and more food made the daydreams we all have had about packing our bags, leaving the smog, and setting up house on an Italian countryside almost a reality.

I bought this book because I really liked the movie. I wanted to experience the movie again in the book form. I was prepared for some differences between the book and the movie. I wanted to love this book as much as I love the movie. The book and movie have a house in Tuscany that is bought and renovated. That's about it.

The only full-blown characters in the book is the house and the author. The rest of the people, including Ed, remain either nameless or almost in name only, wandering in and out of the house in Mayes' orbit, drawing all of their interest and personality from being involved with her. When they weren't interacting with the author, they didn't exist. I could not get involved with any of them, including the house. Mayes was too busy taking up all the space with her own personality.

There is NO PLOT. Nothing much happens except they come and go to Italy and the house is renovated and they eat alot and drink wine.

To be fair, I was interested for a page and a half about how houses are metaphors for ourselves, our past lives, our futures. She admits she got the idea for this from some other author. I might buy that book.

I found myself thinking how rich this woman must be to have a house in Tuscany and another apartment in San Fransisco, which might be the most expensive place on earth to own property. All that jetting around from Italy to the US and back again, massive renovations on the house? Where is all the money coming from? Oh wait, yes, I bought the book.

I read the book, every single word, and here's my opinion. The person who wrote the script for the movie should have written this book. It was a great movie. It is a lousy book. I gave it one star because that is the bottom of the scale. Use the money instead of buying the book to buy the movie instead. Mayes is the most boring, self-absorbed writer I have read in a long time.

I enjoyed the book, especially the first half. The book started out and pulled me in--I didn't want to put it down. The second half dragged somewhat and seemed to jump around and be disjointed. Also the focus on food seemed to be the point, more than the story. That said, I still finished it. The recipes were a surprise in the first half and totally expected in the second part since there were numerous descriptions of nothing but different meals consumed. The section on the differences between the book and the movie was interesting. This is a good light read and worth your time.