Under the Tuscan Sun (36 page)

C
RITICAL
A
CCLAIM FOR
Under the Tuscan Sun

“An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls “the voluptuousness of Italian life         .         .         . appealing and very
vivid         .         .         . [The] book seems like the kind of thing you'd
tuck into a picnic basket on an August day         .         .         . or better yet,
keep handy on the bedside table in the depths of January.”

—
New York
Times Book Review

“Armchair travel at its most enticing         .         .         . Mayes's delightful
recipes, evocative descriptions of the nearby village of Cortona, and
thoughtful musings on the Italian spirit only add to the pleasure. Can we really
blame ourselves for wanting to strap Mayes down in some ratty armchair while we
go live in her farmhouse?”

—
Booklist

“Mayes [has] perfect vision         .         .         . I do not doubt that
centuries from now, whoever lives in Bramasole will one day uncover
bits of pottery used at Mayes's table. She has, by the sweat of her brow and
the strength of her vision, become a layer in the history of this
place.”

—
Los Angeles Times

“Can we bear yet another book about buying and remodeling a tumble-down house
in some sunny foreign country? The answer, in the case of
Under the Tuscan
Sun
, is a simple, unqualified yes         .         .         . Warmth and
light nearly glow from these pages, a tribute to the sun, symbol of hope and
renewal.”

—
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Carefully written         .         .         . an unusual memoir of one woman's
challenge to herself and its successful transformation into a satisfying
opportunity to improve the quality of life.”

—
Library Journal

“A model for the open, curious mind and the questioning soul         .         .         . Those who want to find parts of themselves they didn't know existed, take risks, have an adventure         .         .         . and
discover another culture altogether, with its different rhythms, tastes,
smells, and ways of being human—those readers will find in Mayes a
kindly, eager, tough-spirited guide.”

—
Houston Chronicle

“Luscious         .         .         . delightful         .         .         . In the search
for writers who thrill you just with their mastery of the language, include
Frances Mayes.”

—
San Jose Mercury News

“A report from our dream Italy, still rural, still devoted to beauties that
are not artificial         .         .         . Mayes has a profoundly sensual
relation to everything she touches, from texture to
food         .         .         . Her description of meals that we, alas, didn't get
to eat evoke in me satisfaction without jealousy, like
paintings.”

—
Boston Globe

A hardcover edition of this book was originally published in 1996 by Chronicle
Books. It is here reprinted by arrangement with Chronicle Books.

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
. Copyright © 1996 by Frances Mayes. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information, contact: Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

BROADWAY BOOKS
and its logo, a letter B bisected on the diagonal, are
trademarks of Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Visit our website at
www.broadwaybooks.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the Broadway Books trade paperback
edition as follows:

Mayes, Frances.

                  Under the Tuscan sun : at home in Italy / by Frances Mayes.

                  p.                  cm.

                  Excerpts from this book appeared in the New York Times,

Ploughshares, and House Beautiful.

                  1.         Tuscany (Italy)—Description and travel. 2.         Tuscany (Italy)—

Social life and customs. 3.         Mayes, Frances. 4.         Cookery,
Italian.

I.         Title.

DG734.23.M38                  1997

945′.5—dc21

eISBN: 978-0-7679-1745-2

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