Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

This book will inspire you to wake up earlier and watch the sunrise, to cook with fresh, simple ingredients, and grow an herb garden in your kitchen window (even if, like me, you don't like gardening). You will want to pull a lemon straight from a tree, learn Italian, and book a ticket to Italy right away. (I am visiting Cortona in 2 months!).


Note: First of all, if you have watched the movie, know that many delights await you separate from the film. The "characters" and plot-line are very different. However, some of the descriptions are word-for-word lifted from the book into the narration of the film. 

The Review: The memoir Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes takes place in Cortona, Italy. Frances is a writer and English professor and she travels to Italy almost every summer with her partner (now husband), Ed. The writing highlights the lifestyle in Italy: warm friendships, gardening, farming, the connection with the land and making your own olive oil. Getting back to basics, from hiking the olive terraces to dining under the trees. The story is about rediscovering your life and how you want to live. That is why I think this book struck a chord with so many readers. Renovating Bramasole (which means ''to yearn for the sun'') helped Frances discover how to renovate her life. 


Music to Read By: from the movie soundtrack "The Old Man with the Flowers." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnNLGMveVQM


Author website: http://www.francesmayesbooks.com/