Under the Tuscan Sun is a romantic love story about a woman finding herself in a rural Italian town after a divorce. There are young neighbors in love, a pregnant lesbian friend and a flirty relationship with a realtor.
Oh, never mind, absolutely none of that’s in the book.
But if that sounds appealing to you, check out the movie.
The book has an equally compelling, though very different, love story. It’s between a woman and a home. She and her husband move to Tuscany, into an abandoned villa, which she renovates extensively while becoming acclimated to a different kind of life.
I admit, I’m not focused enough to enjoy most descriptive writing.
If a book strays too long into what the scenery is doing, I start skimming until more dialogue comes along. But something about Mayes’ writing, though almost entirely descriptive, kept me engaged. I hope if you pick it up, you’ll find it equally enthralling.
I’d rather move to Pompeii,
Megan
Under the Tuscan Sun
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d rather move to Pompeii, too. I loved the movie, so I’m sure I’d love the book, as I suffer from the same difficulty of staying on track with descriptive narrative and tend to skip over the scenery dexcriptions for dialogue. Other than Dee Dee, I thought I was the only faker to do this!
Haven’t read the book or seen the movie but I generally only do one or the other. The disparity between the two is always unsettling.
Congrats on your COYMC ROM status.
I have the same problem with scenery! Even though I do get a mental image when reading, it doesn’t match up with what’s written- long descriptions do not help me picture the scene at all. It’s weird.
And Pompeii is awesome!
I actually really liked the movie, and it definitely made me miss Europe. I keep meaning to read the book tho!
So it’s decided! We’re moving to Pompeii!
I had heard that the book and the movie were quite different. But I haven’t read the book yet. Thanks for the review.
Well NOW I’m intrigued! It’s going on my summer reading list. Any other suggestions/recommendations are invited and encouraged. It’s getting to be that time of year, you know…
I loved the movie, but I had no idea it was a book! I might have to check this out
I have not seen the movie or read the book, but I have friends who LOVED the movie because it was so beautiful. That may be true, but the story in the book sounds much better to me.
Books often are.
The Princess Bride may be one exception…both are very good.
I haven’t seen the movie, but I would read the book…though I’m worried it would make me want to move to Italy!
I loved reading this book. I actually also bought the audio version. It is the only Book on CD that I own. I also love Italy and Mayes makes me feel like I am back there. I thought the movie was a weak Hollywood attempt at recreating the magic from the book.
Stopping by from SITS to say hi.