Publication Date: April 3 2018
She read.
By the author of Under the Tuscan Sun, this is another love poem to la dolce vita in italia. Three women, all suffering recent losses, meet when considering a move into a retirement community. These women are nowhere near ready for such living, form an instant bond, and take off for a year in a rental villa in Tuscany. There, they meet another American ex pat who is a writer and her companion as well as the local characters from their classic small Tuscan town and quickly fall into the pace of the area. Side trips to Venice, Capri, Florence, and Cinque Terre spread the love.
As with any tale of life in Italy the requisite wine and food are included…courses and courses of food. Mayes’ prose is literate and beautifully written. She presents a somewhat idealized view of life for these women, but for those readers who dream of such an adventure, why think about the tribulations when you can focus on the beauty and the romance? While the story may have been a bit too saccharine for me, I loved the descriptions of the
art, architecture, flora, and culinary delights of this beautiful country. The story seemed to shift points of view throughout. The narrator is the ex pat writer, although sometimes it seems the other women take over the narration. I thought some of these shifts to be a bit “clunky”.
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