I Read Under the Tuscan Sun

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Over the Christmas break, I read the updated 20th Anniversary edition of Under the Tuscan Sun. Is it possible that it has been twenty years since this book came out? Surely there is some miscalculation on the publisher's part. No. I got old. So, I can review this story for you as a 19 year old and a 39 year old. 

This book  includes many of my favorite things. It's about hope, hard work, restoration, food, and a culture that revolves around friends and family. I thought it was interesting following the Italian version of a  remodel. It seems much like the one I have experienced. Slow. Workers come and go whenever they feel like it. At least we have three things that help us keep our minds full of hope.
God. Food. People.

I know the real question is how people think it compared to the movie. The basic premise of her story is there. She had been through a terrible divorce and decided to buy a villa in Tuscany. In the movie she was single. In real life she was already remarried. In the movie she found this place on a gay tour of Tuscany (given by her friends that were pregnant and could no longer go). In real life, as I said, she was married and had been to Tuscany many times with her husband before taking this leap. There is no wild romance with an Italian man in the book or crazy sex scene. All of that must have been added in for theatrical flare. The book is just about restoration, food, and family. It's about the people we pass every day. It's more simple.

In her writing, Frances seems a bit low key. In the movie, Diane Lane brings exuberance, joy, and chutzpah. I enjoyed both. They are quite different, but both make you want to cook. Pass the pasta.

This book was graciously provided by the publisher for review.

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