12/15/2000

Review of In Tuscany

      According to Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, one of the most important things Americans can learn from Italian life is that "work does not have to govern life." I'm always longing for this concept to take hold, but find it sadly lacking in American culture. However, one way to get away, to take a trip to a place almost unreal in its beauty, is through Mayes third literary trip to Italy, In Tuscany.

      In Tuscany is a celebration in pictures, essays and recipes. Each of the five chapters of In Tuscany reveal the pleasures of Tuscan life. "Tuscany is a world; Italy is a universe. Five lifetimes would not be enough to explore it" (23). We begin our exploration with La Piazza, the social center of Italian life. The piazza is the place of gathering, a place for shops, family run cafes flowing with intimate conversation and the aroma of good cooking . In support of her charming descriptions, Mayes presents us with beautiful photos of this world and amazing recipes.

      The La Grotta recipe for spinach and ricotta gnocchi is a heavenly sounding dish that I hope to make along with Fiorella's Ragu di Funghi Porcini (Porcini Mushroom Sauce). Each section of Mayes' work takes us on a journey of sight and smell that rises up from the pages like the smells of a soothing stew, or a rich marinara sauce. We readers can picture ourselves laughing around the table at La Festa, dipping our bread in the sauce and sipping a dark sensuous wine.

      While the joy and love Mayes has for Tuscany is apparent in her work, one has to comment: Not everyone, in fact, very few, can afford to live this kind of life. Thus, I prefer to see this work as a kind of celebration of the Tuscan people, a fairy tale for those of us who love the diversity of our world but have little time or money to travel in the ways in which are presented to us in Mayes' work.. I do not want to look at In Tuscany as a kind of travel guide for the rich.

      Every page that I turn in this book is a discovery of a land and people I know little about, a celebration of a way of life. While I can recognize the privilege in which this work is presented and be reflective about what that means, I also must look at the people and the land. I must be a part of that celebration through Mayes' work.

More books by Mayes