I didn't enjoy this one as much as A Thousand Days In Venice. However, I am still captivated with her love of food and the simple life. It left me with a deep desire to spend some time in Tuscany.

Share/Like this Review?

The way the author describes life and food in Tuscany reminds me of my stay in Italy.

Share/Like this Review?

I read this book recently. De Blasi has an incredible way to make the ordinary in life seem beautiful and extrordinary. Beautiful.

Share/Like this Review?

This is the follow-up book to "A Thousand Days in Venice" which I really loved. I didn't love this one as much, but hang in there until the end. It does get better.

Although I'm not a 'foodie' I enjoyed reading about all the really simple ways fresh food was fixed in the Tuscan countryside. Once in awhile the book veered into some rather strange philosophical and pshycological musings of the author. But sometimes those veering wanderings struck a chord with me and made me stop and think.

My favorie quote from the book, which I had to write down and post on my PC was "I wanted death to find me dancing." That's just the way I want it to find me too.

Now I'm going to have to check out the third book in the series, "The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria" to see what new discoveries I can find about Italy, and my own internal dialogue.

Share/Like this Review?

It's OK. Not as good as her Venice book. Maybe the spell was broken for me, being excited about her adventures, but having to order and wait for the next book, meanwhile reading many others. I just can't get into this one, but will go back and give it another chance soon.

Share/Like this Review?

A fire, a glass of red wine, and this book------what a delightful way to spend the weekend.

Share/Like this Review?

We "read" this for book club and not one of us was able to finish it. It is a very slow read and has so much description that the plot of the story is lost. I was very disappointed.

Share/Like this Review?

Make sure you read this book when you have a full stomach. Marlena De Blasi has a way of making even the simplest things seem appetizing. She's a very intense, passionate woman and I can see why Fernando, the younger Italian man who is her husband, fell in love with her, an older American woman with grown children. Thousand Days in Tuscany starts off with Fernando quitting his banking job in Venice. He's had it with a formal office job. The couple moves to a small Italian village in Tuscany where they are embraced by the quirky villagers. In some ways, this book is remniscent of Peter Mayle's books about Provence, but De Blasi has a much different writing style. Mayle tends to have a more light-hearted approach and she has more intensity. While this is a good book, it's slow and not quite as captivating as her first book, A Thousand Days in Venice.

Share/Like this Review?