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When I first picked up Francis Mayes' Every Day in Tuscany I was terrified that it would make my own summer spent in a Tuscan villa pale in comparison. What I should have been frightened of was the insatiable urge to hop onboard the next flight to Italy. While many authors can transport a reader to various locals, Mayes is a master storyteller, completely immersing the reader in the sounds, smells, and tastes of the slow-paced rural Italian lifestyle. I could taste the homemade ricotta cheese and the wild strawberries, hear the firecrackers celebrating Italy’s world Cup victory, see the Luca Signorelli paintings that Frances and her husband admired all over Italy, and I could smell the salty Mediterranean air during Mayes' trip to Portofino. Similarly heartwarming is the intimacy with which Mayes builds and maintains fruitful relationships with the locals-from classically Tuscan wine merchants to the large family Cuban-Americans who own a nearby villa. What rings true throughout the novel is Mayes’ overwhelming love of all things Italian: the beautiful golden light, the respect and love for the freshest, ripest food ingredients, and the sometimes shocking but always heartfelt generosity of the Tuscan people, which is only to be matched by their zeal for life.
Laura G. |
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