
When I looked into choosing Under The Tuscan Sun as my next Blogging For Books selection, I couldn’t believe that the book was actually published in 1996 and that it is now being released in a 20th Anniversary Edition. I was a bit skeptical of whether the descriptions of Italian life would feel authentic to me, coming from a foreigner, but I immediately fell in love with Frances Mayes’ writing and points of view on Italian culture. She’s really intent on learning as much as she can about Italian traditions and on immersing herself in the authentic life of the small Italian town she lives in.
I decided to watch the movie based on the book and starring Diane Lane and Raoul Bova (if you don’t know who Raoul Bova is, do yourself a favor and Google him). It came out in 2003 and to be honest felt over-caricatured and quite dated. The book in comparison still feels fresh and applicable to the current reality of Italian life in small towns in the Tuscany countryside. Another major difference between the book and the movie is that in the movie, Diane Lane’s character is recently divorced and travels alone to Tuscany to restructure Bramasole (the old house she’s bought), and hopefully also find love. In the book, on the other hand, Frances Mayes is actually remarried and restructures Bramasole with the help of her new husband Ed. I just wanted to specify for people who loved or hated the movie, that the memoir has a completely different feel and even a different storyline. It stands apart from the movie and is worth a read for its own merits.
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