Romanticized view of rural life in Tuscany. The writers constant exuberance was wearing. ( )

Memoir / cookbook written by a woman who was renting a house on a Tuscan farm. The author essentially spies on the lives of the poor farmers from whom she rents, glorifying their lives, particularly that of the farmer's wife. This women, Sylvana, lives a terrible life of slavery. Up before the dawn every day, she works literally every waking moment, always cooking, foraging for foodstuffs, preserving, making cheese, cleaning, mending, etc., etc., etc. Although Romer attempts to glorify the lives of these farmers, the book ends up being a study in why small-farm life is going by the wayside. I would not want to live Sylvana's life, nor would I wish it on my children.

On the up-side, I did pick up some simple but fabulous cooking tips and recipes, always welcome. ( )

A delightful book that describes the events, celebrations and the food eaten by a traditional Umbrian farmer's family month by month for a whole year. The farmer in question lives in the Val Minima, which is the next valley to the one I live in near Cortona, so the book has a personal resonance for me and I've tried out many of the simple recipes with complete success. ( )