Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy

I wanted to like this audiobook. I really tried.
We've loved Italy--Tuscany especially--since our first journey to Siena some years ago. In this novel I wanted vivid and memorable imagery, seasoned with bits of the discernable rhythm of spoken Italian; to feel the heat reflected among the ageing stucco-and-rock buildings toe to toe along the winding lanes; to smile at the uneven gait of the peasant woman scavenging edibles from the Terraces while Frances and Ed enjoyed their slumber.
The prose was too fecund, the similes too mundane, to give life to the author's relentlessly ordinary personal observations. I admit, the phrasing was made less bearable for me by the actual sound of the author's voice. A strong but entirely defensible opinion here: standard written English isn't the same stuff as conversation, unless dialect or dialog is intended. To communicate audibly, one needs careful enunciation, appropriate emphasis, occasional alterations in cadence--to truly connect with the hearer. And, alas, it needs to be uttered in a relatively non-regional voice. The gentle lilt of a Georgia-Virginia-California diction amalgam is incredibly distracting from an otherwise adequate novel. Apply that voice to any Italian vocabulary (not really mimiced after seven years...) and the effect is beyond tedious.
I would purchase and hear Frances Mayes' books on Audible again, but only if presented by an adequate actor.

The narrator's voice (while authentic) was very irritating to the point that I could not even finish the book. I found the narration to be nasal and whiney. I'm sure the book was a good read, but feel that the book on tape would have been much more enjoyable had it been narrated by someone else.

The book was good although a little disjointed.
The narration was AWFUL. Couldnt finsh the audio.

An interesting read, but I wish I had the hard copy. Frances' sing song voice is distracting. She sounds like a 5th grade teacher reading to her class and does not do her own work justice. I know she must think how hard is it to read one's own work? but an actor would add so much to this lovely story.

No. I was ready to love the sequel to life in Italy but found Bella Tuscany to flatline.I was disapponited in the lack of depth on the towns charaters and lack of detail about daily life.The author skimmed over the local characters and went into too much detail describing murals, and other works of art. Unless the reader were in the specific chapel, church or museum viewing the same work of art while reading the book,the comments were lost. An avid traveler to Italy who spends months there at a time......I was BORED with this book and the lack of "back story" about the people and ritual of daily Italian village life! I was especially disappointed in the narration! The author showed no passion while she read. I found her monotone voice annoying; she did not draw me in as I had hoped she would; She sounded "disinterested" during the entire reading.......turning this reader/listener off!

No! No! and NO again!

No! There were no "human interest" stories behind the main storyline which was boring!

In this book the author continues her thoughtful, lush style found in Under the Tuscan Sun, but this book is superior to the earlier work in several respects: the author seems more confident in her style; while the focus remains on Tuscany and specifically Cortona, other parts of Italy are visited; and shifting the focus somewhat from house restoration provides for greater engagement with the people, art and culture of Tuscany. Unfortunately, as with the first book, the author continues her wooden style of narration, dampening the pleasure that otherwise comes with this marvelous prose.

I like her books, I love the images of Tuscan (and greater Italian) life. But the narration is awful... I couldn't make it past the first chapter.

I'll stick to the paperback for this one.