regional adventure delicious bittersweet

books:

7 reviews
Marlena De Blasi

Ballantine Books, 2008

Something New from my Favorite Serial Memoirist
That Summer in Sicily is the fourth Marlena de Blasi book I have read. When I picked up the first one, A Thousand Days in Venice, I didn't take to it right away. I am a Texan who writes exactly the way I speak, and I am irritated by flowery prose. However, I am also a sensualist, in love with taste, aroma, color, texture and sound. These elements--these things that define a particular place--come ...

A Thousand Days in Venice

77 reviews
Marlena de Blasi

Virago Press Ltd, 2003

Oh, to live there. . .
This is the sort of romantic story you expect in the movies, not real life. To find your great love, almost by accident, in Venice, while walking through Piazza San Marco, seems impossible and yet that's exactly what happened to the author. Sharing this lovely story gives us all a chance to dream. And it isn't just ordinary sharing, but beautifully crafted description of a place that boasts an ...

A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure

24 reviews
Marlena De Blasi

Ballantine Books, 2005

From Venice to Tuscany
Left wanting more from Ms. DeBlasi's previous book, I moved with her from Venice to Tuscany and never wanted to leave. The prose in these books is as sumptuous as the life seems to be--rich in detail, rich in emotion and rich in love for the place, the people and the food. Through Ms. DeBlasi's pen, we are immersed in tender moments, breathtaking settings and relationships of great depth, which ...

The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria

1 review
Marlena De Blasi

Tantor Media, 2007

The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria
Interesting background of Italian Life in Umbria but very thin story line. Well read on the CD

Regional Foods of Southern Italy

6 reviews
Marlena de Blasi

Viking Adult, 1999

MUCH, MUCH MORE THAN AN ITALIAN COOKBOOK!
What a wonderful book! The stories associated with the recipes are just amazing. Especially the story of Elisabetta, the seventy year old restaurateur--who began her career at the age of sixty-one--that told the author she has just come into her stride. The Polenta with Braised Pork and Roasted Red Peppers recipe that was included with this story was great. If you have an opportunity to ...

Regional Foods of Northern Italy: Recipes and Remembrances

3 reviews
Marlena De Blasi

Prima Lifestyles, 1997

DESERVES TO BE IN THE KITCHEN OF EVERY SERIOUS COOK
As I write this review, the book is out-of-stock. I want to share this book with everyone, so I am hoping that my review will change things around. First of all, the recipes in this book are complex -- but -- there are books that are much more challenging. Haute Mexican and Japanese cuisine are more difficult, the first because it grew out of a class culture where the food was cooked by ...

A Taste of Southern Italy: Delicious Recipes and a Dash of Culture

3 reviews
Marlena De Blasi

Ballantine Books, 2006

A delicious read. Buy It!
`A Taste of Southern Italy - Delicious Recipes and a Dash of Culture' by Marlena De Blasi, who has done a similar book for northern Italy and several volumes of memoirs, is not your usual study of a regional cuisine. It is certainly not the usual study of an Italian regional cuisine, which are among the very best in English on local food culture. The book covers Italy from Lazio (Rome) and ...

The Lady in the Palazzo: An Umbrian Love Story

2 reviews
Marlena de Blasi

Algonquin Books, 2008

Schmaltz
Some people may enjoy this book. But I found the author self-indulgent and sentimental. I should add that I am an Italophile and have spent a couple of years in Italy--both for work and pleasure. I cold not recommend this to anyone.

The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria

15 reviews
Marlena de Blasi

Algonquin Books, 2006

De Blasi does it again!
So many authors do one "hit" book and then start rushing out second-rate sequels to capitalize on the success of the first one. Well, not Marlena D.B. I've enjoyed all three of her books VERY much. The whole saga of dealing with Italian real estate in "Palazzo" is absolutely incredible -- and I loved her portraits of Miranda, Tilde and Edgardo (was that the Count's name?). Anyway, if you ...

A Thousand Days in Tuscany

1 review
Marlena de Blasi

Virago Press Ltd, 2005

A foodie memoir/travelogue
This is a mouth-watering book for those who enjoy really good foodwriting. de Blasi is a food writer and critic who moved to Italy and has set up her own food business there with her husband. This book was originally titled Dolce e Salata - sweet and salty - which i thought was a much more suitable title. It is both about her experiences in this amazing region and the food she tasted and shares ...

A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure
Marlena De Blasi

Algonquin Books, 2004

Tausend Tage in Venedig. Eine Romanze mit Rezepten.
Marlena de Blasi

Eichborn, 2003

Tausend Tage in der Toskana
Marlena de Blasi

Eichborn Verlag Ag, 2005

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