The Newbury Woman's Club Weblog
Serving Newbury, VermontBook Discussion Group
Please join our next discussion on Thursday, October 7, 2021
Please join the group to discuss Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes at the Tenney Memorial Library at 7:00 on Thursday, October 7, 2021.
Please bring a mask to wear inside the library.
“Mayes once again paints a vivid portrait of her beloved Tuscany. I defy you to read her descriptions of blackberry crostata, rotisserie chicken or semolina gnocchi without wondering what’s on your own dinner menu tonight.” — Washington Post
“Frances Mayes is back under the Tuscan sun, and the forecast for readers is bright. . . Italy isn’t the only place where the sun shines, but here it illuminates what’s truly important for these appealing characters, as they ‘va & torna,’ go and return.” — USA Today
“Mayes’s writing about Italy is the next best thing to a plane ticket.” — People Magazine
“The pleasurable descriptions of colors and tastes and various Italian tourist destinations, plus the poetry written by the writer character, the gardens planted by the gardening character, and the handmade paper made by the paper-making character, etc., are enough to keep this party going all year long.” — Kirkus
“Whether in the South or in Italy, Frances Mayes takes us home to a lush, vivid landscape where all senses are engaged. Women in Sunlight, her compelling new novel, transports us emotionally as well, as we watch a cast of memorable women maneuver their lives through many transitions. This novel is a great exploration of process: of writing, of cooking, and most importantly, of living.” — Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life
Kit Raine, an American writer living in Tuscany, is working on a biography of her close friend, a complex woman who continues to cast a shadow on Kit’s own life. Her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women—Julia, Camille, and Susan—all of whom have launched a recent and spontaneous friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. Susan, the most adventurous of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of staid retirement by taking a lease on a big, beautiful house in Tuscany. Though novices in a foreign culture, their renewed sense of adventure imbues each of them with a bright sense of bravery, a gusto for life, and a fierce determination to thrive. But how? With Kit’s friendship and guidance, the three friends launch themselves into Italian life, pursuing passions long-forgotten—and with drastic and unforeseeable results.
Frances Mayes is the author of the now-classic Under the Tuscan Sun, which was a New York Times bestseller for more than two and a half years and became a Touchstone movie starring Diane Lane. Other international bestsellers include: Bella Tuscany, Everyday in Tuscany, A Year in the World, and three illustrated books: In Tuscany, Bringing Tuscany Home, and The Tuscan Sun Cookbook. She is also the author of two novels, Swan and Women in Sunlight. She has written six books of poetry and The Discovery of Poetry. The most recent books are See You in the Piazza and Always Italy. Her books have been translated into more than fifty languages.
Copies of the book are available through interlibrary loan from the library. We look forward to having you join us!
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