As seductive as A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, but with the wit and charm of a 1930s romantic comedy, the true-life adventure of a couple who chucked New York for a new life in Tuscany. The Mates arrived in Tuscany in the late 1980s knowing no Italian and with only four weeks to search for the country house of their dreams. On their last night there, after having been chased by wild boars and befriended by a country realtor who also sells pigs and coffins, they finally concluded the deal on the hood of a rusting tractor with the lawyer speaking Italian and them responding in French, English, and Hungarian, in a Tower of Babel version of "Who's on First?" So begins Ferenc Mat's endearing, in-love-with-life memoir of their first five years in Tuscany, by turns buoyant, reflective, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. His engaging, often poetic prose describes the way of life they were looking for and found-where neighbors, community, home, and, most of all, children, form the focal point of daily life. They live in a small thirteenth-century monastery, surrounded by their vineyards and olive groves, in the spectacular hills near Siena, a few miles from where The English Patient was filmed. The Hills of Tuscany-steeped in mesmerizing scenery and wonderful medieval towns, full of unforgettably delightful characters and spectacular food and wine-nourishes body, mind, and soul. If you're not passionately in love with life at the moment, you'll be hopelessly so by the time you turn the last page.
A sensuous valentine to author Ferenc Máté's adopted homeland, The Hills of Tuscany brims with lush descriptions of golden dales, scrumptious meals, rich wines, and friendly natives. After years of nomadic roaming from Central America to Canada, Máté (a writer) and his wife, Candace (a painter), visit Tuscany and impulsively decide that this is where they will settle down. A year later they return and begin the hunt for their dream house. As the likeable Mátés (they're funny and suitably grateful for the chance to live in one of the world's garden spots) troll the countryside with a series of colorful Tuscan middlemen, it's impossible not to become emotionally involved in their quest. And when they finally discover the perfect abode--La Marinaia, a tastefully renovated stone farmhouse set amid scenery that Ferenc describes as "like being in the middle of a painting"--you're thrilled right along with them. Subsequent chapters follow the Mátés' growing friendship with their neighbors, who not only help rototill the garden but also reveal where to find porcini mushrooms and truffles in the nearby woods. All in all, reading The Hills of Tuscany is the next best thing to quitting your job, climbing on a plane, and finding your own Tuscan dream house. --Rebecca Gleason
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Loving all things Italian:
I enjoyed this book. I will be going back to Italy in the fall and will probably visit some small hill towns. Since this book, the Mates are now living in another part of Italy. It was fun to read. Once you read this one then read the next book "A Vineyard in Tuscany: A Wine Lover's Dream".
Experiencing Tuscany:
I thought this book was an easy read and pleasant. It was just kind of a diary of the day to day life the author experienced when he bought a home in Tuscany. It was not an in depth study of life as a foreigner in a foreign country but then again I don't think that was his purpose in writing it.
Tuscany at its best:
Very enjoyable reading, especially if you have vacationed in this area. I could picture the coutry side and the town of Montepluciana that he wrote about. I loved the area and loved Ferenc Mate's book, "The Hills of Tuscany". Some of us wishes that we could trade places with him, living there sounds devine.
Thoughts from Judith Petres Balogh:
What a delightful arm-chair journey The Hills of Tuscany is! Máté's descriptions involve all senses and beyond that they make the reader yearn for something simple, ancient and cozy, -- to be close to earth and to our fellowmen, and to rediscover the joy of unpretentious things. His enjoyment of life is so obvious that his book would be a pleasure regardless where he settled, be it the Arctic Circle or the rainforest of Costa Rica.
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