August 2006    

A Year in the World Author: Frances Mayes Publisher: Broadway Books $26.00 Cloth (420 p.) ISBN: 0767910052 B&T         YBP Reviewed by Marcia Amidon Lusted, Statusing Having read both of Mayes' first books, Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, I was at first a bit disappointed by this book. Without the narrative thread that those books had, as Mayes buys and fixes up her home in Tuscany, it took me a while to acclimate to this book, which is more of a pure travel book. However, once I became accustomed to the style and the organization, the book quickly became an enjoyable experience. A Year in the World is a collection of travels that Mayes and her husband Ed took at various times during the framework of a year, in places as close to her Tuscan home base as Naples and as far as Scotland and England. Each destination is approached in a slightly different way: her English travels focus on beautiful gardens, her visit to Turkey's Lycian Coast centers around antiquities, and a visit to the Burgundy region of France is a pilgrimage to places where the author Colette lived and wrote. One constant theme runs through every narrative: food, and sometimes to the point where you begin to think that it's the only reason Mayes really wants to travel! Mayes' ability to approach every destination as more than a casual tourist helps make the reader feel that they, too, are experiencing each one of these places on a deeper level. She often rents a home in a particular place so as to be more completely immersed in the culture and meet people beyond the usual tourist round, which also makes the book such involving reading. A Year in the World is a wonderful armchair read, especially if you want a taste of destinations where someone who is well-traveled, as Mayes is, goes when she wants to visit someplace new and fascinating. She knows how to describe a destination and the resulting experiences in a more intimate way that goes beyond the usual travel narrative. If you can't go to these places yourself-and this book will make you want to-then it's the next best thing. Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.