Large print book
Women in sunlight : a novel / Frances Mayes.
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.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780525590040 (paperback)
- Physical Description: 576 pages ; 23 cm
- Edition: Large print edition.
- Publisher: New York : Random House Large Print, 2018.
- Copyright: ©2018.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Americans > Italy > Tuscany > Fiction. Women authors > Fiction. Female friendship > Fiction. Large type books. Tuscany (Italy) > Fiction. |
Available copies
- 11 of 11 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Valemount Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 11 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valemount Public Library | f may lp (Text) | 35194014275853 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2018 March #1
George Eliot wrote, "It's never too late to be what you might have been." So discover the women in Mayes' second novel (after Swan, 2002). The author of the acclaimed Under the Tuscan Sun (1996) beckons readers to the Italian countryside once again. There we meet Camille, Susan, and Julia, three women embarking on their twilight years. All are at a turning point in their lives; having lost their partners to death or infidelity, each woman is questioning "what happens next?" Deciding against the expected quiet retirement, they instead choose to take a lease on a Tuscan villa. Upon moving into Villa Assunta, they meet their younger neighbor Kit Raine, an established American poet who becomes their unofficial tour guide to everything Italia. Together, all four women discover passions long lain dormant and friendships that will last a lifetime. With poetic writing and elegant imagery, Women in Sunlight tells a story of friendship, love, and having courage to take a leap of faith into the unknown. For more titles of healing through international travel, see Core Collection: Women's Wanderlust. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2018 February #1
Wish fulfillment of every kind awaits a group of aging American womenâand the reader of this bookâin a fictional Tuscan town.Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world of gorgeous flowers, delicious food and wine, and dear friends who keep getting better all the time while you fulfill your deepest creative potential, escape the pain of your past, get a hot new boyfriend, and learn that your few remaining problems have resolved themselves? Mayes (Under Magnolia, 2014, etc.) has just the spot for you. It's called San Rocco, and it's where Camille, Julia, and Susan decide to live instead of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, retirement community where they first met. Instead of purchasing condos at this dull place, they rent an Italian villa for a year. Their new place is right next door to the home of more established expats, a successful author and her architect husband. At first the writer turns up her nose at the visitors, but as it turns out, they will all have the be st year of their lives, and she will write a book about it. To be honest, a reader could almost skip 50 pages in the middle of Mayes' novel without even realizing it, because there is only the merest whisper of a plot. It takes too long to be able to tell the women apart, and the way the narrative switches between numerous points of view, both first- and third-person, doesn't help. But in the end, none of this matters at all. Open to any page and begin: "He also brought some Sardinian pecorino called Fiore di Monte that Julia raves about and keeps slicing and piling onto a board with slivers of focaccia, olives she baked with hot peppers, and lemon peel. They're in no rush for dinner." Who would be? 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 pa r ty going all year long. Copyright Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2017 November #1
Fans will be delighted that Mayes again puts them Under the Tuscan Sun, where American writer Kit Raine is now living. The biography of a close friend that Kit is writing has begun to weigh, and she's perhaps gratefully distracted when Julia, Camille, and Susan lease a beautiful old house in Tuscany, ready for an Italian adventure that might not go as planned. At least they have Kit to lean on. Sun and fun, food and friendshipâyou can't go wrong.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal. - LJ Express Reviews : LJ Express Reviews
Kit Raine is a fortysomething writer who left the United States to start a new adventure for herself in Tuscany. She's trying to finish a memoir about a friend and colleague, but her work gets sidelined by the arrival of three women next doorâCamille, Susan, and Julia. The four women are inspired by their life in Italy and start to explore new and exciting personal and professional opportunities for themselves. At first intimidated by living in another country, the women immerse themselves in all there is to offer and a few surprises ensue. Those who have experienced Italy firsthand and even readers who have not traveled to Tuscany will easily imagine themselves there, sitting at a café drinking a cappuccino. It is a warm and inspiring story of learning more about yourself and igniting passion. Verdict The author of the best-selling Under the Tuscan Sun transports us to the scenic and beautiful life in Tuscany where she herself lives. Anyone who has read her other books will want to check this out and enjoy la bella vita. [See Prepub Alert, 10/9/17.]âHolly Skir, Broward Cty. Lib., FL (c) Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2018 February #4
Even fans of Mayes's
Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly.Under the Tuscan Sun may have trouble with her latest, a trifle about three American women who impulsively rent a house in Tuscany for a year. They meet while touring a North Carolina retirement community: Camille, 69, and 64-year-old Susan are widows, and Julia is separated from her spouse at 59. Their new neighbors in San Rocco are expatsânoted writer Kit and her longtime partner Colin have lived there for a decade. Not every day in Italy is halcyon, but it often feels that way: everyone becomes great friends and the women age like Benjamin Button. Even Kit, unable to have a baby and certainly not trying, gets pregnant. Camille, who was once a promising painter, experiences an artistic renaissance in scenes that are among the book's most intriguing, but her instant success undercuts their power. Susan and Julia also forge innovative new careers. All the magical light that brightens Mayes's Tuscany has the effect of canceling the shadows that might fall on her characters in a more realistic or layered story. The effect is a book that feels like a movie, but not an especially memorable one.(Apr.)
