First published 2004
Marlena de Blasi leaves her Venetian life behind when she and her husband Fernando relocate to a converted stable in rural Tuscany. Their new home sits among two hundred villagers, centuries-old olive groves, and natural hot springs where three Italian regions meet. Marlena throws herself into the rhythms of country life, harvesting grapes and chestnuts, hunting wild mushrooms, and climbing trees in winter cold to pick olives by hand. She encounters Barlozzo, an enigmatic village leader who draws her into local customs through sacred festivals and traditional cooking over wood fires. They braise beans in red wine and simmer wild boar stew in hearth ashes while he shares farming wisdom and ancient remedies. But Barlozzo guards mysteries he won't reveal, including secrets about the lovely Floriana, whose struggle with illness shows Marlena that choosing happiness requires courage. Through food and friendship, Marlena discovers what it means to belong to this patch of earth.
Genres: historical-fiction, biography-memoir, cooking, 21st-century, food-and-drink
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, lyrical
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Tuscany, Venetian
Period: 21st-century
337 pages · Kindle Edition · Algonquin Books