Product Description

Isabella Dusi, a native Australian, settled in Montalcino, a beautiful mountain eyrie famous for its wine and the proud nature of its inhabitants, five years ago. Her acceptance into this close-knit community was a hard-won thing and has inspired Isabella to capture the true spirit of Montalcino. VANILLA BEANS AND BRODO tells of the bloody history of this mediaeval village which has lefts its mark on the character traits of the Montalcinese, but also offers a rare insight into the anxiety, joy, fun and pressure of daily life as it unfolds with the seasons. An evocative story of the rivalry between village neighbourhoods, of football fever and festival pageantry, Isabella Dusi destroys the myth that Tuscan villages are tranquil places and instead reveals a life infinitely rich and full of dramas. This moving, often humorous journey will change forever the cliched image of Tuscany and bring real understanding of the fierce passion of today's Tuscans for their a! ncient village, their fertile land and their life in Montalcino.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #154570 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-07
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 456 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Traditionally, foreign writers describing a country adopt the outsider's point of view and focus on the more quaint and amusing aspects of the locals' lives. This is particularly true of Italy, where the more exotic side of the country is maximised and the lives of people treated as being less important. Not so in Isabella Dusi's fascinating Vanilla Beans and Brodo which takes the radical (and fascinating) approach of dealing with the day-to-day lives of those who live in the beautiful Tuscan Hills. In fact, the book is subtitled Real Life in the Hills of Tuscany, and the author (who sold all she owned to travel halfway around the world and settle in the exquisite mountain eyrie of Montalcino) makes the descriptions of the seasons and countryside as evocative as one could wish, but her real subject is the people. Finding it initially difficult to be accepted into this close-knit wine community, she gradually wins their respect and friendship.

The experiences of the author in the village--as different from English life as could be imagined--are totally absorbing. But this is no mere pleasant pictorial--Isabella Dusi conjures genuine drama as summer approaches and wild storms threaten to destroy the grape harvest. We are given, en route, the bloody history of this medieval village, but what stays with the reader is the incident-packed lives of the inhabitants: a million miles away from most people's placid image of life in this most beautiful part of the world. If you want to live another life for a few hours, here's your chance. --Barry Forshaw

Synopsis
Foreign writers living in Italy frequently treat the local people as an exotic species to provide amusing stories for their readers. Sipping cappuccino and supping pasta, rarely do they perceive what is going on around them, nor understand the complexity of life for today's Italians. Isabella Dusi came from Australia to settle in Montalcino, a Tuscan mountain eyrie famous for its wine. Her acceptance into this close-knit community was a hard-won thing. This text is her account of life there, offering a rare insight into the anxiety, joy, fun and pressure of inhabiting this medieval village. It also tells of the village's bloody history which has left its mark on the character traits of the Montalcinese. In this evocative story of the rivalry between village neighbourhoods, of football fever and festival pageantry, Isabella Dusi destroys the myth that Tuscan villages are tranquil places and instead reveals a life infinitely rich and full of dramas. This moving and often humorous journey changes the cliched image of Tuscany and brings real understanding of the fierce passion of today's Tuscans for their ancient village, their fertile land and their life in Montalcino.

From the Publisher
At last, the real Tuscany is revealed.
Foreign writers living in Italy frequently treat the local people as an exotic species who provide amusing stories for their readers. In Vanilla Beans and Brodo Isabella Dusi writes about `real life' in the medieval village of Montalcino, its history and what has made its inhabitants, the Montalcinese, the proud citizens that they are today.

Rather than just observing Isabella has become part of the community, she has listened to their stories, researched and partaken in their customs and more importantly been accepted by the Montalcinese as a true resident and friend - after five years Isobel and Lou have become Isabella and Luigi.

Isabella describes the rivalry between the village neighbourhoods, the passion for football and the local Brunello wine, destroying the myth that Tuscan villages are tranquil places and revealing a life rich and packed with drama. Vanilla Beans and Brodo will change forever the clichéd image of Tuscany and bring real understanding of daily Tuscan life in Montalcino.

Isabella Dusi gave up a successful career, sold everything and travelled from Australia to Italy with her husband Luigi to start a new life. This is not their story, it is the story of Montalcino and the Montalcinese - It has been beautifully written and like the Montalcinese, it is so full of colour and passion that you'll think you are in Tuscany.

Customer Reviews

Trivial
I really found this book self-absorbed and trivial and therefore incredibly annoying. If you know anything at all about beautiful, interesting Tuscany it adds nothing further to your experience or understanding, and if you don't know the place then it gives you nothing either. It's not well-written and the writer makes inexcusable and elementary errors of Italian. Of all the many "ex-pat living the simple life in the Mediterranean" books on the market this is not one that I can say has anything at all to recommend it. I would give it 0 stars if I could.

Gushing in Tuscany
Have you ever read a gushing magazine article and come away feeling slightly guilty about the waste of time, and rather nauseated by the material itself, yet unable to put it down? That is more or less the sensation I had after reading this book.

The book is written - very badly - in breathless prose. The author tells us all we ever wanted to know about the wine-producing village of Montalcino but manages to make it appear commonplace. She only hints at the differences between the townsfolk and the wine-producers, and does not mention at all the difficult reality of living in Tuscany.

There is so much that is glossed over in this book: politics, religion etc. The author seems a perpetual tourist not wishing to give offence to anyone. It would be interesting to see how she would deal with the current scandal over the authenticity of some of the wine sold under the Brunello label.

Finally, do not think this is a relation of Frances Mayes' classic. It does not come anywhere close. Read Mayes or Ferenc Mate instead if you want to find out about living in Tuscany.

Disappointing
I was expecting a wonderful emotive story, albeit more factual than a lot of travel writings on Tuscany. However, what I got was a travelogue with an in-depth history of the area, which had to be ploughed through before you could actually lose yourself in the story, and even then there was loads more 'history' to cope with. I was quite disappointed with this book. Having read the Marlene Blasi books, 1000 Days in Venice and 1000 Days in Tuscany, which I simploy could not put down, this was a very poor effort indeed.