Why does she leave S.F.? Two of her closest friends give her a ticket for a gay bus tour of Italy and she jumps off the bus to look into a ramshackle old country house up for sale. Diane Lane, as the changed-from-the-memoir Frances, abandons San Francisco after her never shown cad husband divorces her, getting the house she once loved. Based so loosely on Frances Mayes's own account of her regeneration in beautiful Italy as to carry an end credit pronouncing that substantial fictionalization replaced key true details, writer and director Audrey Wells crafted a stunning vehicle for Diane Lane whose radiance projects from the screen powerfully.

It was pretty predictable.'Under the Tuscan Sun' is a polarizing film that seems to leave viewers (and critics) either in love with a story of growth and renewal or dismissive of its line. Pretty much your typical romantic comedy. It was a sweet, feel-good movie set in beautiful Italy. She also meets many wonderfully colorful characters along her journey. She has a wonderful best friend played by Sandra Oh. The movie follow Francis Mayes on her journey to heal from a broken heart and discovers that her divorce was not the end. Diane Lane does a great job playing Francis Mayes. However, the movie is all about self discovery. The name of the villa is Bramasole (just like in the book) and it goes into detail about the renovation setbacks, scorpions and quirky contractors.

The movie gives several nods to the book. She travels to Tuscany to get away, clear her head and ends up buying a run-down villa. The movie stars Diane Lane who plays Francis Mayes, a writer, who is recently divorced after discovering her husband was cheating on her. The movie is a romantic comedy about a woman trying to find herself in Tuscany after she discovers her husband cheated on her. The book was filled with amazing Italian imagery and yummy recipes. The book was a memoir of the daily life of Francis Mayes after she bought a fixer upper in Tuscany. One thing is for sure is there is no way to compare the book and the movie.

With this book there was obviously lots of wine. It was not a page turner but beautifully written! We also watched the movie at our discussion. I read Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes with my book club.

Under the tuscan sun book review