A village in Tuscany is the setting for this joyous debut—a novel that defies all our expectations as it puts a fresh, clever, captivating sp...
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reviews
Sep 02, 2011
Tracey
rated it: 
Wow. Just – wow. I really wasn’t sure when I started … but wow – e cosi bello!
I’ll never look at tomato sauce the same way again.
It was an extraordinary book. It’s a fable about how the tomato came to Europe, and how it overcame the strange, popular prejudice that it was extremely and immediately poisonous, to become inseparable from Italian cuisine. It’s also about a wicked stepfather, the oppression of Jews in early Renaissance Europe, the curing of olives, Christopher More...
I’ll never look at tomato sauce the same way again.
It was an extraordinary book. It’s a fable about how the tomato came to Europe, and how it overcame the strange, popular prejudice that it was extremely and immediately poisonous, to become inseparable from Italian cuisine. It’s also about a wicked stepfather, the oppression of Jews in early Renaissance Europe, the curing of olives, Christopher More...
2 comments
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Jan 18, 2012
Judy
rated it: 
Adam Schell has cooked up a gourmet treat to delight all the readers' senses. His recipe includes bushels of charm, wit and cleverness mixed with a delicious plot and saucy personalities. Take above ingredients and wrap them in Tuscan history, sprinkle with a dash of suspense, season with heartbreak, Christopher Columbus (really!) and failure, then steam all the above in sweet romance for 338 pages and glory in a delectable gourmet treat.
Davido and his grandfather are sixteenth century More...
Davido and his grandfather are sixteenth century More...
13 comments
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(9 people liked it)
Dec 29, 2010
David
rated it:
Fabulous! Wonderful! Amid the slew of dreary American fiction, obsessed with dysfunctional families, addiction and vampires (YUCK!), I cannot tell you how delighted I was by this utterly original and refreshing novel. I have long loved works of historical fiction, but, truth be told, I often find them a bit dry, but not this one. Tomato Rhapsody had the literary chops and substance that I hope for in good literature, but oh my, an exuberant humor leaped from the page. Yes, it took me a few chap
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0 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Oct 09, 2009
Vince
rated it:
I fear for Adam Schell: it isn't going to be easy for him to write another book as good as this one. This one is very, very good - marvelous, in fact.
It takes a little effort to enter the world of this novel, accustom oneself to the idiom in which it is written, and enter the flow of the narrative. Some of the descriptions repeat in a Homeric way which is both enthralling and sometimes frustrating. My usual diet is Lee Child, Robert B. Parker and John Connolly, more action and dial More...
It takes a little effort to enter the world of this novel, accustom oneself to the idiom in which it is written, and enter the flow of the narrative. Some of the descriptions repeat in a Homeric way which is both enthralling and sometimes frustrating. My usual diet is Lee Child, Robert B. Parker and John Connolly, more action and dial More...
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(2 people liked it)
Sep 10, 2009
Signora
rated it:
I just finished reading a delightful new book: "Tomato Rhapsody" by Adam Schell. It is quite unique...part fable, part history, part Shakespearean opera, part comedy, part romance. It is a work of fiction and is set in Tuscany in the 16th century. The plot is built on the historical information regarding the introduction of the tomato to Italy by the Spanish who brought it from the New World. In this particular case, the Spanish was a Spanish Jew who survived the Inquisition in Spa
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(1 person liked it)
Jun 04, 2011
Denae
rated it: 
I kept hoping it would get better. For a short time it seemed as though it would. Then we got to the donkey dicks. This book came highly recommended to me. It presents a fantastic example of how two people with generally similar tastes can diverge drastically.
I found myself struggling with the writing from the very beginning. It was verbose and reminiscent of a student who has not yet learned which adjectives are descriptive and which merely distract. The plot felt disjointed. The au More...
I found myself struggling with the writing from the very beginning. It was verbose and reminiscent of a student who has not yet learned which adjectives are descriptive and which merely distract. The plot felt disjointed. The au More...
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(2 people liked it)
Jun 30, 2009
Amanda
rated it:
I usually read more modern interpretations of Italian life and food (Frances Mayes, John Berendt), so Tomato Rhapsody did require a mental step back in time. Once I jumped back into this world before pasta sauce, it was easy to fall in love with the Tuscan village and it's interesting cast of characters. I was completely pulled into their daily life of market days and traditions like the testosterone and wine-fueled donkey race. The characters are easy to love or hate, and Schell's descriptive w
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(2 people liked it)
May 12, 2009
Laura
rated it:
I received an advanced copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program. I chose it after a number of other reviews had already been written--some good, some bad. It sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a chance.
When I first started the book, I wasn't sure what to think. It has lots of flowery and wordy descriptive passages. There is a narrator who appears regularly throughout the book to explain why some things are the way they are and what is going on in the story. It also More...
When I first started the book, I wasn't sure what to think. It has lots of flowery and wordy descriptive passages. There is a narrator who appears regularly throughout the book to explain why some things are the way they are and what is going on in the story. It also More...
Dec 29, 2011
Ala
rated it:
You say Tomato, I say WTF.
After having read this, I am left with nothing but a profound sense of loss. As if millions(alright, maybe dozens) of my brain cells cried out at once, and were suddenly silenced.
It's just so... bad.
Let me see if I can explain why. But before I start this review in earnest, allow me a moment to discuss with you this paper I read once by Professor Fukital who wrote that eminent treatise on reviews and the art of reviewing titled " More...
After having read this, I am left with nothing but a profound sense of loss. As if millions(alright, maybe dozens) of my brain cells cried out at once, and were suddenly silenced.
It's just so... bad.
Let me see if I can explain why. But before I start this review in earnest, allow me a moment to discuss with you this paper I read once by Professor Fukital who wrote that eminent treatise on reviews and the art of reviewing titled " More...
5 comments
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(6 people liked it)
May 08, 2009
David
rated it:
A bookseller friend of mine passed along her ARC of TOMATO RHAPSODY to me and I just fell in love with this novel. It was a wonderfully funny and heartfelt read. On the surface, TR is an oft told Shakespearean-like story of forbidden love between an Ebreo (Jewish) tomato Farmer and a Catholic olive grower set in a 16th century Tuscany, but like a good Shakespearean farce there are a feast of subplots, history, faux-history and a dazzling array of characters--I was especially taken by the Good Pa
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Aug 02, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
This book was a real treat to read. Often when I read, I can see the story in my own head as though it were a movie. This has a unique style that came across more like something you'd watch on the stage instead of the screen. That style worked perfectly for this story, setting, and the characters. This reminded me of Shakespeare's comedies, without the difficult, old-world language.
The subtitle of "...love, lust, and forbidden fruit" is exactly what you'll get from this boo More...
The subtitle of "...love, lust, and forbidden fruit" is exactly what you'll get from this boo More...
Jul 27, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
This is a terrible book. The only reason I finished reading it was because I had nothing else with me to read on a long bus ride.
The author is an obvious snob who tries to show off how awesome he is through his writing, instead of actually writing a good story. He goes into needless side diatribes about the history of food, the amazingness of this recipe, and various theories on story-telling, and oh look! His story is obeying those rules perfectly! Not to mention the unnecessa More...
The author is an obvious snob who tries to show off how awesome he is through his writing, instead of actually writing a good story. He goes into needless side diatribes about the history of food, the amazingness of this recipe, and various theories on story-telling, and oh look! His story is obeying those rules perfectly! Not to mention the unnecessa More...
Dec 14, 2009
Karin
rated it:
I found this book to be a fun read, though perhaps my Italian roots assisted my enjoyment factor!
It takes place in 13th century Italy and tells the story of how the forbidden fruit (tomato) was introduced to a village, by a Hebrew farming family. Yes, according to this tale (footnoted with interesting historical details), the tomato was introduced by Jewish farmers, while shunned and feared by Catholics of the times. The descriptions of cheeses, olives, basil, garlic and tomatoes served More...
It takes place in 13th century Italy and tells the story of how the forbidden fruit (tomato) was introduced to a village, by a Hebrew farming family. Yes, according to this tale (footnoted with interesting historical details), the tomato was introduced by Jewish farmers, while shunned and feared by Catholics of the times. The descriptions of cheeses, olives, basil, garlic and tomatoes served More...
Jun 08, 2009
Tina DC
rated it:
Set in 16th century Italy, 'Tomato Rhapsody' is a story you won't soon forget. The strange cast of charaters includes Davido and his grandfather (two Jews in the minority amongst a country of Catholics), Mari and her evil stepfather and cripled mother, a massively large Good Padre whose skin has been dyed the color of an eggplant, Bobo the jester and his puppet Bobolito, a man whose left testicle was eaten by a goose, and the Duke of Tuscany and his son Gian who wears a dress.
As we More...
As we More...
May 26, 2010
BookGirl
rated it: 
Set in Tuscany in the early 1500’s, this bawdy novel tells the story of Davido, a Jewish tomato farmer who falls in love with Mari, a Catholic olive grower, while at the same time, spinning a yarn about how the tomato came to Italy. The author animates his story with a cast of oddball characters, including rhyming villagers, a town fool, a murderous stepfather and his loyal henchman, a duke who wants to be a farmer, lusty barmaids and a priest whose skin has been dyed the purple of an eggplant.
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Feb 11, 2012
Brenda
rated it:
I have to ponder over why this book has received such disparate reviews. It seems as if it is either loved or hated and I can't understand why. The same writing is either described as sublime or very bad. My fear is that humanity is losing its sense of humorous or that it expects a vampire in every story or that a novel must adhere to a set formula. I don't know and cannot presume to guess - only ponder. I loved this book, the story, the characters, the description of the food, the historical as
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Sep 22, 2010
LynnB
rated it:
Tomato Rhapsody: A Novel of Love, Lust, and Forbidden Fruit by Adam Schell is a bawdy story set in 16th century Tuscany. The plot is set around the introduction of the tomato to Italy. The story is fictional, but I enjoyed the historical bits that the author worked into the story. The residents of the village spoke in a dialect that evolved in Tuscany which largely involved rhyming sentences. The characters were easy to imagine and I loved the feel of the era to the story.
My only More...
My only More...
May 12, 2009
Mitch
rated it:
Passionate and funny and deep. And, did you know that the Jews brought Tomatoes to Italy? I found myself waving off my kids over the weekend so I could keep reading. I remember when I read T.C. Boyle's insanely great book, "Water Music", thinking how does this guy walk this tightrope of historical storytelling while being completely irreverent and
relevant? How does he lie while telling the truth, or visa versa and make it so I didn't really care about the historical facts an More...
relevant? How does he lie while telling the truth, or visa versa and make it so I didn't really care about the historical facts an More...
Aug 08, 2009
Amanda
rated it:
Rating this book was tricky. In the beginning, I only read it because I won it from goodreads. For the first half, that really was the only thing keeping me going. I got through the second half because I Had To Know how it ended. The book is described as "a brilliantly inventive fable of love, lust, and longing." This I get, and this part I liked. It's the "almost true" story of how the tomato was introduced to Italy and revolves around Davido, an Ebreo (which is Italia
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Jun 30, 2010
Judith
rated it:
If you like a touch of romance with whack of reality and just enough naughty you will love this book. I could not put it down. The words are put together in a manner that would make Shakespeare smile. The introduction of characters is delightful and the added bits of narration and footnotes rather charming. There is a hero and a heroin, a good padre, naturally a villan, a duke and what would a story be without a fool to add a tough of truth. It's a cleaver book, no information is wasted, as odd
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Jun 21, 2009
Russell
rated it:
Funny, intelligent, and perfect, I didn’t' know modern writers still mustered the strength to concoct such deliciously delightful skilled displays of literary genius. I've read just under half of the book on my way to New York and found myself seized by the strange emotion of worrying its going to end. All things have cycles and this cycle of reading will be one of my better seasons this stuffed head of mine has partaken. The next book I pick up better be very different and very, very good be
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Oct 22, 2011
Janice
rated it:
I don't know what category to place this book. It doesn't seem to fit any mold, unless it's tomato aspic. It made me think of The Princess Bride and even Shakespear's comedies (not that I've read a lot of Shakespear).
This fable is a fun romp through Tuscany when the tomato (or love apple) was introduced to Italy. The story of the star crossed lovers is told in a lyrical poetic style and vividly brings all the characters to life while praising the virtues of the tomato. You may eve More...
This fable is a fun romp through Tuscany when the tomato (or love apple) was introduced to Italy. The story of the star crossed lovers is told in a lyrical poetic style and vividly brings all the characters to life while praising the virtues of the tomato. You may eve More...
4 comments
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(4 people liked it)
May 12, 2011
Krissy
rated it:
Oh my goodness! This book had absolutely everything! Love, whimsy, religion, comedy, tragedy, despair, delicious recipes, fake history, real history, and most importantly - surprises at every twist in the plot. I simply could not read this fast enough. I embraced the characters immediately and laughed and cried right along with them. It was hard for me to believe that this was Schell's first novel. His writing style is so well-developed and effortless. Without question the best book I hav
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Aug 11, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
What a great read.
I loved that I read it is August during a relatively hot spell (so rare in Chicago) as it brought the book to life.
It reads like a Shakespearean play with the odd cast of characters with all of their secrets and their relationships with one another.
I would love to see more about these characters, perhaps an in-depth story about Nonno's voyage with Christopher Columbus? He seemed like he could get into some mischief.
If you like to read good books, pi
I loved that I read it is August during a relatively hot spell (so rare in Chicago) as it brought the book to life.
It reads like a Shakespearean play with the odd cast of characters with all of their secrets and their relationships with one another.
I would love to see more about these characters, perhaps an in-depth story about Nonno's voyage with Christopher Columbus? He seemed like he could get into some mischief.
If you like to read good books, pi
Apr 09, 2009
Claire
rated it:
Romance, history, the inquisition, nefarious land grabs., set in Tuscany, late August in the 1600s amid the mistrust of that new fruit- the tomato, grown by - horrors (!) a Jew!
Almost a dream, definitely a reverie, in a time when alliances are pragmatic, and certainly not romantic the love apple intervenes between a tomato farmer and a beautiful olive grower. At once fanciful and diabolical we root for the young lovers even as all appears lost.
Almost a dream, definitely a reverie, in a time when alliances are pragmatic, and certainly not romantic the love apple intervenes between a tomato farmer and a beautiful olive grower. At once fanciful and diabolical we root for the young lovers even as all appears lost.
Jun 27, 2009
Roblyn
rated it:
This book was very entertaining - it's one I received from the give away section of GoodReads - I'm not sure I would have picked it up otherwise, but am glad I had the opportunity to read it. It was an interesting writing style - sort of a mix between an informative historical fiction, Shakespeare, and a mellow drama/romance. I liked the way the author switched the style of the narration throughout the book and the plot was interesting. I would read more from this author.
Jul 16, 2009
Veronica
rated it:
A lush, juicy, saucey book. The characters are wonderful. The words are flowery and richly gilded. Plot is funny, sad, sexy, savory, and lusty. I could just visualize the characters, the village, and countryside. I also enjoyed how Mr Schell played with the names of the characters and the rhyming of the villagers. A delightful book I recommend for pure simple enjoyment.
Sep 01, 2011
Kayla
rated it:
I'm waffling between a 3 and 4 star rating. I thought it was slow to get into, but in the end I had a hard time putting it down. The author felt the need to mention at least one character's genitalia per page, but most references were in Italian which, at least, makes it more artistic sounding! (Yeah, not really.) It was funny and heart-warming in an odd sort of bawdy, dark-ages, Italian way.
Mar 06, 2010
Ruth
rated it:
This took a while to get into as each character was introduced. Then the story was interesting but not drawing you in. By the end the book completely redeemed itself. On a literary note, the book was well written and clever. The end of the book kept you engaged and turning the pages because you really did want to know what was going to happen.
Sep 20, 2009
Trebledb
rated it:
One of the most original books I have ever read. Set in 16th century Tuscany in a village where everyone speaks in rhyme. Comic twists on the village priest, the village idiot, the village squire plus the prevailing Jewish/Christian antagonism. Throw a few tomatoes into it and you have a cartoonish movie possibility, ala Simpsons.
