Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
176th out of 765 books
—
1,210 voters
An Italian Affair
by
Laura Fraser
When Laura Fraser's husband leaves her for his high school sweetheart, she takes off, on impulse, for Italy, hoping to leave some of her sadness behind. There, on the island of Ischia, she meets M., an aesthetics professor from Paris with an oversized love of life. What they both assume will be a casual vacation tryst turns into a passionate, transatlantic love affair, as...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
May 7th 2002
by Vintage
(first published May 29th 2001)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,917)
I just finished this book and enjoyed it. L. Fraser did a great job telling a love affair story and keeping it tasteful, not loosing the story to the love affair alone. The story is told through the eyes of the female character and it is about the emotional healing and the blossoming of two human beings in their middle ages. One thing I really like about the book as that although the two are very passionate about one another they continue to lead their own lives and honoring their own separate l...more
How do you heal yourself after losing love? In the vein of Eat, Pray, Love, Fraser tells how she put a heart-breaking divorce behind her after a chance meeting with a Parisian professor in Italy who helped restore her self-confidence and her lust for life (and other things).
What really struck me about this book was the travelog feel throughout. Fraser is a skilled travel writer, and those skills are put to good use here as she offers a real taste of each location she visits to the reader. As she...more
What really struck me about this book was the travelog feel throughout. Fraser is a skilled travel writer, and those skills are put to good use here as she offers a real taste of each location she visits to the reader. As she...more
I have to change my rating and review because I did end up finishing the book. The travel was so interesting that I would have to say I liked the writing, but the fact that it was completely driven by a sad relationship diminishes my enjoyment of this book. When I first decided to give up, the relationship had become too graphic, but she didn't continue in that vein, so I was spared the details that are all written in 2nd person, giving me the sleazy feeling that I'm participating. I kept turnin...more
I wasn't too impressed with this book. I didn't enjoy the second person writing style, I didn't feel like the story had a great point, and I didn't agree with the author's behavior/philosophy. It seemed like the whole book was about a crushed/divorced woman who meets up with a guy every 6 months or so and has lots of sex. I didn't really feel like her story took her on a great journey of healing or enlightenment, she just kind of got over her divorce and described her sexual exploits. It wasn't...more
view 1 comment
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book.
What I like: I love the description of the many locales in Italy (particularly Florence) and San Francisco which are reminiscent of holidays I have spent in both places. The sensory descriptions take me right back to some wonderful memories of time spent there.
What I don't like: The author never really develops, in my mind, a true relationship with this guy she randomly meets and beds multiple times. The "relationship" isn't really a relat...more
What I like: I love the description of the many locales in Italy (particularly Florence) and San Francisco which are reminiscent of holidays I have spent in both places. The sensory descriptions take me right back to some wonderful memories of time spent there.
What I don't like: The author never really develops, in my mind, a true relationship with this guy she randomly meets and beds multiple times. The "relationship" isn't really a relat...more
100% a light, quick, easy read - in fact, I knocked it out over Thanksgiving weekend while my parents were visiting.
And it's exactly what the back cover describes - "When Laura Fraser's husband leaves her for his high school sweetheart, she takes off, on impulse, for Italy, hoping to leave some of her sadness behind. There, on the island of Ischia, she meets M., an aesthetics professor from Paris with an oversized love of life. What they both assume will be a casual vacation tryst turns into a...more
And it's exactly what the back cover describes - "When Laura Fraser's husband leaves her for his high school sweetheart, she takes off, on impulse, for Italy, hoping to leave some of her sadness behind. There, on the island of Ischia, she meets M., an aesthetics professor from Paris with an oversized love of life. What they both assume will be a casual vacation tryst turns into a...more
So many potent quotables in this adorable travel memoir. Laura Fraser makes me believe in the infinite possibilities of living la dolce vita with plenty of far niente thrown in. I've said this of her other travel memoir, and I'm saying it again...she makes me feel like I'm not alone in the crippling aftermath of a divorce from someone I should have never married. But I also learned something new here: no matter what transpired or the whys and how's of a failed relationship, its all a part of my...more
This book was interesting from two perspectives: it is the journey through a relationship that the author has/had with a man she met while on a trip to Italy, and it is also a travelogue of the various places (including the author's home city of San Francisco) she visits during the time this relationship was occurring. The author succeeds in effectively taking the reader along with her on both trips. The author has a great, no-nonsense way of writing, and there is not a drop of self-pity or over...more
This book is everything I love about Italy, traveling, european men, and even California. I immediately felt like I was in each and every location.
This book provides a great mini-vacation from the comfort of your living room.
This book provides a great mini-vacation from the comfort of your living room.
What an amazing read. Truly inspiring the mind and heart to keep searching even when you feel you have hit rock bottom. And what a great read about Italy and Italian men. Great book to get lost in for a weekend...
Well written, although the choice of "you" in place of a traditional first person narrative was annoying. This didn't get four stars for that reason alone. An interesting beach read, it wasn't full of the "woe is me," nonsense I expected, and a good travelogue. In fact, I'm tempted to research the author's travel writing in order to find out some of the hotels she likes, even though they remain nameless in the book. Everything, including hotels, is anonymized and there is a sort of cool, deliber...more
While I don't hand out 5 stars too often, neither do I give too many books a single star, but this was all I could offer. And I had such high hopes for this book since my dream is to visit Italy. The traveling part of the story was okay, the 2nd person narrative drove me insane!! And then the author's behavior was so pettish and clingy. I felt that she needed a man to validate herself. While I am not a expressing feminism here, only the fact that as humans, we do not need another person to make...more
I almost didn't continue with this book because it was written in second person, which is very annoying. It is a memoir and she refers to herself as "you" throughout the whole book. Once she meets M. and starts interacting with him and having conversations, it is less distracting. Once I got past the first couple of chapters I found it to be quite good. The travel descriptions are detailed but you don't feel as though you are reading a travel guide. And, it is an interesting perspective she has...more
This was a good book. I chose it to hear about Italy but was able to see the ups and downs of Laura's life. It was interesting to see how she handled a life changing event and made the most of the next few years even though she was clearly struggling. There were some things I did not love but this was a true story and those things could not be changed.... M being married?... it would have had a different impact if he was not.. then again she would not have been interested if he were available. I...more
I found this book in a home where Kurt and I stayed in Hawaii. The author, Laura Fraser is a travel writer, and I believe this was her first book. It is actually an auto-biography, written like a novel. Laura Fraser is a great author, and I wish there was another book to read.
Ms. Fraser made Italy come alive. The sights, the sounds, the aromas and tastes were described in such a way that I felt I was in Italy, enjoying once again, a vacation I had years ago. I now have a great desire to return...more
Ms. Fraser made Italy come alive. The sights, the sounds, the aromas and tastes were described in such a way that I felt I was in Italy, enjoying once again, a vacation I had years ago. I now have a great desire to return...more
Waaaaay better than Eat Pray Love!!
I was immediately sucked into this book--start to finish. I read it in one luscious day and it completely consumed me. The style in which she writes is so vivid, so alluring, that you are taken into her world. I loved her language, and I loved that she melded her travel with her affair. In a world where we are all looking for love, she reveals so much about herself and her search for love that it makes us all wish we could exist with such honesty.
I don't know what I enjoyed more, her affair or...more
I don't know what I enjoyed more, her affair or...more
It's been a while since I have read this book but I can say it left a lasting impression. I have always had a love affair with books that transport you to far off destination. The main character of this book reeled me in and made me long to fill her shoes. She bravely ventured where so many women have longed to go. She is real. Perhaps it is a book that will resinate with women above a certain age. Those who have not only loved but have lost and learned to love again, may find this story intrigu...more
Apr 08, 2011
Jennifer
added it
In this wonderful memoir, the author, Laura Fraser, takes a trip to Italy to try to recover from the end of her short, unfortunate marriage. She meets a married French man there, on an island, and has a fling, enjoying the romance, the attention, and the feeling of being desirable again. Laura Fraser writes beautifully--she's vulnerable, sometimes self-critical, and often pokes fun at herself, but she isn't falsely humble. She speaks almost fluent Italian, is a published author, and can play the...more
I gave up half-way through on “An Italian Affair” by Laura Fraser. It’s a cross between Under the Italian Sun and Eat, Pray Love, so I was expecting to completely enjoy it. But it’s written in second person “your husband left you and then you went to Italy and you fell in love with an exciting man”. I found the second person voice so distracting that I finally gave up in exasperation. Why would a writer choose to do that, except if she wanted to deliberately create emotional distance? Maybe that...more
I first read this book in 2001 - at the recommendation of my friend Heather. To be honest I wasn't sure it would be something I'd like... and there were facets of the book that totally go against my moral values...however, it was delicious for a variety of reasons.
This book is written in 'second person' and therefore from a writing point of view - I was captivated by the unique form of narrating the story.
The story is true - based on the author's experience. I liked how she overcame a troubled...more
This book is written in 'second person' and therefore from a writing point of view - I was captivated by the unique form of narrating the story.
The story is true - based on the author's experience. I liked how she overcame a troubled...more
"An Italian Affair" is the first in a 2-book memoir by Laura Fraser. This was a re-read because it had been several years since I read it the first time and I recently found the second book. It is the story of a 30-ish writer (generally she writes travel pieces for various magazines)who lives in San Francisco who has a great affection for all things Italian. After her husband leaves her for an old high-school flame, she takes off for Italy to "recover." While there on vacation, she meets a marri...more
I'm obsessed with all things Italian. I always said I left my heart there after my summer in Italia. My Dolce Vita. This book is great! What I learned from this book is you can have a great escape after a great loss in your life... that you can find love again in the impossible. She is just so cute and reading her words about her life, you just feel like you've met her. Like she could be one of your girlfriends. ABSOLUTELY loved it. Like your favorite movie, I could re-read this one over and ove...more
It was hard to read this story told in third person- but after some reading, I was able to enjoy the rich texture of the places she (I) visited...
"Different people give you different things you need. It's asking too much to have one relationship be everything. It's a setup for disappointment." (pp152)
"When you let go of the expectation of marriage and happily-ever-after, you can just enjoy someone wholeheartedly for who they are. 'Everyone has defects,' you tell the professor.'it's just part of...more
"Different people give you different things you need. It's asking too much to have one relationship be everything. It's a setup for disappointment." (pp152)
"When you let go of the expectation of marriage and happily-ever-after, you can just enjoy someone wholeheartedly for who they are. 'Everyone has defects,' you tell the professor.'it's just part of...more
I loved this book. A true story of a love affair between American journalist Laura Fraser and a French Professor.
Laura is 6 months out of her marriage and he is married.
They meet in Ischia, in Italy, they spend 4 days together and think that will be it. Over the next 4 years though they meet a different places and vacation together.
I think it is a great story and with all true stories I would love to know what happened after - did they continue to see each at all or keep in touch.
Laura is 6 months out of her marriage and he is married.
They meet in Ischia, in Italy, they spend 4 days together and think that will be it. Over the next 4 years though they meet a different places and vacation together.
I think it is a great story and with all true stories I would love to know what happened after - did they continue to see each at all or keep in touch.
I loved this book. It's a travel memoir written by a woman whose husband leaves her after only one year of marriage. Seeking to mend her broken heart she takes off for Italy, where she meets a married Frenchman. They have a casual affair over the next couple years that takes her to Milan, Morocco, London, the California coast, and more. She also talks about her trials and tribulations with her hometown dating scene and tries online dating, so it resonated with me.
In the end, it's a book about fi...more
In the end, it's a book about fi...more
Ultimately this book made me want to hop on a plane to Italy and eat lots and lots of pasta. As for the book itself, I found it entertaining but slightly lackluster. Fraser wrote the story in second person, which at first was charming in its uniqueness yet eventually only became distracting. I didn't like the Professor love interest, which is a bit of problem when reading a love story. Yet Fraser presents herself in a lovable and approachable way that kept me reading.
This novel was actually a memoir from a recently divorced American woman, who met an fell for a Frenchman while she was in Italy. Because they met, conversed in Italian, and several times thereafter, got together back in Italy, she called her book, "The Italian Affair." They knew from the beginning that their "affair" was just that- that nothing could come of it. I have a hard time accepting that kind of thinking and actions!
This is a memoir of a woman (written in second person) in her 30s whose husband leaves her after a year of marriage. Feeling that her "good years" are taken, she heads off to Italy on impulse. She meets a married French professor and begins a relationship with him spanning several vacations in exotic places over the years. The book highlights her love of travel, food, and her desire to settle down.
This book reminds me of many current books eg Eat, Pray and Love, where heart-sick women find food and love in idealistic Italy! Sounds a bit contrived but the book is a delightful summer fanatasy, both travelgue and menoir. No doubt they never went to southern Italy, the settling for Women of the Shadows written by Ann Cornelisen, who lived on site for years and died there in 2003.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“It isn't such a bad thing to always know that someone on the other side of the world cares about you.”
—
125 people liked it
“You can't regret a whole period in your life. . . . It's part of who you are, one of your stories.”
—
18 people liked it
More quotes…
