A Year In The World

by Penguin Random House Australia (Other)

A YEAR IN THE WORLD is classic Frances Mayes - a celebration of the allure of travel, of unexpected pleasures found in unlikely places and a joyous sense of adventure and discovery. Both a passionate traveller and the ideal travel companion, Mayes allows us to hitch a ride as she wanders off the beaten track and discovers twelve new special places in the world. Using her beloved Tuscany as a home base, she sets off to find hidden treasures in Spain and Portugal, France, the British Isles, and the Mediterranean world of Turkey, Greece, the south of Italy and North Africa. Along the way, she cooks up a storm in Portugal, follows the classic Homeric voyage across the Aegean, revels in the good life in Santorini and hunkers down in a stone house draped with bougainvillea in Crete. In Turkey she sails the ancient coast, snorkels over sunken Byzantine towns and hikes to ancient archeological sites. She takes a literary pilgrimage in Burgundy and gathers ideas in the gardens of Scotland and England. In Morocco, she explores the city of Fez, discovers the ideal place to live in Mantova - and much, much more. Weaving together the simple pleasures of everyday life with fascinating insights into the history, culture and culinary delights of her temporary homes in the world, this is travel writing at its best.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Italy, Biography, Food, Biography Memoir

398 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author's tone was extremely annoying in this book, whose title is completely misleading, as this is a compilation of her trips mainly to Western Europe over 5 years, not one year in the world at all. Admittedly, I quit halfway through when I got completely fed up with her staying in 5-star hotels and rented villas and eating in gourmet restaurants, without mentioning the price of anything, or how she can possibly afford it as a university writing professor (I guess the profits from the awful movie made from one of her previous books probably help). Too bad, as some of the historical asides and food descriptions are great.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I must confess that I haven't finished reading Frances Mayes' A Year in the World. I love travel books, and read a favorable review of this one...reviewers sometimes exaggerate . After a few running starts, the book wound up in the bathroom. Listening to the tap drip was more interesting, so I've moved it to the side of my bed where I read it whenever I'm suffering from insomnia, which is fairly often.

So I pick up A Year in the World, read it for a few pages of it's eternal present tense where Mayes layers on eye-glazing fact after fact about the local history, art, cuisine, or whatever where ever she and poor Ed might find themselves. Her observations spark memories where we're dragged along as she wonders about her future grandchildren and other trivia.

At this point, I'm on page 80. So as a travel book, this is a lousy read. On the other hand, if you can't get to sleep, it's better than a prescription for melatonin. Bring it along on your next transatlantic flight and you'll awaken refreshed, if a bit bored by your mauve dreams.

[Lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am halfway through the book, the author still hasn't left Southern Europe. I give up. I would prefer more adventure and fewer descriptions of luxury meals.

[JoAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was dismal. It read just like a travel log! Though the author was great at painting a picture and beautiful descriptive language, she simply wrote about what she did. The author was also very narrow in her perspective and only talked about her own limited interests (ie. coffee, wine, and gardening), so those looking to read a book about various aspects of different countries will be sorely disappointed.

I was also quite put off by her character. The author comes off as a rich better-than-thou individual (snob!) who looks down on others. She was appalled by tourists in general, and considered herself on a higher plane than travelers who were probably no different from herself. I was specifically extremely offended by her maliciously insulting descriptions of fellow passengers on a cruise ship in Greece. She went off about how horrifyingly fat and ugly the people were. Little does she realize this cruelty conveys more about herself than those she is insulting.

The only redeeming traits were the brief moments of bliss I had while reading about details of Spain, Turkey, and Scotland. It indeed made me want to travel more...just not with her!

[Carol Fillmore · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have finished as much of this book as I want to read. It is so boring, just so much writing about what she and her husband ate! Initially, I had hope for this book, wanted to travel through Europe and see it through her eyes. When I read so many reviews that rated this book as poor, it seemed like the people were being unusually harsh. By the time I got a quarter of the way into this book, it was evident they were right on. I will give credit to the author for her beautiful writing. The beautiful writing is not enough to make up for the non-stop food descriptions: ``A Year in the World`` reads more like a series of food blogs.

[Lea · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are hoping to pick up this book and be whisked away into a foreign land by way of words, you will be sorely disappointed. I'll admit that I did not come close to finishing this book because I found myself bored to tears by her descriptions of her Italian flavored Ritz-Carlton hotel rooms and run-ins with the "locals" (see below).

I see there is no need to write much more as other reviewers have already expressed my frustration with this author and this book in many better words. I believe this one Amazon reviewer said it best: "There are...too many stories about refreshing local characters who think Frances Mayes is the nicest, most tasteful, most interesting person they've ever met. Especially since these people tend to be waiters, cab drivers, rug salesmen or others whose business depends on charming the tourists."

Perhaps this is her preferred writing style but I can't help but think Mayes was capitalizing on left-over Tuscany fame (a book I never read). I just wonder if she felt as dry writing this as I felt it was when reading it.

[Kathy Beatty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't read this book. I was bored by the tone of a wealthy person going everywhere and doing anything that she wants without regard to the cost. I couldn't relate at all.

[Obsidian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't even know what to say. This book was so boring and the flow was just awful. I realize now that Mayes will write about events that occurred in the past/present in the same book so it's hard to even figure out when things occurred. This was published in 2006, but it looks like these "trips" took place over a period of years. In "Bella Tuscany" her grandson has been born, but in this one, her daughter is pregnant. They haven't bought their mountain retreat yet, but have come across it, and they are still in California. So I just got whiplash on trying to figure out when certain things were occurring in the author's timeline.

It didn't help that the book was also littered with poetry, random factors about artists and author's, etc. It's just not exciting to read Mayes thoughts about a museum she visits.

The food descriptions are the only parts of the book that worked for me. I really wish that Mayes had focused on the history of some of the countries/cities she was in, work in food descriptions, and more details on the people and places. If she had managed to do that throughout the book, it would have been a home-run. But reading about her thoughts on Christopher Columbus (and man there was a lot) and other historical figures through her lens just got irking after a while.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there a decent travel writer who isn't a pretentious windbag? It's fascinating to me how a woman who has made a career out of traveling to amazing places can be SO DULL. Her disdain for most of the British Isles annoys me. Sorry it's not your gorgeous Italy, but get over it. Also, she called Wales England, which it is not. England is one of my favorite places, and Frances Mayes managed to bore me to death because she wanted to explain the whole country through GARDENS. Ok, maybe gardens are an important feature of British culture, but I don't care about how many flower varieties you see and what planting techniques you want to use in your Italian garden.

I think she hates fat people, too.

A lot of my resentment for this book and Frances Mayes maaaay have something to do with the fact that she is much older than me. Whereas I am content to stay in hostels of questionable cleanliness, she whines about a rental house that is too close to the road, and thus too noisy. I don't think she'd be very fun to travel with.

Still, 3 stars, because some chapters actually were beautiful.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lyrical and enchanting and excellent book about travels in Europe. I was there with the author as she traveled, she is that descriptive and aware of the holy places. Her descriptions of starry nights brought me to my knees in awe as well as her attention to detail: architectural, holy places, holy encounters, books, nature, food! Absolutely gorgeous in scope and detail and love and passion. I want to go to the places she has gone, and rent a house for a while, and travel by private boat, and have a travel companion like her husband. She “presents a simpler, less frantic version of how to live one’s life.” Yes, resoundingly and inspiringly. I will love this book forever. It was one of my bookclub selections and I had so much fun planning the dinner and we did a little guessing game with imported european prizes I got from CostPlus World Market...

Spain
“I’m going to places where I have dreamed of living and will try to settle down in each, read the literature, look at the gardens, shop for what’s in season, try to feel at home.”
- a holy approach to writing
- seeing the people harvest oranges along streets for perfumes and soap
-knew sevilla instinctively
-duende- summoning of the life force spirit and the expression of that spirit

“the impulse to create beauty where you draw water, where you stow your saffron, where you walk, that impulse is intrinsic to life, as it ever has been and will be, and from this place where such remains are gathered, we can only exit with a sense of renewal and joy.”


“He couldn’t understand a world shameless and cruel enough to divide its people by color when color is in fact the sign of God’s artistic genius.” About Lorca


"One of the flash epiphanies of travel, the realization that worlds you’d love vibrantly exist outside your ignorance of them. The vitality of many lives you know nothing about. The breeze lifting a blue curtain in a doorway billows just the same whether you are lucky enough to observe it or not. Travel gives such jolts. I could live in this town, so how is it I have never been here before?"

"I love the gods of the crossroads. Throughout the world, people have always recognized the metaphorical significance of the path chosen, the path forsaken."

"There are reasons we congregate in these hot spots- to worship beauty and to feel its effects light up the electrolytes in the bloodstream."

From 750 to the 12th century, the time was called Convivencia, or peaceful coexistence, where cultures and religions and sexes were at peace and art and culture and trade flourished. It is possible, peace, and it lasted for almost 400 years from Syria to Spain.

Portugal
Fado (fate) the mysic whose saudade (a pervasive longing and reaching) rips out of the heart.

British Isles
“…the saturated- green air looked aquatic, as though someone had just pulled the plug, draining away the watery world and leaving swaying meadows, fields, trees, and hills washed and gleaming.”
-hydrangeas everywhere…

Greece
Martin Buber: “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.”

“You’re well acquainted with A.D. I expect, the guide announces. Everything you’ll see today will all be B.C”

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am thus far disappointed in this book...the author is self righteous and contradictory, and writes annoyingly like someone who just wants to prove how rich and well-read they are.

It starts with her definition of "adventurous traveling"...to me, staying in 5-star hotels and eating at sit-down fancy restaurants for every meal is a futile way to explore and understand a different land and culture. To truly "get" a different country is to live as much like a temporary local as possible...staying in the low-end hotels, hostels, and pensions...eating at the regular street-side restaurants/vendors instead of eyeing out the fanciest recommendations... buying local groceries and attempting to replicate the cuisine...talking to as many locals and fellow tourists as possible to learn tips, secrets, and as much about the true nature of a country as possible: the people.

The author is also extremely contradictory - while expressing her displeasure at "the main streets... depressingly jammed with tourists", she seems to have forgotten she is one of them as well.

Not to mention this is not truly a consecutive year in the world, as this title implies, but rather vacations split across 5 years.

Lastly, what seasoned traveler in their right mind would be swindled by a British panhandler, no matter how sad their story sounds? That had "scam" written all over it from the beginning and both the author and her husband fell for it. That was my first indicator these people really didn't know what they were doing.

The best part of this book thus far is that it's inspiring me to go back and write my own travel memoirs...I think they'd be a lot more relatable for a traveler in their 20s!

[Suzanne Fournier · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did enjoy some of the stories and travel insights but I found Mayes rude and judgemental when it came to "tourists" as if she wasn't one. I understand that living in Italy has given her a more local perspective but isn't she still a tourist in Morocco or Turkey? I also don't like Mayes attitude to any person who doesn't have a perfect body or low body mass index, there is no need for asinine comments about the way other people look.

[Kelly Driver · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I saw this book at the library one day and read the description I thought it would be a perfect book for mine and Tom’s little book club. It was my turn to chose the book and I thought we would both enjoy it.

As I began to read I knew that this travel novel would provide us with a lot of tips and suggestions that we could take with us once we were able to spend A Year In The World.

One passage that really stood out to me was, “The need to travel is a mysterious force. A desire to go runs through me equally with an intense desire to stay at home. an equal ad opposite thermodynamic principle. When I travel, I think of home and what it means. At home I’m dreaming of catching trains at night in the gray light of Old Europe, or pushing open shutters to see Florence awaken. The balance just slightly tips in the direction of the airport.” I felt like this paragraph described me to a “T”.

As I continued reading however, I realized that this woman was nothing like me. I found her writing style to be very difficult to get into. At times her descriptions were fascinating but most of the time it was just to wordy.

Because I found it so hard to read I ended up only reading the chapters about places that I was extremely interested in visiting, Morocco, Scotland and England.

There were times, especially in the chapter on Scotland, that I got very frustrated. It was clear that this was a couple with unlimited funds and all of their friends who met them in Scotland were also intellectuals with bottomless bank accounts. I found it impossible to relate to any of them and found the author and all of her traveling companions to be extremely pretentious and boring. I mean seriously, who decides to put on their own production of Shakespeare when you could be enjoying the local fare at a nearby pub.

[Tamara York · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t give 1 star reviews often or lightly. I wanted to love this book. I had such high hopes. But it’s truly terrible. It should be called A Few Months Eating My Way Around Western Europe, Buying Boatloads of Knick Knacks, and Long Winded Accounts of Every Artifact I saw in Every Obscure Museum (although that may have been a bit troublesome on the spine). I got to page 320 of 417 and I just can’t make myself finish it. In 300 pages, I still don’t have any sense of character. There isn’t any connection to the reader. There is no STORY here. It’s just a travel log. And a supremely dull one at that.
The real kicker is that (twice!) she tells about how she once found a child’s skull in an old graveyard and KEPT IT as a souvenir. What kind of terrible human does that?!?
Skip this one and read Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach instead. It’s wonderful.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book I read on and off between others. It soothes me when I finish my current batch of library books to know I have a back up read ready to go. It's scary to have nothing to read.

I think I enjoyed this book more than most of the reviewers because I read it in spurts rather than straight through. Towards the last 50 pages I was feeling like "lets finish this thing already". The traveling was intresting but wareing too. Yes, it is nice to travel and stay in homes rather than hotels and cook for yourselves and discover local eateries is neat. To read about the basic ritual over and over was tiring.

The good parts went by entirely too fast and there were many more tedious parts. Overall I thought the book was ok, but definately nothing I would re-read again.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful trip through Spain, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Scotland and places in between. She really "lives" the culture and gets to know the people by tasting their food, learning their gardening habits, reading their poetry, swimming in their waters, and living in their homes (by renting villas or apartments). She and her husband do endure a few package trips (a cruise through Greece, a small charter around Turkey)which only highlight the pleasures of independent travel. I loved this book and have my bags packed and waiting for Spain!

[JennanneJ]

I gave this a fair shot - 4 years. It was a gift from a friend, so I gave more value to it. And I love travel.

But seriously. This is an old lady (I'm assuming because of her attitude towards travel) and her husband in their own little world of food and gardens traveling around, pretentiously judging everything. I found so little interesting or of value in this that I just cannot bring myself to continue!

[Marylynnmcavoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every second of every page—-except for the few spots where Ms Mayes body shames other tourists or unfairly judges customs/scents of poor locals. Those parts I could’ve done without. Giving it 5 stars nonetheless because I couldn’t put it down and am confident this book will shape the next 20 years of my life (think restoring old houses, writing, world travel—-minus the high horse).

[Kathie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished it! A friend recommended the book because we both like to travel and I looked forward to reading it. My friend later confessed she had never read the book cover to cover but only reads sections as she prepares to travel to the area. I debated about purchasing a paperback or Kindle version. I wish I had purchased the Kindle version to take advantage of the dictionary and highlighting capabilities for the passages I would like to refer back to. I think a better title for the book may have been "Eating My Way Through the Eastern Hemisphere." If they weren't eating they were looking for restaurants or shopping for food. For some meals she included a full list of the course, she provided descriptions of the food preparation and several sauces. She even included two recipes. She also chronicled many of her purchases and who the gifts were for. Who cares?

The author included several foreign terms, most of the time with translations. She continually refers to obscure books that she loves and rereads. I looked some of them up in Goodreads for their ratings and reviews. I did not add any of them to my reading list.

I learned that I would really like to schedule extra time to spend in some of the lesser known and less tourist travelled villages in other countries to get a real feel for the country and the people, a sort of "stop and smell the roses" reminder.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contrary to the somewhat misleading title, this is not a book about a single year-long travel excursion. Instead, it is a collection of tales of shorter trips, which add up to a year altogether. Most of the destinations covered are not very exotic…Italy, France, England, and the Greek Isles (to name a few), yet the author manages to recount her experiences with such a great deal of charm that it doesn’t matter these are places we’ve read about many times before. She focuses on uncovering the oft-overlooked nuances of the local cultures, with the common undercurrent being that of the concept of home. In almost every place (with a few exceptions), the author tries to immerse herself as much as possible into the natural habitat of the place. She rents houses as opposed to staying in hotels, she shops and eats where the locals do, in each instance imagining what it would be like to call the place home. That said, in some instances the prose did lean towards being trite, with perhaps a little TOO much enthusiastic praise for each and every garden, mosaic, statue, etc…that the author runs across. However, I enjoyed the overall feel of the book, which was one of profound appreciation for other cultures, and which to me made it a very positive, upbeat read.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should be titled, what I ate and where I stayed in my year in the world. It was way too descriptive for me, literally over 3/4 of the book was talking about the luxurious cuisine they inhaled on their trip. I was bored out of my mind. I love traveling so I thought this would be neat, especially coming from the author of Under the Tuscan Sun but I was sorely disappointed. I did enjoy hearing some parts of the book that were informative and memorable to me but overall blah blah blah. it's a LONG book also!

[Tarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked out this audio book from the library on a whim - it came up on a search of keyword France where I am traveling this summer. I listened to the first few chapters, enjoying her travels in Spain and Portugal, then skipped around a little bit looking for the (very brief) part on France. I enjoyed it but didn't finish because I wasn't interested in more food descriptions.

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never have I ever quit a book - until now! I have had this book on my shelf for a few years and have been looking forward to reading it. I used to be a traveler, and hope I will have another travel era in my future. So the idea of someone spending a year wandering from country to country was exciting. Furthermore, I've seen Under the Tuscan Sun and think it an enjoyable movie. Books are often different from the movie but there was such a great disparity here that I went to the library and sought out the book form of Under the Tuscan Sun and found it to be just as dry. Kudos to the screen writer who adapted this load of pretentiousness into such a warm, feel-good movie - they did an AMAZING job!

I'm not sure who Mayes' intended audience is here. This book reinforces a concept I've observed in the publishing industry - "professors" can get ANYTHING published, but a regular person writes a book and has to jump through hoops to get any attention.

This book is such a pretentious load of self-worth-inflating vocabulary. What must life be like in the company of a travel partner who writes, "...during the 250-year reign of the Nasrids, the fabulous fortress, the Alhambra, symbolized the the refinement, play, and range of Moorish art." Who the heck are the Nasrids? What kind of fortress is the Alhambra - a castle? And Moorish art - what does that look like? No wonder her second husband and travel partner, Ed, is "forever on the quest for the perfect espresso" - he probably needs the strong dose of caffeine to stay awake with someone who drabbles on like that. I consider myself of above-average intelligence, and I tutor kids in Social Studies every day at school, but this book made me feel like I was out of my league.

Clearly she has too much money. Even though she is not religious, they visit a church in Spain and then buy a white outfit from a children's clothing store in the plaza around the church. They buy this for a future grandchild that is not even born so she wonders "who will slide into the pleated arms and pose for a photograph before carrots stain the front". First of all, I feel a strong possibility that this is meant as a baptism outfit given its sale in proximity to a church - is this baby going to be baptized? Secondly, why would carrots stain this outfit in the future. Are her children so spoiled and careless as to not use a bib on a baby, or better yet, not feed a baby in such a special outfit? (Ironically, there is a spot early in the book where she muses about an obscure museum and who might have started it and the response is "someone with too much money". Perhaps this book is her museum.)

I'm also uncertain about her morals. She often refers to a guy she new years ago, when she and her first husband "lived in graduate student housing at Princeton". She'd listen to the Nicaraguan student read poetry on the lawn. She made a point to say, "I was not-long married. I loved my brilliant and handsome husband... I was transfixed by ...Carlos, who had studied at the Sorbonne...whose mouth seemed to slide around the words of Garcia Lorca, seemed to lure me toward some wide-open life". One mention would be a happy memory, but within the first 55 pages she refers to this guy several times. Another time it's "From the lips of the Nicaraguan, I learned that Granada... I lost a gold ring that belonged to my husband's family, and I looked in the grass for hours." Well - that leaves a lot to the imagination. Especially because of the frequency this guy is mentioned.

If she is not name dropping artists and poets as if they are as commonly known as John Lennon or Beyonce, she's listing all the weird foods she eats. I'm all for trying new foods or local cuisine on a trip - but that's not the impression she gives when detailing her dining. She makes it sound like just another day at the table: "we settle down for a feast of lamb tagine, stuffed eggplants and cabbages flavored with coriander and cinnamon, preserved lemons, chickpeas with saffron, and a pastry pie of pigeons." This was a mild meal; another night it was stuffed partridge.

I've read plenty of non-fiction; that is not the problem here. Just this year I've read "In Defense of Food", "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind", "Winning the Unwinnable", "George Washington's Secret Six", and "Booth". So the genre is not the problem for me. Previously I've read "The Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain, which is also a kind of travel through Europe journal. I enjoyed them all. I've always said the worst books I've ever read were "Kon Tiki" by Thor Heyerdahl and "The Old Man and the Sea" by Hemmingway. They were required reading for school so I finished them but found them incredibly boring. However, I would rather read "Kon Tiki" five times over than read one more page in this book.

I always insist that my students stick with a book for 10% or 50 pages. I made it to page 55 out of 417 but I'm out.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this over the course of a summer trip of my own back to visit husband's family in Idaho and I enjoyed the armchair travel. I especially liked the sections on southern Spain and Portugal because we had recently returned from a visit to the Iberian peninsula. I have read several of Mayes' books and, for the most part, enjoy her writing; I like the way she is able to make personal connections with the places she visits and the way she ponders the meaning of home and how a place met for the first time can be imagined as a new home. I did feel that this book is too long. Several of the essays could have been edited or eliminated for a better read. Those who complain about the way the author travels would complain more fiercely, I believe, if she tramped around the world with a backpack staying at hostels. In that case, she would be criticized for "slumming" and being "in authentic." Why should a successful woman not go to fine hotels and eat at fancy restaurants? Is travel less authentic because of her particular circumstances?

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Frances Mayes writing style. It is no secret that I loved Under the Tuscan Sun and this was just as good. She has such a way with worlds. I was able to visualize what she saw and taste what she ate.

See my full review on my blog.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might actually be the worst book I've ever tried and failed to read. The pretentious elitism that oozed from every scene is exactly what gives Americans such a bad rap around the world. Terrible.

[Alissa Stocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my ultimate dream to live in different spots for a few months each! Frances language is so poetic and oozes richness! I have about a 100 notes in this book and have learned so much new vocabulary!

[Donna Sneeringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It appealed to and satisfied my wanderlust and filled the gaps the global pandemic has left there. I admit some of the destinations in the book were more engrossing than others, but overall it was just the escape I needed. Andiamo! Let’s Go!

[Kelly]

I thought this would be great to listen to in the car so I got a hold of the audiobook and waited to be whisked away on a journey around the world. I lasted all of one and a half discs.

I hate to add this to my "read" list but I feel I ave to save others from torture that is this audio. Typically an audiobook read by the author is great, they know their story better than anyone and it doesn't come across as a reading. Frances should not be reading aloud. It came across more like a speech to the PTA. It failed to keep my interest.

If you are considering this book go for the printed version although the reviews on that aren't great either.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Travel releases spontaneity. You become a godlike creature full of choice, free to visit the stately pleasure domes, make love in the morning, sketch a bell tower, read a history of Byzantinum, stare for one hour at the face of Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna dei fusi. You open, as in childhood, and--for a time--receive this world. There's the visceral aspect, too--the huntress who is free. Free to go, free to return home bringing memories to lay on the hearth." (p xix).

"One of my favorite quotes from Lorca came from his time in New York. He loved Harlem jazz and connected black music with that of the Gypsies in Andalucia. He said he couldn't understand a world 'shameless and cruel enough to divide its people by color when color is in fact the sign of God's artistic genius.' Bravo, Federico." (p 60, Spain)

"This is the largest mosque in the world, where you can feel how the architecture guides you toward a philosophy of prayer. The immense, spreading horizontal space keeps you close to the ground, with no sense of hierarchy, no sense of uplifting the spirit toward heaven. It is profoundly unlike the experience of the Gothic but does not feel totally foreign to the experience of the Romanesque. In a mosque, calligraphic inscriptions from the Koran replace the holy images in Christian churches... In the Cordoba mosque, the multiplied columns make it clear to the worshiper that all the space therein is equal space before Allah." (p70, Spain)

"Soon Colette became my close friend... Her writing catapulted me forward... Life drenches her prose... She peels and sections and bites into experience like an orange... Her passion for roses, dogs, sunrise and all the felt sensations of life runs through the molten alchemical process of selecting words." (p 200, France)

"Colette, with her innate understanding of the natural world, writes about wine in the most elemental way. A great vintage, she maintained, results from the "celestial sorcery," not the hand of the vintner. She writes:

The vine and the wine it produces are two great mysteries. Alone in the vegetable kingdom, the vine makes the true savor of the earth intelligible to man. With what fidelity it makes the translation! It senses, then expresses, in its clusters of fruit the secrets of the soil. The flint, through the vine, tells us that it is living, fusible, a giver of nourishment. Only in wine does the ungrateful chalk pour out its golden tears. A vine, transported across mountains and over seas, will struggle to keep its personality, and sometimes triumphs over the powerful chemistries of the mineral world. Harvested near Algiers, a white wine will still remember... the noble Bordeau graft that gave it exactly the right hint of sweetness, lightened its body, and endowed it with gaiety. And it is far off Jerez that gives its warmth and color to the dry and cordial wine that ripens at Chateau Chalon, on the summit of a narrow, rocky plateau." (p 204-205, France)

"My childhood was not edenic, far from it, but the concatenation of first experiences remains a vein of gold in memory. Going back, dipping into those impressions, gives me not nostalgia, no, no, no, but private renaissances. Swinging on the wooden supports of my mother's canopied bed, climbing out the window to play in the moonlit garden, painting myself all over with house paint (my mother shrieking 'You're going to die'), riding on the back of a sea turtle making its way back to the waves, the weet reek of pork roasting on a pit fire, my sashes tied in bows, my father whispering 'You can have anything you want,' hiding in the hydrangeas, imagining my face as one of the pale blooms--the ten thousand images that compose a childhood, those imprints last forever. Wright Morris, of the Craft of Fiction class and the important novesl, told me, "If you've had a childhood, you have enough to write about for the rest of your life."" (p,207, France)