Extra Virgin: A Young Woman Discovers the Italian Riviera, Where Every Month Is Enchanted

My family is actually from a small village in Liguria - not Diano San Pietro, but pretty close - and this memoir made me feel right at home again! Granted, when this story began in 1983, I was a mere 2 years old, and comfortably living in the United States, but snippets of her book rang amazingly true and brought me back to my youth and of visiting my family who still lives there! Hawes' account is so accurate that I found myself laughing out loud and relating to the ridiculousness of some of the old wives' tales that she encountered as I've also experienced them first hand myself."Euh!" which is a phrase often used in this text is something that you will still hear repeatedly in this region of Italy. More often than not, it is more like a "Euuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!" but none the less, I was hysterical with laughter with each use of it in the story. Her descriptions of the meals are also spot-on accurate. Even when visiting now, I have to prepare myself for the numerous courses you are expected to ingest at each meal. I also remember specifically being warned of the "colpo d'aria" by an old lady while riding in a compartment train in insane heat in July one summer. At the time, there was no air conditioning on the train and since we were all sweaty, I was yelled at for trying to open the window to circulate the air, and told I would for sure catch pneumonia - much in the same way the author was told that was bound to happen if you went swimming in the sea outside the months of July and August. But I must say the part that had me laughing the most was the section on the panettone. I've never cared for panettone, yet every time I visit, my family feels to need to purchase numerous panettone in those huge boxes. It's sort of like the dreaded fruit-cake that just seems to get re-gifted every Christmas back at home in the U.S.This memoir was beautifully and accurately written. The author really nailed the culture of this region in Italy - a gorgeous region on the Italian Riviera that for one reason or another, never gets as much hype as the hills of Tuscany - despite it's rich culture. If you want to read an honest, true account of living in a small farming village in Italy, THIS book is perfect.

This is a delightful book. Ms. Hawes does a terrific job of bringing the reader into her experience of living in the rural Italian culture as a non-Italian--the confusion, the complications, the hard work, the education and the fun. The characters of her life are not romanticized, but portrayed with both honesty and affection adding an authentic feel often missing in memoirs such as these. Her sense of humor and tongue-in-cheek view of many situations are laugh out loud funny and enhance the pleasure of the read. The cultural misunderstandings between the Italian way and the English way are finely drawn and leave the reader feeling that differences are not only okay, but happy coexistence is all the more interesting because of them.I loved this book and highly recommend it to others who enjoy Italy and maybe don't have the opportunity to get off the beaten track and really absorb it as they would like. Worth a first read, and a second, too.

I loved the authors story telling and the images of her Italian neighbors. Such an adventure in living.

What an enjoyable book -- warm and not too condescending as can be Peter Mayle and others who write this genre.Initially off to a slow start, I felt, once I was a chapter or two into it I was hooked, and toward the end I didn't want it to end. Now I'm off to the UK version of amazon (amazon.co.uk) to buy the followup by Annie Hawes called Ripe for the Picking, which apparently hasn't been published in the U.S. just yet.FOLLOWUP: I've now read the sequel, Ripe for the Picking, and I'm happy to report the writing and good humor just gets better and better. Of all the books in this genre of "travel memoir" that I've read, I believe I've enjoyed Extra Virgin and Ripe for the Picking the most. Great humor, an affectionate look at the locals, and a healthy dose of wish fulfillment for us all. Under the Tuscan Sun has nothing on this. Enjoy!

This book made my mouth water for our next trip to Italy. Liguria is an area we haven't explored much but Hawes' descriptive and loving narrative made me feel like I'll be returning home. Not only was the imagery delightful, but she explained much of the social and gender customs which are often puzzling among Italians. Tales of the rehabbing of a rustico which she and her sister turned into a year round home also delved into traditional techniques for dealing with clearing wells, whitewashing walls, cooking outdoors, and the real true way of making homemade wine. The book moves a little slowly at times, but then, it's Italy! I highly recommend this book for anyone who has been or will be visiting Italy. I wish I had read it before my first trip; it took me several to figure out when was the proper time to order espresso!

I stumbled across Extra Virgin 3 years ago. I have now bought at least 9 copies and given away 8 as well as recommending it to all and sundry. And sent away to the UK for the sequel.Ms. Hawes pulls up the timeless Italy that has - and probably will - outlast all change and fads and fashion. My parents spent their early married years stationed on the other coast of Italy, yet when my mother read Extra Virgin, she said she laughed to the point of tears, because it brought back so many memories - right down to Ms. Hawes' dissertation on the various methods of tying a hankie into a headcovering.But, most importantly, she also avoids the standard "aren't the peasants so quaint" mode - the book is much more about discovering how much smarter those peasant ways are than breakneck modern city life, tasteless tomatoes and rushed meals.Anyone who can read this and NOT have at least one fantasy about living in an old stone house 2 kilometers along the mule track just past the third hairpin bend - well, they have no adventure, no romance, no idealism in their soul.

Book in good condition and as expected. Delivered fast

Book arrived in perfect condition, and earlier than expected. No issues.

This is a fantastic book. A true story with so much humour and so much information about the Italian culture.