Amore and Amaretti by Victoria Cosford
Amore and Amaretti by Victoria Cosford is subtitled “A tale of love and food in Italy,” and that it is, but it’s also so much more. Cosford’s writing is sharp and refined but also lyrical — a true pleasure to read — and her story is captivating.
The Aussie author traces her experiences with Italy and Italians over a 20-year period beginning with her first flirtations as a young student in Florence in the early 1980s. Something as well as some people grab a hold of her so tightly from that point on she is under the spell of the bel paese even while living back in Australia where every now and again she is “swallowed into the seriousness of the sound” of the Italian language just by hearing a few passing words of “that musical poetry.”
As a young girl, Cosford quickly finds her way into Italian culture through both its food and amore via Gianfranco, a charming chef who not only introduces her to the gorgeous Tuscan countryside and intricacies of small town life but also to the restaurant world when he invites her into his kitchen. The theme of food features heavily, so foodies will especially enjoy both the lush descriptions in Cosford’s prose as well as the delectable recipes that appear throughout.
Cosford doesn’t hold back in the recounting of her life’s adventures, either; difficult subjects and (in hindsight) foolish decisions don’t escape mention just for the sake of making this book into a fairy tale. Although it’s beautifully written, there’s no doubting that Cosford struggled with finding her physical and emotional place in this world, and that Italy played a huge role in that for better and, at times, for worse.
For anyone who enjoys memoirs, particularly with an Italian and/or food theme, this book is a must-read and for that I give it:
Four and a half espresso cups out of five.
*As I write this, I see that the book is not yet available in paperback from Amazon in the US (publication date is October 1, 2011), but you can ask to be notified when it is; it is, however, available on Kindle as well as through the Book Depository.
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3 Beans of Wisdom to “Amore and Amaretti by Victoria Cosford”
Recipes
Sounds like a perfect book for me. I´ll look for it.
Thank you for such a lovely review!
michelle Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:54 am
My pleasure, Victoria!