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Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Tucker
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy Used: $4.49
You Save: $19.51 (81%)
New (32) Used (28) from $4.49
Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 12514
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0871139626
Dewey Decimal Number: 945.651
EAN: 9780871139627
ASIN: 0871139626
Publication Date: July 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BookCloseouts scratch & dent version. New book that may have some cosmetic damage (i.e. shelf-wear, torn or missing dust jacket, dented corner...). Otherwise excellent specimen - guaranteed!
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Product Description
The actor Michael Tucker and his wife, the actress Jill Eikenberry, having sent their last child off to college, were vacationing in Italy when they happened upon a small cottage nestled in the Umbrian countryside. The three-hundred-fifty-year-old rustico sat perched on a hill in the verdant Spoleto valley amid an olive grove and fruit trees of every kind. For the Tuckers, it was literally love at first sight, and the couple purchased the house without testing the water pressure or checking for signs of termites. Shedding the vestiges of their American life, Michael and Jill endeavored to learn the language, understand the nuances of Italian culture, and build a home in this new chapter of their lives. Both a celebration of a good marriage and a careful study of the nature of home, Living in a Foreign Language is a gorgeous, organic travelogue written with an epicurean’s delight in detail and a gourmand’s appreciation for all things fine.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
 Could Not Put This Book Down! June 24, 2007
Hike-a-holic (Lakewood, Colorado United States)
30 out of 32 found this review helpful
I had to really think about buying this book. So many books by movie starts just do not keep my interest. With great reservations I added it to my order along with several other non-fiction books I thought would keep my interest going if this turned out to be a dud.
"WOW!!!!" I could not put this book down! It is finished and ready to be sent off to a local library as I type and am still trying to read through all of the other non-fiction books I ordered at the same time!
If you are an armchair traveler, foodie, like humor, or enjoy just a good love story, this book has all of those ingredients plus more.
Plus the writing is excellent - much better than this review!
 LOVE OF LIFE AND FOR EACH OTHER August 6, 2007
Gail Cooke (TX, USA)
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
While it has been said that living well is the best revenge, actor Michael Tucker might say living well is the only way to go. His delightful over-too-soon memoir of sojourns in Italy leads one to believe that he knows what the good life is and has made it his own.
Tucker, his actress wife Jill Eikenberry, and their good friend Caroline established a goal for themselves during a vacation in Italy - it was "to slow down our hearts and minds until they synched up with the circadian rhythm of the Italian countryside."
What happened was they lost their hearts to a 350-year-old rustico sitting on a hillside in the Spoleto valley. For Tucker, an unabashed gourmet, gourmand and all around foodie, the clincher was the forno, an oven older than the rustico which once had been where all the village women baked their bread. Situated beside the house, it stood alone, was covered, and would accommodate a very large animal. The forno would be the place where friends gathered for good food, great wine, and stimulating conversation.
The story of how they bought the rustico, refurbished it, and accomplished all of this while trekking between New York and Mill Valley, California, is warm, touching and often hilarious. At heart it is a love story, the love shared by Tucker and his wife, and their mutual love for Italy. For them, it is a totally new state of heart and mind. As Tucker explains, it is a "philosophical country," where one visits with friends at table discussing life's important questions, such as, "what one is going to eat at one's next meal, which will be coming up in a few hours."
Delizioso!
- Gail Cooke
Che prosciutto bello... June 27, 2007
Marc Flanagan (Santa Monica, Ca.)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
Mr Tucker gives the reader the Cook's Tour of Umbria Italy and the life that he and his wife have led and continue to lead. Michael Tucker clearly subscribes to the philosophy that ,"living well is the best revenge" and he is... revengeful. I have never been to that part of the world, but after reading, "Living in a Foreign Language" and the authors wonderful anecdotes and descriptive passages I can almost conjure up the town where their "Rustico" resides. I liked him on TV and now in print. Enjoy...la dolce vita.
Bravo! June 15, 2007
Daniela Brito (Portugal)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Simplicity, adventure, lightness, travels, discovery, smiles, laughter, companionship, trust, friendship, but above all, love.
It is real, real life, real lives, real people, real feelings. And good ones.
As I finished to read the book, I can't say that I got to know this sweet couple, but I sure would love to. (another plus: great humor too!)
Thanks for letting me relive our beautiful trip to Umbria July 9, 2007
GirlOnTheBay (Boston MA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I just finished this book and I can't believe how true it was to our own experiences in visiting Umbria and the surrounding area last fall. Michael, thank you for sharing your intimate story with all of us. I only wish that this book was longer and that the tale continued. All the best to you and the beautiful Jill.
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