La Bella Vita

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Breathtakingly visual - Rated
I was given this book to read by a friend in England, and was totally taken by surprise - this is a wonderful book; vivid, truthful and entertaining.

La Bella Vita - Rated
I have just noticed that this title was released again in 2006 with a slightly longer title 'La Bella Vita Life Love and Food in Southern Italy'. I have just read the original paperback edition though,
I always enjoy books about life in Italy, hardly surprising really! This one was an easy read with each chapter painting a vivid picture of Italian village life in the 1960's until the 1980's. Vida Adamoli has some interesting tales to tell of life in Torre Saracena (not the real name)and of how the 20th century eventually and sadly caught up with it.

As close as you can get without moving in yourself. - Rated
I was given this book & thought it was going to be your usual "foreigner in local Italian town reprises vignettes for us to laugh at".....how wrong could I be. Vida's lack of sentimentality, willingness to report truthfully (even if she sometimes comes out of it less than glowingly), and keen details make this a book to treasure. Each chapter reads like a complete story so you can pick it up and put it down - and in fact I had to - it is so rich and evocative - I LOVED the cinema descriptions and stories - reading it was like being there - and this is certiaily the closest I would ever get to this experience. You have to be living it to be able to write like this.

fond memories - Rated
in reading Vida Adamoli's book "la bella vita" I thought I recognized the village of Torre Saracena.
Actually the real name of the village is another one, and I do not intend to give it away. As Vida, I want to respect the privacy of the village and of its inhabitants.
Anyhow, the book moved me particularly as I stayed, alas for a too short period, in Torre Saracena, and while reading "la bella vita" I heard the seawawes crashing over the rocks, smelled the sea brine, the basil, the fish being grilled, and felt the warmth of the sun on my body.
Thank you Vida for making me revisit the place and the times past.

Enchanting - Rated
For me it was a trip down memory lane. Having known this village I was transported back to a time which in the 21st century no longer exists. A time of innocence which is so hard to understand in this cynical world. I particularly loved the chapter on the Children's Wars, which has a magical dimension. Vida Adamoli has written a great book.