Review: Women in Sunlight

Frances Mayes (Under the Tuscan Sun, Under Magnolia) returns to the sensuous glories of Italy in her beautifully rendered and richly woven novel, Women in Sunlight. Catherine "Kit" Raine is at the center. An American expat in her late 30s, Kit has lived and worked as a successful writer and poet nestled in the Tuscan hills of San Rocco for 12 years. Her significant other, Colin, a high-end architect, comes and goes with the demands of his job. During his absences, Kit works on a biography of fellow American Margaret Merrill--an older woman, good friend and a writer whom Kit admired--who set down roots in Tuscany much earlier.

When Margaret died, she surprisingly bequeathed her estate, including her villa, to Kit. Their friendship was at times rocky and difficult. However, Margaret's posthumous generosity made a lasting impression on Kit. In trying to broaden the readership of Margaret's work--and better understand her enigmatic friend--Kit grapples with memories on the page that lead Kit to examine her own life and future.

Kit's quest deepens when three American women--and their unruly dog--move into the villa next door. The three women are new friends, all retired, who met at an orientation for a 55-and-over retirement community near their homes in Chapel Hill, N.C. The threesome are still vital and active enough to assert their independence. Despite their differences, they form an instant camaraderie.

Camille Trowbridge is a retired teacher and mother, widowed for a year and half, who longs to rekindle her artistic aspirations for painting. Susan Ware, a widowed real estate agent with grown daughters, holds a fervent penchant for gardening and trolling for antiques. And Julia Hadley, a successful book editor whose husband left her for a younger woman and who has an adult daughter struggling with addiction, holds a deep affinity for food, wine and cooking. The chance meeting of these three strangers ultimately inspires them to set off together on a year-long sojourn to Italy--despite some familial objections.

Soon after they arrive in Tuscany, they strike up a friendship with Kit, who becomes their guide to the nuances of Italian living and culture. In turn, the three enthusiastic souls reawaken Kit's passion for Italy. The four women--and a growing entourage of new friends--bond over meals, mastering the language, shopping, going on excursions and even finding new love. As the women brim with newfound freedom and joy, Kit, too, begins an exciting chapter in her own life.

Mayes's writing glimmers with masterful sensory descriptions. Readers can practically taste the white foam that tops cappuccinos, step into elongated shadows cast by cypress trees and feel the echoing cold retained amid old stone villas. Mayes delivers another intimate story, told in lively episodes, that details how unexpected friendships can lead to reinvention and bright new beginnings at any age. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines.

Shelf Talker: Four very different American women experience reinvention and self-discovery when they settle in Tuscany and explore all that Italy has to offer.

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