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Summary
Summary
A New York Times BestsellerWhen Laura Fraser's husband leaves her for his high school sweetheart, she takes off, on impulse, for the Italian island of Ischia, to nurse her shattered ego. There she meets M., an aesthetics professor from Paris with an oversized love of life. What they both assume will be a casual vacation tryst turns into a passionate, transatlantic love affair, as they rendezvous in Marrakech, Lago Maggiore, Stromboli, London, and San Francisco -- each encounter a delirious immersion into place (sumptuous food and wine, dazzling scenery, lush gardens, and vibrant streetscapes) and into each other. And each experience also becomes for Laura another step toward a fully recovered sense of her emotional and sexual self.
Author Notes
Laura Fraser has written for "Salon.com", "Vogue", "Glamour", "Mother Jones", "Self", "The San Francisco Examiner Magazine", "Gourmet" & "Mirabella", among other publications. The author of "Losing It: False Hopes & Fat Profits in the Diet Industry", she lives in San Francisco.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
When her husband of one year left her for an old girlfriend, Fraser (Losing It: False Hopes and Fat Profits in the Diet Industry), in her mid-30s and suddenly alone, was devastated. In a state of shock, she decided to take a trip to Italy. Finding no solace with friends in Florence, she traveled to the island of Ischia, where she met M., a married university professor from France with whom she began a casual affair that continued on and off for the next two years. In this gentle memoir, she tells of her rendezvous with her lover in Milan, Lago Maggiore, London, the Aeolian Islands, Morocco and her own city, San Francisco all the places where they carried on their fairy-tale romance, enjoying beautiful scenery, languorous days in the sun, fabulous meals and good sex. The professor, a man of the world who took such liaisons casually, had an easy, humorous, slightly mocking manner that was just what she needed to help her recover from her broken heart. There were no expectations beyond having a good time. "It's simple," he told her. "All you need is an older man who can handle you, who will take care of you, who will love to have sex with you." What M. offered Fraser was far more satisfying and restorative than the psychologically complicated relationships she found in the San Francisco singles scene. Eventually, she was able to get her groove back and even forgive her husband. Writing in the second person, Fraser steps back and looks at the experience without sentimentality, recounting a tender story that gives hope to women with broken hearts. Agent, Sarah Lazin. (June 7) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A freelance journalists wry, charming account of her intermittent affair with a romantic stranger. Fraser (Losing It, 1997) opens her memoir with the phrase that transfixes her as she sits in an adult-ed Italian class: Mi hai spaccato il cuore (You have broken my heart). Her recovery from the collapse of her marriage (her husband of one year has dumped her for his high school sweetheart) begins with an impulsive trip to Ischia, in the south of Italy. Her spirits rebound amazingly when a fling with a Parisian art professor develops into a sequence of episodes in a variety of picturesque spots, including the Italian Alps, London, the Aeolian Islands, Marrakesh, and her hometown of San Francisco. The author paints each encounter in elegant and luxurious detail: The landscapes, hotel rooms, meals, scents, and sounds that she evokes in meticulous second-person prose get, and deserve, as much attention as her evolving relationship with the professor. Unsurprisingly, sensuous lovemaking, spectacular Mediterranean scenery, and sumptuous dinners gradually restore the authors confidence and sense of well-being. Throughout an account that might easily have degenerated into self-indulgence, the writers voice remains remarkably brisk and clear-eyed, neither idealizing her occasional lover nor sentimentalizing her own emotional journey. If she has few startling insights to offer about heartbreak or healing, and if her solution is not easily imitated, the smart one-liners and unpretentious, witty asides that pepper the narrative are more than ample compensation. You arent prepared for this, she confides, recounting her first night with her lover. You grew up being reminded that you should always wear nice clean underwear in case you have to go to the doctor suddenly, but no one ever said anything about wearing sexy ones in case you run into a French aesthetics professor on an island. But with or without the right underwear, Fraser emerges triumphant and zestful. A delightful fantasy, generously shared.
Booklist Review
Fraser departs from the typical travelogue format, interweaving the sights and sounds of several exotic vacations with the intensely personal story of her own long-term romance with a married man. As the two lovers rendezvous in Ischia, Marrakech, Lake Maggiore, Stromboli, London, and San Francisco, their relationship seems to adapt to the character, color, and climate of each new locale. Drenched in sumptuous, sensuous detail, both the passionate affair and the vivid descriptions of foreign cities compete for the reader's attention. A painstakingly honest emotional memoir masquerading as a travel digest. --Margaret Flanagan
Library Journal Review
After her husband leaves her for his high school sweetheart, freelance writer Fraser (Vogue, Glamour, Self, the San Francisco Examiner Magazine) takes off to Italy to gain a new perspective on her life. There she unexpectedly meets M. (as he is known throughout the book), a married French aesthetics professor, and begins an affair of a lifetime. Often reading like a romance novel, this beautiful tale of self-discovery is purposefully written in the second person so that readers can feel as if they are a part of the story. Fraser alternates chapters between San Francisco (home) and exotic locations like Milan, Morocco, or the Aeolian Islands, where she rendezvous with M., taking her audience on a journey from heartbreak to new love to self-understanding and spiritual revival. In the end, she triumphs by restoring the naturally lively self that was abruptly silenced by the break-up with her husband. Part travelog, part memoir, and part love story in the most traditional sense, this highly personal, honest, funny, and charming account is a joy to read. Essential for all public libraries. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.