A Thousand Days in Tuscany

''A Thousand days in Tuscany'' by Marlena de Blasi is the story of Marlena and her Venetian husband, Fernando, as they make a life for themselves on a forgotten patch of Earth where Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio collide. Amongst the many people they befriend is Barluzzo, an old sage who takes the couple under his wing and initiates them in the age-old traditions of Tuscan life: since their house lacks electricity, he helps them build a traditional brick oven in the garden; in autumn he wakes them at dawn to gather chestnuts and porcini mushrooms, and at the onset of winter he takes them to pull grapes from the vines and beat olives from the trees. Beautifully written and richly seasoned with mouth-watering recipes of the region, this book is filled with the carpe diem attitude that so captivated readers of ''A Thousand Days in Venice''.