Extra Virgin: A Young Woman Discovers the Italian Riviera, Where Every Month Is Enchanted

A delightful book! Not so much a travel narrative as it is a memoir with hints of beginner ethnography. That is precisely why I love this book, incidentally - all the little nuances of Ligurian village and olive farming life are lovingly and humorously shared alongside the author's own 'brutta figura' experiences. The author also shares local perspectives on WWII, the (at the time) possible inclusion of Italy in the EU, Italian Riviera tourists, other Italians, and the start of the soaring popularity of all things olive oil.

The only real issue with the book concerns the somewhat odd narrative style, as it is told mostly in the present tense, with foreshadowing, references to the past, and seemingly random side tangents. The book's show more timing really isn't in a single calendar year, even though she conceptually organizes her story around the theme of her first year... instead, she describes individual months with events from several years' worth of the same month packed in. It all works out though, as her tale is very engrossing and with a bit of thought one can bring it all together. show less

This book is delicious....I am savouring every word and am loathe to finish it. Annie's obvious love for Liguria and in particular her fondness of San Pietro Ligurians wraps around you and pulls you in. Written as a witty observer of her own life it lends a magical quality to the writing and is more in keeping with a novel than an emotive autobiography. I love it for this very reason. The distance from her emotions is just enough that you can read between the lines and feel it for yourself.

This book was just the thing for a rainy, chilly week when I longed for some Italian sun. Hawes balances an affection for Liguria and its people with a realistic, humorous view of the flaws. I loved her eye for detail in describing her hillside home and idiosyncratic neighbors (who never became stereotypes).

The olive groves of Liguria certainly came alive for me through Annie's wonderful writing. She had me thinking back almost 20 years to when I first spent a summer in the le Marche region of Italy. I can now understand why some of the locals gave me funny looks, as I wandered around in shorts that would've given Kylie's gold hotpants a run for their money. I can now also understand why everywhere we went, they wanted to fill us with (often foul-tasting) digestivo's etc and why, when I was sunbathing, so many locals came rushing to my aid to tell me that I was "on fire"!

Her descriptions of the local inhabitants, the scenery, the food, the wine etc leave you with a deep desire to book your flight back out there. She is a marvellous social show more observer and I envy her talents.

I also appreciate the way that she did not, as many Brits do, go out to a foreign country completely unprepared for the challenge of the language alone. Would recommend this book without a doubt. show less

Hawes writes so lovingly of her home in Italy, and with such appreciation for the beauty of the land and the character of the people, that it becomes easy to believe that two young Englishwomen, abroad for adventure, might decide to buy a home in a small Northern Italian village and live there for much of their lives. Her character development is rich and insightful and the reader has an opportunity to watch Annie as she grows in depth and maturity as the book unfolds.

The only difficulty I had with this book was the oddity of Hawes' use of tenses. She touches upon something, as the action unfolds, that will happen in the future, or has happened in the past in a way that can be a bit unsettling. Not, however, unsettling enough to make show more the book anything but a delightful read. show less

A charming and engaging book about living in Liguria with her sister. This is not a book with lots of bragging or even false modesty really. Annie Hawes becomes a part of the village she has bought a house in and trusted by the local people and she tells about life there in the 1980s. This life she talks of has changed now, although some of the Italian beliefs are still held. A good read before going to Italy.

I'm bailing out of this one, a little more than halfway through. It's the tone, I think- two cute and arch English brats go live among the Italian peasantry. Isn't the Italian peasantry cuuuuuuute? And the first person plural narration is so distracting to me I can't get past it. We thought. We said. We felt. Are we fused at the brain, then?