The Last Supper: A Summer In Italy - Rachel Cusk

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

In The Last Supper novelist Rachel Cusk chronicles her families 3 month trip to Italy. Though an accomplished and prize winning novelist, in this memoir she shows herself to be a bit of a snob. In a desperate attempt to leave behind the dreary English weather and the routine of daily life, her family sells their home and heads to Tuscany. Although I found the book to be beautifully written and stylish, I also found it to be lacking human interest. At no point does she mention the names of her husband or children and goes into little, if often no, detail about their personal experiences. At best she complains about tourist and expatiates as though feeling herself to be superior to them. Unfortunately, this is as deep as she goes. I often found myself reading on for hope and desire of depth. Never really finding it but continuing on because of the beauty of her words. The most appealing part of this book is the art that she encounters and writes on. This I found to be very interesting, as she touches on the great masters of Italian art. At first I was excited to read this book, having spent much time in Italy myself. However, Cusk never really delved into the qualities that make Italy so wonderful - the food and people. Although, she seems to consider herself a cultural elitist above those of the "herds" of tourist. She simply shows her ignorance and lack of adventure.

The Wishing Year - Noelle Oxenhandler

3 Stars / 5

This books recounts one year of the author's life, in which she decided to apply the power of positive thinking to reach three goals: find a spiritual community, own a house, and find love.

I found this book quite refreshing, mainly because the author refrains from "The Secret" type of methodology. Yes, the main premise is similar (positive thinking is the key to getting what you want) but unlike most books on the topic, her quest is not monetary or uber-materialistic. Oxenhandler analyses the positive thinking movement from as far back as the Greek philosophy and doesn't take a simplistic view of this form of wishing -even though she sometimes gives in to tricks such as wishing only in 8-syllable sentences. The bottom line of her experiment is that you have to think positively and act on what you wish for. Wishing alone will not work.

This book worked for me because I read it when I needed it. Had I read it at another time, I might have thought it was one of many nice-but-without-substance books on the topic.