When London magazine editor Kamin Mohammadi found herself unhappy, stressed to the point of burnout, and desperately lonely, the best thing ever happened to her. She got fired. Losing her job at the magazine she helped to grow was depressing and humiliating, but it ultimately led her to an entirely new life.
A writer friend offered her a place to stay in Florence, where Mohammadi could spend a year healing and writing and figuring out what she wanted to do next. She had always wanted to write about her Iranian childhood and her exile to England when she was only 10, so she decided to take her friend up on the offer and moved herself to Italy.
As the weeks and then months melted away, Mohammadi learned how to buy fresh vegetables in the marketplace and cook simple meals for herself. She learned Italian rules for drinking coffee and cooking with seasonal vegetables. She learned the importance of quality ingredients like olive oil and cheeses. And she learned what it meant to live "bella figura."
"Bella figura" is the Italian ideal of making every part of life beautiful. Whether it is a delicious meal or a piece of clothing that makes you feel lovely or just taking time for self-care or housekeeping, "bella figura" is how the Italians stay fit and happy connected. And Mohammadi writes about it all in her memoir of a year in Tuscany, Bella Figura.
Each chapter covers a month of her first year in Italy, with a nod to the seasonal produce, the scent of the city, the Italian word of the month, and her favorite moment as well as recipes that can bring you a taste of her month wherever you are. Throughout the year, she falls in and out of love, learns to slow down, takes a lover, makes friends, loses weight, and figures out how to live and work at her own pace. Mostly, she falls in love with herself, finding beauty in the stories she tells herself and others.
I have never been to Italy myself and love to soak myself in the writings of those who have. Bella Figura is perfect for that. Mohammadi is the perfect writer for this, describing the sights, the colors, the scents, the flavors with such detail that I feel like I could recognize parts of Florence without having been there before.
In the tradition of Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun or Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, Bella Figura is a soulful introduction to a fascinating part of the world told by a master storyteller. Like an exceptional pasta dinner, this book should be savored, letting the language and the strong sense of place wash over you as you imagine yourself walking the stony streets of Florence or sitting in one of the cafes savoring your morning coffee. The perfect vacation for those who travel by book, and also a wonderful lifestyle book for anyone wanting a way to melt away some stress and maybe a few pounds by living a beautiful, happy life.
Galleys for Bella Figura were provided by Knopf through Penguin's First to Read program, with many thanks.