Bella Figura

February 26, 2018
In this charming hybrid of self-help and memoir, journalist Mohammadi (The Cypress Tree) relates a journey that began 10 years ago when she left her frazzled and unfulfilling life in London for a year’s sabbatical in Florence, where she planned to write a book. She quickly became enamored of the Italian way of life, which is about “making every aspect of life as beautiful as it can be” and embracing “generosity and abundance.” Mohammadi conveys life lessons learned in Italy (from the health benefits of olive oil to the importance of slowing down and observing one’s surroundings), alongside her progression toward self-acceptance. The book is also part travelogue—Mohammadi includes vivid descriptions of the area’s landmarks and attractions, like the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pubblico in nearby Siena—and part romance, as Mohammadi finds herself entwined with a few of Florence’s most eligible bachelors. Clueless about the culinary arts upon arrival, Mohammadi is treated to a pasta-making lesson by a charismatic plumber, and includes some favorite Italian recipes at the end of each chapter. Mohammadi captures myriad aspects of the charming Italian lifestyle, and her story’s happy ending is a testament to its benefits.

March 1, 2018
An Iranian-born British journalist goes to Italy on an extended work sabbatical and unexpectedly finds the fulfillment that had been absent from her life.When Mohammadi (The Cypress Tree, 2011) lost what she thought was her dream job as an editor for a prestigious magazine in London, she was overweight, overworked, and miserably unhappy. So she took her severance pay and went to live in Florence, where she gave herself one year to try to make it as a writer. Florentines immediately welcomed her with open arms and taught her the concept of "la bella figura," or "making every aspect of life as beautiful as it can be." Taking this cultural lesson to heart, the author embraced the slower pace of life. She shopped at open-air markets for fresh foods and learned how to appreciate the benefits of olive oil, which she took like "medicine four times a day...sometimes drinking [it] straight from a tablespoon." Within a short time, the weight she had been unable to lose in London fell away. Feeling more confident in her newly glowing skin and body, Mohammadi began to wear more stylish clothes that celebrated the femininity she had hidden away in shame "under shapeless black clothes." When an Italian playboy named Dino came into her life, she exuberantly indulged in a sensuality and sexuality she had all but abandoned. The broken heart she suffered afterward became part of an "education" that led her to greater self-appreciation. Her new openness eventually led her to a man whose life as a twice-divorced father of three children she accepted and loved despite its messy complications. Interspersed throughout with delicious recipes and bella figura-inspired lifestyle tips, the book is a down-to-earth modern-day fairy tale for the world-weary that celebrates personal transformation and all things delectably Italian.A charming, delightful memoir of self-transformation.

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April 15, 2018
Mohammadi's sparkling, month-by-month account of a year in Italy is a less exotic (and perhaps less self-absorbed), more outwardly observant version of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love (2006), but without the praying. In January 2008, stressed and depressed, Iranian-born Mohammadi took a buyout from her job as an editor of a glossy British magazine and accepted a friend's offer to stay at her vacant apartment in Florence. There she worked on a memoir (The Cypress Tree, 2011), made friends with a bartender, observed the people and places of the city, and fell in love first with a charming scoundrel and then with a nice-if-complicated guy with two ex-wives, three kids, and a passel of dogs. Touting the virtues of olive oil and daily strolls and offering a set of uncomplicated recipes and lifestyle suggestions, the author makes a convincing if not completely original case for the benefits of living life in the slow and sunny lane.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)