La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language

Having lived in Italy more than a dozen years, my love of the country and its people is second to none. Even so, I did not enjoy La Bella Lingua. Ms. Hales sells us Italian like a used car dealer. The use of the superlative was more than I could take. Her anecdotes are often strange, too, I just can't believe her story of mistaking Domani Matina for a Mr. Matina. Had she no pocket dictionary with her? Could a train car of always helpful Italians not come to her aid? Her story of her night at La Scala is very odd. She's a woman who seems to travel to Italy endlessly, but writes that this would be her last chance to see an opera at La Scala. Why? She does seem to be allergic to Northern Italy, and Piemonte in particular, a terrible fault in a book that spends much time on culture and history. A reader of La Bella Linga would, for instance, never learn that Torino (Turin) was the first capital of united Italy. The elegant city of Torino is completely ignored both back in 1861 and today. There are other oddities: Hales spends a few pages on Fellini and never mentions his wife, the brilliant Giulietta Masina, nor La Strada, and Nights of Cabiria. An historical mistake that screams for correction appears in Hales' description of Verdi's funeral in 1901. She tells us that at the cemetery Paganini led a chorus of 900 men in singing Va, Pensiero. The problem here is that Paganini died in 1840, sixty one years earlier. It was Toscanini who led that chorus. Paganini, Toscanini -- what's the difference. :-)

This book really should've been something I loved. Certainly the subject matter is close to my heart. BUT. I felt the author's personality really got in the way of her writing. She obviously has studied extensively with many trips to Italy as part of her learning and her knowledge is not in question. I felt like I was stuck at a dinner party with someone who can't get enough of telling you all about themselves and you can't find a polite way to get away from them. We hear far too much about her and her husband and their achievements and extensive travels. She comes off as a pretentious person and not someone you want to spend that much time with. I have to admit that both myself and my husband threw in the towel before finishing the book so there is a chance that it gets better, but I didn't take it.

I have always thought there should be more books about the love of languages and how people come to love them and use them. "What La Bella Lingua" contains in addition to this is bits of information about history and culture - about how Italy and Italians came to be and how they live and lived. Dianne talks about Italian literature - important Italian writers like Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch - in such a way that it made me want to delve into their works too.

Dianne writes about her love for Italian opera and Italian cinema. One of her Italian teachers once told her that there are 2 ways to speed up your Italian learning: 1)Get an Italian lover or 2)Watch Italian movies. She chose the 2nd option, so anyone who doesn't know much about Italian cinema will likely enjoy reading about the movies she's watched and bits about the history of Italian cinema.

I liked that there were Italian words scattered throughout the book (with English translations of course)- there are expressions and slang, including how Italians curse. Even if you don't use the vulgar words, it's still a good idea to know what you might end up hearing in the streets if you decide to go to Italy.

Of course, Italian food and the importance of it to Italians (and well- other parts of the world too) is talked about. The way she describes the kind of food her Italian friends cooked for her in Italy makes me want to go there myself and try "real Italian food" made in Italy. It's easy to see how important it is to Italians to "eat well" and to not eat alone- there are many sayings related to food and eating with company.

It makes sense that there's a chapter about love - Dianne claims that love is indeed "lovelier" in Italy. There are examples of how important the topic was in literature and how it is expressed in Italy today.

Lastly, the issue of the actual process of learning the Italian language and making mistakes made along the way is a good reminder that even though you could potentially embarrass yourself by making a mistake [such as Dianne did when, around a group of people, she wanted to use the word "tetti" (roofs) as she was describing being able to see something from rooftops, but instead she used "tette" which translates as "tits" in Italian], it's better to use what you know and learn from mistakes, rather than not allow yourself to try to speak as you'd like.

Dianne learned Italian in every way that she could - books, audio, online materials, and classes, including classes in Italy. Her determination and desire for acquiring the language and knowing about its history can be seen through the way she writes. It makes for a very interesting read.

I am more interested than ever to continue my Italian language studies in Italy because of the book.

I borrowed this book from the library but I have no doubt that I'll eventually buy it and re-read it. 5 stars!

If your curious about language and meaning, like to find out the history and background of how words are used this is an interesting book. If you love Italian yourself -- you'll love these insights.

PC

Although the book took a while to sink its hooks into me, it succeeded. I had expected a more personal, less historical take on the always fascinating process of diving into another culture. What I got was a meandering path to becoming culturally literate, which can only happen when one has mastered a language.

I ended up thoroughly enjoying the book and thinking how much fun it would be to read a similar book on acquiring English. The outsider's perspective is never completely accurate, but it allows us to see our own culture with new eyes. I would be interested to know if Italians reading the book enjoyed it as much as I did.

The book does what it promises, and very elegantly, although language lovers will object that there is too much cultural history and less linguistic detail. Naturally, the book is not very academic which might be irritating for someone interested in more detail. I found the writing well organized and the material presented clearly. The author does not seem to know (or care) much about other countries, therefore comparisons and cross-cultural references are avoided. In that sense, the book is limited. It makes an argument but it avoids any comparisons. French cuisine, stay away! This seems to be either intentional or caused by the author's lack of broader knowledge. Of course, one can argue that without the Greek civilization there wouldn't have been any Italian culture etc. In addition, the book avoids getting into details of Italian regionalism and clearly avoids talking about politics. The author also avoided explaining Italian fascism (no need to explain, really?). In that context, the statement that "Americans invaded Italy" (during WWII) seems rather peculiar. References to Italian Catholicism are so rare that the Vatican itself seems to be located in a neighboring country. In spite of all the years the author spent in Italy it is still a tourist's book.

The book does what it promises, and very elegantly, although language lovers will object that there is too much cultural history and less linguistic detail. Naturally, the book is not very academic which might be irritating for someone interested in more detail. I found the writing well organized and the material presented clearly. The author does not seem to know (or care) much about other countries, therefore comparisons and cross-cultural references are avoided. In that sense, the book is limited. It makes an argument but it avoids any comparisons. French cuisine, stay away! This seems to be either intentional or caused by the author's lack of broader knowledge. Of course, one can argue that without the Greek civilization there wouldn't have been any Italian culture etc. In addition, the book avoids getting into details of Italian regionalism and clearly avoids talking about politics. The author also avoided explaining Italian fascism (no need to explain, really?). In that context, the statement that "Americans invaded Italy" (during WWII) seems rather peculiar. References to Italian Catholicism are so rare that the Vatican itself seems to be located in a neighboring country. In spite of all the years the author spent in Italy it is still a tourist's book.

In my mind, the subtitle should really have been the title of the book: "My love affair with Italian, the world's most enchanting language" rather than, "La Bella Lingua." The author, Dianne Hales, is a seasoned writer, and this really comes to light by the way Hales draws the reader in and keeps the reader captivated throughout this unlikely topic of "language history." By now of course, the book has become a best seller. As it turns out, the history of the Italian language is really the history of Italy itself. As a teacher of beginning Italian, I always tell my new students that the Italian language is really the key to unlocking the wonderful culture and people of Italy. Knowing Italian makes one's life richer. Reading the enchanting prose of Dianne Hales' book "la Bella Lingua," I delighted in learning more about Italy and it's language and thank her for her life-long dedication to this topic.

Nothing profound here, just a pleasant easy read. You might enjoy "Living in a Foreign Language" by Michael Tucker more.

This book was not what I expected. It was more about the author's experience than about the Italian Language itself.