Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy

Michael Tucker

Jun 2008 · Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

About this ebook

“Not at all the usual actor’s memoir, but a simple toast to eating, drinking and innocent merriment in old Umbria.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
Having sent their last child off to college, Michael Tucker and his wife, the actress Jill Eikenberry, were vacationing in Italy when they happened upon a small cottage nestled in the Umbrian countryside. The three-hundred-and-fifty-year-old rustico sat perched on a hill in the verdant Spoleto Valley amid an olive grove and fruit trees of every kind. For the Tuckers, it was literally love at first sight, and the couple purchased the house—without testing the water pressure or checking for signs of termites.
 
Shedding the vestiges of their American life, Michael and Jill endeavored to learn the language, understand the nuances of Italian culture, and build a home in this new chapter of their lives. Both a celebration of a good marriage and a careful study of the nature of home, Living in a Foreign Language is a gorgeous, organic travelogue written with an epicurean’s delight in detail and a gourmand’s appreciation for all things fine.
 
“The ex-L.A. Law star details his and wife Jill Eikenberry’s move to Italy. Viva la dolce vita!” —People
 
“If you’ve ever dreamed of living in an ancient stone villa set high above the Italian countryside—and who hasn’t?—Living in a Foreign Language is a seduction, a warning, an encouragement, and a guide to making a dream come true.” —Mary Doria Russell, author of The Sparrow

Ratings and reviews

Tucker's descriptions of Umbria and the food made me want to be there...now. A quick read with plenty of laughs.

About the author

Michael Tucker is the author of I Never Forget a Meal: An Indulgent Reminiscence and a veteran stage, film, and television actor perhaps best known for his role on the long-running television series L.A. Law, which he starred in opposite his wife, Jill Eikenberry. A longtime stage actor, Tucker has appeared at the Manhattan Theater Club, Playwrights Horizons, the Second Stage, the Phoenix Theater, Lincoln Center, Shakespeare in the Park, as well as on and off-Broadway, in plays as diverse as Waiting for Godot, Modigliani, Mother Courage and Her Children, and Trelawny of the ‘Wells’. His film credits include Woody Allen’s Radio Days and The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Barry Levinson’s Diner and Tin Men, among others.