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Florence in Ecstasy
A young American woman arrives in Florence from Boston, knowing no one and speaking little Italian. But Hannah is isolated in a more profound way, estranged from her own identity after a bout with starvation that has left her life and body in ruins. She is determined to recover in Florence, a city saturated with beauty, vitality, and food—as well as a dangerous history of sainthood for women who starved themselves for God.
Hannah joins a local rowing club, where Francesca, a welcoming but predatory Milanese, and Luca, a seemingly steady Florentine with whom she becomes involved, draw her into Florence’s vibrant present: the complex social dynamics at the club, soccer mania, eating, drinking, sex, an insatiable insistence on life. But Hannah is also rapt by the city’s past—the countless representations of beauty, the entrenched conflicts of politics and faith, and the lore of the mystical saints, women whose self-imposed isolation and ecstatic searches for meaning through denial illuminate the seduction of her own struggles.
Both sides pull Hannah in: challenging her, defeating her, lifting her up. And when a figure from her past life in Boston reappears, threatening the delicate balance of her present, Hannah’s feverish personal excavation becomes caught up with the long history of women’s contention with body and spirit, desire and death.
A vivid, visceral debut echoing the novels of Jean Rhys, Elena Ferrante, and Catherine Lacey, Florence in Ecstasy gives us an arresting new vision of a woman’s attempt to find meaning—and find herself—in an unstable world.
Hannah joins a local rowing club, where Francesca, a welcoming but predatory Milanese, and Luca, a seemingly steady Florentine with whom she becomes involved, draw her into Florence’s vibrant present: the complex social dynamics at the club, soccer mania, eating, drinking, sex, an insatiable insistence on life. But Hannah is also rapt by the city’s past—the countless representations of beauty, the entrenched conflicts of politics and faith, and the lore of the mystical saints, women whose self-imposed isolation and ecstatic searches for meaning through denial illuminate the seduction of her own struggles.
Both sides pull Hannah in: challenging her, defeating her, lifting her up. And when a figure from her past life in Boston reappears, threatening the delicate balance of her present, Hannah’s feverish personal excavation becomes caught up with the long history of women’s contention with body and spirit, desire and death.
A vivid, visceral debut echoing the novels of Jean Rhys, Elena Ferrante, and Catherine Lacey, Florence in Ecstasy gives us an arresting new vision of a woman’s attempt to find meaning—and find herself—in an unstable world.
240 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2017
45 people are currently reading
1823 people want to read
About the author
Jessie Chaffee
4 books25 followersJessie Chaffee's debut novel, Florence in Ecstasy, was published by The Unnamed Press in May 2017. She was awarded a 2014-2015 Fulbright Grant in Creative Writing to Italy to complete the novel, during which time she was the Writer-in-Residence at Florence University of the Arts. Her writing has been published in The Rumpus, Bluestem, Global City Review, Big Bridge, and The Sigh Press, among others. She lives in New York City, where she is an editor at Words Without Borders, an online magazine of international literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
November 23, 2018
3.5 stars
In Florence in Ecstasy, we follow Hannah, a young American woman from Boston who travels to Florence to escape her American life. She struggles with an eating disorder, which she relates to the struggles of the mythical saints, women who also experienced isolation and ecstasy through self-denial. While in Florence, Hannah joins a local rowing club, where she meets Luca, a welcoming and open man with whom she soon gets involved. The story follows Hannah's search for connection and stability as she navigates Florence, both the city and what it brings out within herself.
I found certain parts of Hannah's character so relatable. As someone who dealt with anorexia and as someone who now provides therapy for people with eating disorders, I found Hannah's desperation for control and belonging and her neurotic concerns about interpersonal relationships super real and raw. The passages of the book that pertained to her eating disorder and its effects felt the most poignant and important to me, and I appreciate Jessie Chaffee for her research and writing on this still stigmatized mental disorder.
I found other elements of the novel distracting though. I admit I am biased because I am not much of a travel person, but I found the focus on Florence dissatisfying. Hannah's connection to the saints came across as compelling enough, but the other parts pertaining to travel struck me as a little problematic. Instead of seeking treatment for her eating disorder, Hannah escapes to Florence - a move that requires some amount of privilege - and then falls in love with a man, as if falling in love with a man is tantamount to self-reflection and self-healing in the face of a serious mental illness. I wish the book contained more background and information on Hannah as a character, like her upbringing, her feelings and thoughts, and her process of recovery and relapse, instead of focusing so much on Florence as a city, especially Luca.
Overall, an okay read I would recommend to those intrigued by the synopsis. In terms of books related to eating disorders, I would rather recommend Appetites by Caroline Knapp (my fav by far), Hunger by Roxane Gay, and Paperweight by Meg Haston.
In Florence in Ecstasy, we follow Hannah, a young American woman from Boston who travels to Florence to escape her American life. She struggles with an eating disorder, which she relates to the struggles of the mythical saints, women who also experienced isolation and ecstasy through self-denial. While in Florence, Hannah joins a local rowing club, where she meets Luca, a welcoming and open man with whom she soon gets involved. The story follows Hannah's search for connection and stability as she navigates Florence, both the city and what it brings out within herself.
I found certain parts of Hannah's character so relatable. As someone who dealt with anorexia and as someone who now provides therapy for people with eating disorders, I found Hannah's desperation for control and belonging and her neurotic concerns about interpersonal relationships super real and raw. The passages of the book that pertained to her eating disorder and its effects felt the most poignant and important to me, and I appreciate Jessie Chaffee for her research and writing on this still stigmatized mental disorder.
I found other elements of the novel distracting though. I admit I am biased because I am not much of a travel person, but I found the focus on Florence dissatisfying. Hannah's connection to the saints came across as compelling enough, but the other parts pertaining to travel struck me as a little problematic. Instead of seeking treatment for her eating disorder, Hannah escapes to Florence - a move that requires some amount of privilege - and then falls in love with a man, as if falling in love with a man is tantamount to self-reflection and self-healing in the face of a serious mental illness. I wish the book contained more background and information on Hannah as a character, like her upbringing, her feelings and thoughts, and her process of recovery and relapse, instead of focusing so much on Florence as a city, especially Luca.
Overall, an okay read I would recommend to those intrigued by the synopsis. In terms of books related to eating disorders, I would rather recommend Appetites by Caroline Knapp (my fav by far), Hunger by Roxane Gay, and Paperweight by Meg Haston.
May 17, 2017
This novel remained in me long after I'd finished it. Quiet but powerful, heart-breaking but humorous, with writing so delicious I couldn't decide whether to savor slowly or gulp down all at once. It took a subject I mistakenly thought I understood and turned it upside down. The writing is gorgeous, and the landscape of Florence exquisitely rendered. You feel, hear, smell, and taste along with Hannah; Jessie Chaffee has that unique ability to draw you so close to her narrator you exist on the pages with her. Reading this book is like living it, and, as only the finest novels can manage, finishing it is like leaving a bit of your soul behind.
November 1, 2022
Florence in Ecstasy by Jessie Chaffee is a beautifully written novel about a young woman, Hannah, who moves to Florence, Italy in an attempt to recover from an eating disorder that has left her body and life in ruins. Hannah is immediately welcomed into the city's vibrant present by Francesca and Luca, two locals who introduce her to the complex social dynamics at her new rowing club, the excitement of soccer mania, and the delicious food and wine of Florence. However, Hannah is also constantly drawn back to the city's past; its countless religious relics and artworks hint at a history of women who have starved themselves for God.
The beauty of Chaffee's writing lies in her ability to perfectly capture both the present and past of Florence simultaneously, giving readers a rich and multifaceted view of the city. The characters that populate Chaffee's novel are equally well-developed, with each one bringing their own unique perspective to the story. Luca, in particular, is an intriguing character; though he seems like a dependable and steady presence in Hannah's life, there are moments when he reveals a darker side that makes him feel more complex and real.
Ultimately, Florence in Ecstasy is a captivating novel that provides a unique glimpse into the beauty and complexity of Florence. Chaffee's lyrical writing and skillfully drawn characters make this novel a must-read for anyone interested in Italian culture or simply looking for an absorbing read.
The beauty of Chaffee's writing lies in her ability to perfectly capture both the present and past of Florence simultaneously, giving readers a rich and multifaceted view of the city. The characters that populate Chaffee's novel are equally well-developed, with each one bringing their own unique perspective to the story. Luca, in particular, is an intriguing character; though he seems like a dependable and steady presence in Hannah's life, there are moments when he reveals a darker side that makes him feel more complex and real.
Ultimately, Florence in Ecstasy is a captivating novel that provides a unique glimpse into the beauty and complexity of Florence. Chaffee's lyrical writing and skillfully drawn characters make this novel a must-read for anyone interested in Italian culture or simply looking for an absorbing read.
May 6, 2022
My review for The Florence News, and English-language monthly paper here in Florence, Italy.
The founding principle of every moral system I can think of is the sacredness of life. To love others as we love ourselves and to hold all life on Earth inviolable is the bedrock of both our secular ethics and religious moralities. Unfortunately, the biological conditions of existence on this planet include the daily consumption of other living things. All earthly creatures must eat some form of living matter, either animal or vegetable, in order to survive. So, how do we reconcile our need to kill in order to subsist with our moral imperative regarding the sacredness of life? This is one of the most profound contradictions of human existence and one with which Christian mystics have long struggled.
Since religions—Christianity among them—often split the body from the soul in order to focus, literally, on the spiritual, the body is frequently framed as the battleground where the mystic’s struggle to achieve perfection is fought. Italian food culture reminds us of the Christian tradition of worship through feasting or fasting perhaps more vividly than any of its European cousins—a meal is still the Italian Catholic’s primary form of religious celebration, and the word we Anglo-Saxons use, a holiday or “holy day,” Italians still call a festa, or a “feast day.” The contradiction of worshiping God, the creator of life, through fasting—denying oneself the very principle of life—lies at the heart of much of the female Christian mystical experience. At the heart of novelist Jessie Chaffee’s startlingly fine debut, Florence in Ecstasy, we find our protagonist in the grips of a similar—although secular—battle between self-construction and self-destruction via her relationship with her own body and its alimentation. The novel gives us, in her own voice, Hannah—a thirty-something Bostonian temporarily escaped to Florence—in the grips of a life-or-death struggle with her identity, involved in a conflict between her mind and body, who finds a mirror for her existential crisis in the writings of the female mystics of Italy’s past.
Although marketable within the “female awakening in Italy” genre, I found Florence in Ecstasy to be so much more than those non-fiction tales of Americans conquering the mysteries of the old world—the novel is profound, philosophical, familiar to me and my male experience of the world as I entered into my thirties, as well as exquisitely written. The Florentine backdrop is drawn in fine detail—the rowing club rather than the view over the Arno to which we’ve become accustomed since Forster—and the characters are believable—thankfully the novel avoids the tired clichés of the naïvely romantic American and the zesty, life-loving European lover who teaches her a thing or two about Mediterranean sensuality.
Florence in Ecstasy rather beats with a living heart founded in the contemporary experience of soul-searching that’s too often labeled as sickness, as if it came from outside of us: depression, addiction, eating disorders, etc. Hannah’s story is a wholly modern tale that, nevertheless, taps into a long tradition of Christian mysticism and female fasting, of rebellion against the tyranny of hunger and our earthly, physical nature, of people struggling to break out of the bonds of social mores and traditions in order to become radically individual. To be someone is often to be like no one else, to change, to transform oneself—and these are frequently dangerous propositions that get labeled as illness by a world full of conformity to cultural norms often no less self-destructive—fossil fuels, processed food, and hopelessly inefficient political economies.
Hannah is a narrator whose voice I will carry with me for a long time. For I, too, have struggled with my own interior search for individuality through otherness, with self-destructive urges born of a desire to transcend and to become more myself, and I felt as close to her and her experience as I read as she did when reading the testimonials of the Italian mystics. This is not a novel exclusive to female experience; it’s a beautifully expressed universal story of our human desire to escape, to perfect ourselves, and to transcend.
Just read this again as I added it to my foreign Writers in Italy course and found it just as good the second time around: profound, moving, a great read. It was also very popular with my study abroad students here in Florence--the most "relatable" text I assigned and the perfect way to end the fall semester.
Third time through, teaching it again. Still beautiful and the students were again quite impressed. Holds up well to multiple readings, always packs a whollup.
The founding principle of every moral system I can think of is the sacredness of life. To love others as we love ourselves and to hold all life on Earth inviolable is the bedrock of both our secular ethics and religious moralities. Unfortunately, the biological conditions of existence on this planet include the daily consumption of other living things. All earthly creatures must eat some form of living matter, either animal or vegetable, in order to survive. So, how do we reconcile our need to kill in order to subsist with our moral imperative regarding the sacredness of life? This is one of the most profound contradictions of human existence and one with which Christian mystics have long struggled.
Since religions—Christianity among them—often split the body from the soul in order to focus, literally, on the spiritual, the body is frequently framed as the battleground where the mystic’s struggle to achieve perfection is fought. Italian food culture reminds us of the Christian tradition of worship through feasting or fasting perhaps more vividly than any of its European cousins—a meal is still the Italian Catholic’s primary form of religious celebration, and the word we Anglo-Saxons use, a holiday or “holy day,” Italians still call a festa, or a “feast day.” The contradiction of worshiping God, the creator of life, through fasting—denying oneself the very principle of life—lies at the heart of much of the female Christian mystical experience. At the heart of novelist Jessie Chaffee’s startlingly fine debut, Florence in Ecstasy, we find our protagonist in the grips of a similar—although secular—battle between self-construction and self-destruction via her relationship with her own body and its alimentation. The novel gives us, in her own voice, Hannah—a thirty-something Bostonian temporarily escaped to Florence—in the grips of a life-or-death struggle with her identity, involved in a conflict between her mind and body, who finds a mirror for her existential crisis in the writings of the female mystics of Italy’s past.
Although marketable within the “female awakening in Italy” genre, I found Florence in Ecstasy to be so much more than those non-fiction tales of Americans conquering the mysteries of the old world—the novel is profound, philosophical, familiar to me and my male experience of the world as I entered into my thirties, as well as exquisitely written. The Florentine backdrop is drawn in fine detail—the rowing club rather than the view over the Arno to which we’ve become accustomed since Forster—and the characters are believable—thankfully the novel avoids the tired clichés of the naïvely romantic American and the zesty, life-loving European lover who teaches her a thing or two about Mediterranean sensuality.
Florence in Ecstasy rather beats with a living heart founded in the contemporary experience of soul-searching that’s too often labeled as sickness, as if it came from outside of us: depression, addiction, eating disorders, etc. Hannah’s story is a wholly modern tale that, nevertheless, taps into a long tradition of Christian mysticism and female fasting, of rebellion against the tyranny of hunger and our earthly, physical nature, of people struggling to break out of the bonds of social mores and traditions in order to become radically individual. To be someone is often to be like no one else, to change, to transform oneself—and these are frequently dangerous propositions that get labeled as illness by a world full of conformity to cultural norms often no less self-destructive—fossil fuels, processed food, and hopelessly inefficient political economies.
Hannah is a narrator whose voice I will carry with me for a long time. For I, too, have struggled with my own interior search for individuality through otherness, with self-destructive urges born of a desire to transcend and to become more myself, and I felt as close to her and her experience as I read as she did when reading the testimonials of the Italian mystics. This is not a novel exclusive to female experience; it’s a beautifully expressed universal story of our human desire to escape, to perfect ourselves, and to transcend.
Just read this again as I added it to my foreign Writers in Italy course and found it just as good the second time around: profound, moving, a great read. It was also very popular with my study abroad students here in Florence--the most "relatable" text I assigned and the perfect way to end the fall semester.
Third time through, teaching it again. Still beautiful and the students were again quite impressed. Holds up well to multiple readings, always packs a whollup.
August 11, 2018
There are many things that need to be said about Jessie Chaffee's Florence in Ecstasy. It is painful, raw, ecstatic (sorry), with a rhythm both absorbing and jarring. When I sat down to read it, I gobbled pages down without realizing that, suddenly, somehow, 80 pages had happened. But it was difficult to pick back up, so intense were Hannah's anguish, hope, and anxieties. That, to me, is the true sign of a good book - I could not eat it all in one sitting, I had to sit back, let pieces digest, sit with passages for days before diving back in.
In that way, Florence in Ecstasy mimics Hannah's own obsessions. She is an engaging main character, one for whom I felt extreme tenderness and compassion. She is both fragile and impossibly strong, and these facets of her core are explored with a sparkling intimacy. Chaffee does a remarkable job of ensuring that the reader empathizes with her protagonist. I'll admit to similarities between myself and Hannah that perhaps paved the way for my own ease at identifying with her, but I don't think it would have been possible had Chaffee not written her with the incisive, generous warmth that seeps through the pages - it would have been too easy, otherwise, to pick apart flaws and flip that switch off completely. That's always a danger in reading a book in which a character suffers as you have suffered; my heart broke for Hannah, and I think maybe it broke a little bit for me.
But Florence in Ecstasy is, above all, a triumph. It is a triumph for Hannah, a triumph for Florence, a triumph for the saints Chaffee illuminates in Hannah's obsessive spirals, and a triumph, most importantly, for Chaffee herself. She breathes life into a city, as Florence is just as much a character as Hannah, as Luca (whom I love, who I could dedicate a whole review to, but I won't, except to say that the supporting cast is realistic and charming and is, in some ways, the backbone of the story), as Lorenza and Peter and Francesca. Florence makes this story what it is, and it would be somehow colder, somehow less, set anywhere else. I've never been to Florence, but I might as well have been sitting along the Arno (although probably not rowing up it), sipping espresso while chatting with Hannah, so intimate and alive are the components of Jessie's book.
I would recommend this again and again, over and over, as an example of the ways in which a human spirit can experience trauma and yet come through, not to the other side, but to a place where one can sit with ones trauma, know that it is there, acknowledge it as a part of oneself, and still stand victorious, still stand stronger and better and grounded in the knowledge that one isn't defined by it if one doesn't choose to be. That moment that shines through, right at the end, is Chaffee's gift to every reader who picks up Florence in Ecstasy. (Also, Luca. Luca is a treasure.)
In that way, Florence in Ecstasy mimics Hannah's own obsessions. She is an engaging main character, one for whom I felt extreme tenderness and compassion. She is both fragile and impossibly strong, and these facets of her core are explored with a sparkling intimacy. Chaffee does a remarkable job of ensuring that the reader empathizes with her protagonist. I'll admit to similarities between myself and Hannah that perhaps paved the way for my own ease at identifying with her, but I don't think it would have been possible had Chaffee not written her with the incisive, generous warmth that seeps through the pages - it would have been too easy, otherwise, to pick apart flaws and flip that switch off completely. That's always a danger in reading a book in which a character suffers as you have suffered; my heart broke for Hannah, and I think maybe it broke a little bit for me.
But Florence in Ecstasy is, above all, a triumph. It is a triumph for Hannah, a triumph for Florence, a triumph for the saints Chaffee illuminates in Hannah's obsessive spirals, and a triumph, most importantly, for Chaffee herself. She breathes life into a city, as Florence is just as much a character as Hannah, as Luca (whom I love, who I could dedicate a whole review to, but I won't, except to say that the supporting cast is realistic and charming and is, in some ways, the backbone of the story), as Lorenza and Peter and Francesca. Florence makes this story what it is, and it would be somehow colder, somehow less, set anywhere else. I've never been to Florence, but I might as well have been sitting along the Arno (although probably not rowing up it), sipping espresso while chatting with Hannah, so intimate and alive are the components of Jessie's book.
I would recommend this again and again, over and over, as an example of the ways in which a human spirit can experience trauma and yet come through, not to the other side, but to a place where one can sit with ones trauma, know that it is there, acknowledge it as a part of oneself, and still stand victorious, still stand stronger and better and grounded in the knowledge that one isn't defined by it if one doesn't choose to be. That moment that shines through, right at the end, is Chaffee's gift to every reader who picks up Florence in Ecstasy. (Also, Luca. Luca is a treasure.)
June 13, 2018
“But here is the truth: I didn’t want to die, but I didn’t want to let it go. It gave me a center. That void became my center. It had the capacity to kill me, but it was exciting. On the brink, always. Of death, of life. I could do anything because I was outside of everything.”
Powerful. Beautiful. You follow Hannah, an American woman from Boston currently “living” in Italy. Hannah has been battling an eating disorder and has come to Italy to in a way escape, get better..Crazy because Italy is a place known for amazing food, so in social situations to keep her secret she has to eat. While there she takes up rowing and also starts working at a library and becomes fascinated with different female Saints from throughout history. The writing in this book is stunning and the author does such a good job at putting you in Hannah’s head.
Powerful. Beautiful. You follow Hannah, an American woman from Boston currently “living” in Italy. Hannah has been battling an eating disorder and has come to Italy to in a way escape, get better..Crazy because Italy is a place known for amazing food, so in social situations to keep her secret she has to eat. While there she takes up rowing and also starts working at a library and becomes fascinated with different female Saints from throughout history. The writing in this book is stunning and the author does such a good job at putting you in Hannah’s head.
June 18, 2017
I do not write many reviews, but this book is different. The story is very powerful. One can become frustrated with the main heroine, Hannah from Boston, but she is so alive and multilayered. Hannah's struggles to understand her mental health issues are described so well that one cannot help but wonder if the author had experienced them herself. It was unusual to think about all the female saints from the point of view provided by the author. Plus, I was in Florence and Sienna last year, and it was such an experience to read about places Hannah visited and being able to visualize them so vividly. A great book!
June 20, 2017
I have to admit the primary reason I read this novel was the titular setting. Much like the protagonist Hannah, if there were any foreign city I would choose to flee to it would be Florence. And on this point, I was not disappointed in the least as Chaffee, quite vividly made me feel as I was walking the streets and piazzas along with Hannah along with a whole bunch more intangibles that is Italy.
So while that was all truly delightful and wonderful, it was in deep contrast to the darkness of the subject matter as Hannah flees to Florence to escape some serious inner demons/mental illness. While it was often hard to truly connect with Hannah, I am guessing it was likely intentional on Chaffee's part -- isolation and alone-ness is part of her struggles -- in addition, in part, to being a male reader who might not quite "get" it all (at this writing, 90%+ of reviews/ratings appear to be from women). But still Chaffee certainly creates empathy and insight down into a deep and dark well. And continuing to fold in Italian culture, Chaffee does a fine job using religious saints -- often of the "in ecstasy" variety -- as a discovery vehicle for Hannah re: self-inflicted deprivation and pain with it providing some inexplicable pleasure for a higher cause or purpose. This symbolism could have been heavy-handed, but here quite deftly handled.
Some readers may quibble with the coy-ish, never quite full reveal of Hannah's past or what felt like a tad too quick ending, but it all still felt like something "new" while returning me to something "old" via one of my favorite cities in the world.
May 28, 2017
Hannah moves to Florence, Italy to escape her demons and her messed up life. Hannah is starving herself. She has lost her job and alienated her family and her lover. In Florence, she discovers the stories of saints and mystics who have lived lives of self denial. Maybe it was the only way a woman could distinguish herself in the medieval times. The story also brings Florence to life as Hannah slowly engages in rowing and a cautious romance. It's a hard, powerful read. It is uplifting when Hannah starts to heal herself but as with any addiction she knows that she may slip into masochistic behavior at any time. We don't actually find out what actually sent Hannah into the destructive behavior with ruled her life, she is 29 and it seems that her illness was fairly recent. Hannah's struggle and inner thoughts are amazingly and beautifully written.
April 24, 2020
❝ Sufletul nu poate trăi fără să iubească. Sufletul se unește întodeauna cu ceea ce iubește și este transformat de acel lucru.
— pag. 65
O tânără americană din Boston se retrage pentru o vreme la Florența, fără să cunoască pe nimeni și fără să cunoască bine limba. Ea este înstrăinată de propria-i identitate după o lungă perioadă de înfometare, care i-a ruinat trupul şi i-a distrus viaţa. Ajunge să fie captivată de trecutul Florenței, de nenumăratele reprezentări ale frumuseții, de conflictele politicii și ale credinței, precum şi de poveştile sfintelor mistice, femei a căror izolare autoimpusă au rămas consemnate în istorie. Toate acestea amintindu-i de propriile sale lupte.
O carte drăguță despre regăsirea sinelui și a valorilor vieții, care te poartă cu ochii minții prin frumoasa Italie. Te trezești rătacind pe străduțe întortocheate, cochetând cu un aerul boem al teraselor la apus lângă un pahar de prosecco.
— pag. 65
O tânără americană din Boston se retrage pentru o vreme la Florența, fără să cunoască pe nimeni și fără să cunoască bine limba. Ea este înstrăinată de propria-i identitate după o lungă perioadă de înfometare, care i-a ruinat trupul şi i-a distrus viaţa. Ajunge să fie captivată de trecutul Florenței, de nenumăratele reprezentări ale frumuseții, de conflictele politicii și ale credinței, precum şi de poveştile sfintelor mistice, femei a căror izolare autoimpusă au rămas consemnate în istorie. Toate acestea amintindu-i de propriile sale lupte.
O carte drăguță despre regăsirea sinelui și a valorilor vieții, care te poartă cu ochii minții prin frumoasa Italie. Te trezești rătacind pe străduțe întortocheate, cochetând cu un aerul boem al teraselor la apus lângă un pahar de prosecco.
June 8, 2017
This book was so stunning, for its expertly detailed setting to original subject matter. I rooted for Hannah, empathized with her, was interested in her journey.
May 5, 2023
cool concept bad execution
March 21, 2019
Salve Confine,
ennesima recensione di un romanzo dal tema importante e delicato che mi ha catturato fino alla fine.
Si tratta di "La mia fame è troppo amore" di Jassie Chaffee, edito Fabbri, che ringrazio per l'invio della copia digitale.
La vita di Hannah va a rotoli.
Ha perso il suo lavoro in una galleria d'arte di Boston dopo l'ennesimo passo falso, ha rovinato il rapporto col suo fidanzanto e evita la sorella per non sentirsi dire che il suo atteggiamento nei confronti del cibo è in realtà una malattia con un nome ben preciso, terribile e tragico.
Ha bisogno di lasciarsi andare completamente, di scomparire, e decide di assecondare questo suo bisogno fuggendo da Boston per recarsi in un posto lontano, dove nessuno può raggiungerla.
Decide per l'Italia, precisamente Firenze, dove comincia a vagare per le strade deserte a causa della calura estiva, dove comincia a respirare la città e il suo lento movimento, fino ad ambientarsi e a entrare in sintonia con se stessa, soprattutto quando decide di entrare a far parte del circolo dei canottieri, dove incontra un gruppo di persone che, ben presto, entreranno a far parte della sua vita.
Lì Hannah pensa di aver trovato il suo posto, spendendo il tempo allenando il suo fragile corpo, nutrendo la sua anima, entrando in contatto con la gente e trovando di nuovo l'amore.
Firenze e tutto ciò che ha trovato in essa sembra essere diventata la sua medicina. Hannah riabilita se stessa e la sua anima, trova anche un lavoro e il suo posto nel mondo, libera dalle spire di quel serpente che è l'anoressia, che le stava togliendo la vita.
Ma fuggire dai problemi ti da solo l'illusione di essertene liberata e ben presto il serpente torna a sibilare al suo orecchio e a stringerla nuovamente in un abbraccio conosciuto e familiare a cui è facile abbandonarsi.
Romanzo profondo e introspettivo, dove il tema dei disordini alimentari è trattato con delicatezza e grande conoscenza.
La scrittrice ha saputo affrontare egregiamente l'argomento tanto che è risultato palese che dietro a tutto ci fosse uno studio approfondito della malattia.
Il suo stile è elegante e introspettivo.
Il ritmo è altalenante, ma non disturba la lettura che risulta godibile e interessante.
I personaggi sono psicologicamente ben delineati e si riesce facilmente ad immedesimarsi con il lavorio mentale della protagonista.
Io sono entrata in piena sintonia con Hannah, vivendo con lei l'angoscia, la sofferenza e la solitudine, ma anche la speranza di una ripresa.
Il fatto di non riuscire a capire fino alla fine se Hannah sia destinata a vincere contro la malattia e contro la parte oscura di se stessa, tiene il lettore, o quanto meno me, incollato alle pagine.
Sebbene non abbia mai sofferto di disturbi alimentari, sono riuscita a capire Hannah e il suo disagio intimo e personale e questo è un punto a favore dell'autrice.
Hannah all'inizio non riesce a vedere nella sua eccessiva magrezza, nel suo controllo eccesivo dell'alimentazione, nella sua abitudine di indursi a vomitare, qualcosa che non va, per lei è normale, logico.
Quando riesce finalmente a capire, a prendere coscienza, reagisce con prontezza e tenta di cambiare il corso della sua vita, ma il lettore lo sente che la convinzione non è forte, che i tentennamenti persistono e vengono mascherati.
Molto bello ho trovato l inserimento dell'elemento religioso vissuto come una ricerca. La protagonista comincia a studiare la vita delle sante, di quelle misitiche che digiunavano per raggiungere l'illuminazione divina.
Sono stata veramente contenta di aver scelto di leggere questo romanzo a cui molti non avrebbero dato una chance e lo consiglio fortemente se avete bisogno di una lettura introspettiva che lascia il segno.
Buona lettura.
ennesima recensione di un romanzo dal tema importante e delicato che mi ha catturato fino alla fine.
Si tratta di "La mia fame è troppo amore" di Jassie Chaffee, edito Fabbri, che ringrazio per l'invio della copia digitale.
La vita di Hannah va a rotoli.
Ha perso il suo lavoro in una galleria d'arte di Boston dopo l'ennesimo passo falso, ha rovinato il rapporto col suo fidanzanto e evita la sorella per non sentirsi dire che il suo atteggiamento nei confronti del cibo è in realtà una malattia con un nome ben preciso, terribile e tragico.
Ha bisogno di lasciarsi andare completamente, di scomparire, e decide di assecondare questo suo bisogno fuggendo da Boston per recarsi in un posto lontano, dove nessuno può raggiungerla.
Decide per l'Italia, precisamente Firenze, dove comincia a vagare per le strade deserte a causa della calura estiva, dove comincia a respirare la città e il suo lento movimento, fino ad ambientarsi e a entrare in sintonia con se stessa, soprattutto quando decide di entrare a far parte del circolo dei canottieri, dove incontra un gruppo di persone che, ben presto, entreranno a far parte della sua vita.
Lì Hannah pensa di aver trovato il suo posto, spendendo il tempo allenando il suo fragile corpo, nutrendo la sua anima, entrando in contatto con la gente e trovando di nuovo l'amore.
Firenze e tutto ciò che ha trovato in essa sembra essere diventata la sua medicina. Hannah riabilita se stessa e la sua anima, trova anche un lavoro e il suo posto nel mondo, libera dalle spire di quel serpente che è l'anoressia, che le stava togliendo la vita.
Ma fuggire dai problemi ti da solo l'illusione di essertene liberata e ben presto il serpente torna a sibilare al suo orecchio e a stringerla nuovamente in un abbraccio conosciuto e familiare a cui è facile abbandonarsi.
Romanzo profondo e introspettivo, dove il tema dei disordini alimentari è trattato con delicatezza e grande conoscenza.
La scrittrice ha saputo affrontare egregiamente l'argomento tanto che è risultato palese che dietro a tutto ci fosse uno studio approfondito della malattia.
Il suo stile è elegante e introspettivo.
Il ritmo è altalenante, ma non disturba la lettura che risulta godibile e interessante.
I personaggi sono psicologicamente ben delineati e si riesce facilmente ad immedesimarsi con il lavorio mentale della protagonista.
Io sono entrata in piena sintonia con Hannah, vivendo con lei l'angoscia, la sofferenza e la solitudine, ma anche la speranza di una ripresa.
Il fatto di non riuscire a capire fino alla fine se Hannah sia destinata a vincere contro la malattia e contro la parte oscura di se stessa, tiene il lettore, o quanto meno me, incollato alle pagine.
Sebbene non abbia mai sofferto di disturbi alimentari, sono riuscita a capire Hannah e il suo disagio intimo e personale e questo è un punto a favore dell'autrice.
Hannah all'inizio non riesce a vedere nella sua eccessiva magrezza, nel suo controllo eccesivo dell'alimentazione, nella sua abitudine di indursi a vomitare, qualcosa che non va, per lei è normale, logico.
Quando riesce finalmente a capire, a prendere coscienza, reagisce con prontezza e tenta di cambiare il corso della sua vita, ma il lettore lo sente che la convinzione non è forte, che i tentennamenti persistono e vengono mascherati.
Molto bello ho trovato l inserimento dell'elemento religioso vissuto come una ricerca. La protagonista comincia a studiare la vita delle sante, di quelle misitiche che digiunavano per raggiungere l'illuminazione divina.
Sono stata veramente contenta di aver scelto di leggere questo romanzo a cui molti non avrebbero dato una chance e lo consiglio fortemente se avete bisogno di una lettura introspettiva che lascia il segno.
Buona lettura.
read-in-2021
March 22, 2021TWs: EDs, rape
The protagonist is completely void of insight. She acts without knowing why. Which is fine for mentally ill/eating disordered people in reality but makes for frustrating reading in a novel. There is her memory but she was well into the disordered eating by then. Even then she never seems to make the connection. I've spent countless hours dissecting abuse and mental health issues with my friends with related issues so I'm just 😐.
The protagonist is completely void of insight. She acts without knowing why. Which is fine for mentally ill/eating disordered people in reality but makes for frustrating reading in a novel. There is her memory but she was well into the disordered eating by then. Even then she never seems to make the connection. I've spent countless hours dissecting abuse and mental health issues with my friends with related issues so I'm just 😐.
March 28, 2024
2.5 if i’m being honest
i think conceptually it could be something more satisfying, but on paper it didn’t actually deliver. it’s written well and pulls you in, but it just didn’t work for me. maybe this is on me bc i generally don’t enjoy person who’s going through hard stuff moves to some romanticized foreign place. it focuses primarily on hannah’s eating disorder, and while i can’t honestly comment on whether or not this was handled well on page, there were certain parts that didn’t exactly sit well. as for the more philosophical connection to the saints, again interesting conceptually, but it sort of just came off as kind of pretentious but void.
i also found all the italian phrases dispersed throughout kind of grating after a while, like i think it’s clear enough to the reader that they are in italy & therefore the locals would speak their own language.
i think conceptually it could be something more satisfying, but on paper it didn’t actually deliver. it’s written well and pulls you in, but it just didn’t work for me. maybe this is on me bc i generally don’t enjoy person who’s going through hard stuff moves to some romanticized foreign place. it focuses primarily on hannah’s eating disorder, and while i can’t honestly comment on whether or not this was handled well on page, there were certain parts that didn’t exactly sit well. as for the more philosophical connection to the saints, again interesting conceptually, but it sort of just came off as kind of pretentious but void.
i also found all the italian phrases dispersed throughout kind of grating after a while, like i think it’s clear enough to the reader that they are in italy & therefore the locals would speak their own language.
April 24, 2021
This was too good for me to write a review. I loved this book a lot and I knew I could not do justice. However, almost 3 years later, I've just stumbled across this interview with Jessie Chaffee about Tuscany, this book, and her writing, which I will leave here
https://thesighpress.com/wp-content/u...
https://thesighpress.com/wp-content/u...
August 8, 2017
It was a special thrill to read this book. Jessie Chaffee is a brilliant writer.
May 18, 2019
i was so sad while reading this
September 14, 2023
This was very exhausting to listen to.
I don't really enjoy the 'people fuck up their lives at home and go to a different country because everything is better abroad' trope. It always feels a bit cheap and unrealistic, most of all if the person suffers from severe problems like Hannah and her eating disorder. Also, POV of an anorexic in Italy is torture, I was really angry how she didn't enjoy the (I'm sure amazing) food.
I didn't like Hannah at all, I thought she was a very draining character and I hated how badly she treated her sister. And also everyone around her. The connection with the asceticism of former Italian martyrs and other famous religious women felt very... pretentious.
I don't really enjoy the 'people fuck up their lives at home and go to a different country because everything is better abroad' trope. It always feels a bit cheap and unrealistic, most of all if the person suffers from severe problems like Hannah and her eating disorder. Also, POV of an anorexic in Italy is torture, I was really angry how she didn't enjoy the (I'm sure amazing) food.
I didn't like Hannah at all, I thought she was a very draining character and I hated how badly she treated her sister. And also everyone around her. The connection with the asceticism of former Italian martyrs and other famous religious women felt very... pretentious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2019
Synopsis
An American woman, Hannah, arrives in Florence from Boston on a mission of self healing and growth. She knows no one, and speaks very little Italian; however, Hannah has secluded herself in a more profound way. Estranged from her identity by an illness that has left her body in ruins.
During Hannah’s stay in Florence, she joins a rowing club, where a couple of the locals draw her into Florence’s vibrant present. She becomes enchanted with the lightness of life that Florence pulls her into, but she is also rapt by the city’s past: the representations of beauty, politics, faith, and the lore of the saints, whose self-inflicted isolation and dark histories illuminate Hannah’s own struggles. Both sides of Florence draw Hannah in, as she discovers herself, and tries to find the goodness of life and let go of her past.
(On sale May 16, 2017)
Thoughts // Review
I thought that this novel was beautifully written. Jessie Caffee is an incredible writer, and this was an amazing debut. I enjoyed that, although this is a literary fiction novel, it reads like a contemporary, without taking away from the whimsical and lyrical prose.
The way that Hannah’s illness is discussed throughout the book, allows complete empathy for her character. The author really allows the rawness of Hannah’s struggles to pour through the pages, and I personally loved this. As someone who has had the same struggles, this book was a very accurate representation of what it was like (for me), to suffer from an eating disorder (this is not a spoiler). I do know that mental illness is subjective, so not everyone may relate to the same story, but for me, this novel was a very accurate representation of what it is like to suffer from Anorexia.
I really enjoyed the setting: Florence. I felt like I was there, and I so badly wanted to be eating the same delicious food, as well as go to all of the adorable little cafes that Hannah would walk to for her daily lunch.
My only issue with this book, and I believe it to be solely a personal issue, is that there seemed to be some kind of awkward disconnect between myself as a reader, and the characters in the story (specifically Hannah); but, I will say, that I think that this also could mean that Jessie Chaffee is THAT good at creating the feeling of isolation that someone experiences when they are suffering from an eating disorder (or other various mental illnesses).
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
*Thank you very much, Unnamed Press, for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
An American woman, Hannah, arrives in Florence from Boston on a mission of self healing and growth. She knows no one, and speaks very little Italian; however, Hannah has secluded herself in a more profound way. Estranged from her identity by an illness that has left her body in ruins.
During Hannah’s stay in Florence, she joins a rowing club, where a couple of the locals draw her into Florence’s vibrant present. She becomes enchanted with the lightness of life that Florence pulls her into, but she is also rapt by the city’s past: the representations of beauty, politics, faith, and the lore of the saints, whose self-inflicted isolation and dark histories illuminate Hannah’s own struggles. Both sides of Florence draw Hannah in, as she discovers herself, and tries to find the goodness of life and let go of her past.
(On sale May 16, 2017)
Thoughts // Review
I thought that this novel was beautifully written. Jessie Caffee is an incredible writer, and this was an amazing debut. I enjoyed that, although this is a literary fiction novel, it reads like a contemporary, without taking away from the whimsical and lyrical prose.
The way that Hannah’s illness is discussed throughout the book, allows complete empathy for her character. The author really allows the rawness of Hannah’s struggles to pour through the pages, and I personally loved this. As someone who has had the same struggles, this book was a very accurate representation of what it was like (for me), to suffer from an eating disorder (this is not a spoiler). I do know that mental illness is subjective, so not everyone may relate to the same story, but for me, this novel was a very accurate representation of what it is like to suffer from Anorexia.
I really enjoyed the setting: Florence. I felt like I was there, and I so badly wanted to be eating the same delicious food, as well as go to all of the adorable little cafes that Hannah would walk to for her daily lunch.
My only issue with this book, and I believe it to be solely a personal issue, is that there seemed to be some kind of awkward disconnect between myself as a reader, and the characters in the story (specifically Hannah); but, I will say, that I think that this also could mean that Jessie Chaffee is THAT good at creating the feeling of isolation that someone experiences when they are suffering from an eating disorder (or other various mental illnesses).
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
*Thank you very much, Unnamed Press, for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
July 15, 2022
Bunalımlar içinde Floransa olmalıymış bu kitabın ismi. Yazlık tatlı bir kitap sandım ama sıkıntılı bir şey çıktı.
Read
August 5, 2025rtc
May 8, 2025
Bellisima. A very accessible Annihilation, and an extraordinary testament to savoring life.
June 13, 2017
Florence in Ecstasy is a sensitive, moving portrayal of a woman in the grips of a serious eating disorder. Author Jessie Chaffee tackles protagonist Hanna's struggle against herself masterfully, and the entire book is raw and gorgeous. The city of Florence itself becomes a secondary character, its sights and smells coming vividly to life on the page. A heart-wrenching, but hopeful, book.
January 20, 2019
I read this book slowly, savoring the descriptions of Florence and the gradual getting to know the character of Hannah with all her virtues and flaws. It's a beautifully written account of a fragment of one woman's life, thoughtfully exploring her discoveries of the city and of herself.
May 5, 2019
Terrible writing and irresponsible treatment of the subject matter.
(E.g. Protagonist has an intimate encounter with someone and immediately feels the effects of her eating disorder diminish when she “sees herself through his eyes”. I mean, come on...)
(E.g. Protagonist has an intimate encounter with someone and immediately feels the effects of her eating disorder diminish when she “sees herself through his eyes”. I mean, come on...)
June 27, 2025
➥ ❪ 𝟬𝟮/𝟬𝟵/𝟮𝟮 ─ 𝟱★ ❫
▸ read on everand
▸ audiobook
comment ça se fait que l'audiobook dure 11h alors que askip le livre a seulement 240 pages wesh c'est un mystère
▸ read on everand
▸ audiobook
comment ça se fait que l'audiobook dure 11h alors que askip le livre a seulement 240 pages wesh c'est un mystère
January 26, 2021
There's not a whole lot of plot or even much characterization in this novel, but oh man THE WRITING and SENSE OF PLACE. It's magical and mesmerizing and warped and achingly beautiful. Basically it's a story about a woman with an eating disorder who, instead of going to rehab, decides to face (or not face) her demons by holing up in Florence, Italy for a few months, depleting her meager savings, joining a rowing club, and more or less prowling about aimlessly.
During all this, she becomes fixated on the mystical saints of the middle ages and begins blurring the lines between their lives and her own. I've realized I pretty much only like religion in fiction when the protagonist is twisting it into what she needs it to be to feed her own mania. Fire Sermon toyed with that mechanism but was too earnest for my taste. I prefer anti-heroines like our Hannah di Boston.
Hannah is steeped in that specific expatriate blend of loneliness and perplexity that I found deeply familiar. Other themes include obsessive control, distortion of reality, and cleansing. The old-world melancholia of Florence really fuses well with Hannah's denial and hunger-induced haziness. It’s not all beauty and angst, though – there are moments of clarity brimming with health, there is evidence of maturity in the throng of other people’s melodrama, and there are nuggets of adorable joy in the relationships she forms. Plus, who isn’t drawn to anorexia stories? A few excerpts:
The writing fades a little in the final quarter, but in general this novel seems to be an overlooked gem. For the right audience, of course.
During all this, she becomes fixated on the mystical saints of the middle ages and begins blurring the lines between their lives and her own. I've realized I pretty much only like religion in fiction when the protagonist is twisting it into what she needs it to be to feed her own mania. Fire Sermon toyed with that mechanism but was too earnest for my taste. I prefer anti-heroines like our Hannah di Boston.
Hannah is steeped in that specific expatriate blend of loneliness and perplexity that I found deeply familiar. Other themes include obsessive control, distortion of reality, and cleansing. The old-world melancholia of Florence really fuses well with Hannah's denial and hunger-induced haziness. It’s not all beauty and angst, though – there are moments of clarity brimming with health, there is evidence of maturity in the throng of other people’s melodrama, and there are nuggets of adorable joy in the relationships she forms. Plus, who isn’t drawn to anorexia stories? A few excerpts:
The world was foggy but I was clear. Centered. I could feel each of my vertebrae, buttons against the stone column, shallow ditches dug around the bone. My ring was loose, my pants were loose, my joints were loose, unbound. I was changing form.
It begins to rain, validating my decision, and fat drops stretch long across the bus’s window, break the river’s surface into hash marks, and catch in the crevices of the city, pulling familiar smells from the stone and drawing the umbrella vendors out.
I pull—my muscles shaking—and watch the wooden arms fold forward, taking with them a gulp of river. The ends emerge in unison this time, and I shift the handles so they are parallel to the water’s surface, palms facing the sky, like St. Catherine in ecstasy, arms open, ready to receive.
The writing fades a little in the final quarter, but in general this novel seems to be an overlooked gem. For the right audience, of course.
December 2, 2020
O carte din care am învățat că ar trebui să fiu mai empatică cu comportamentele unor oameni. Spun asta pentru că la început nu m-am simțit foarte "atrasă" de ea, tocmai datorită atitudinii Hannei care mi se părea una ciudată, inexplicabilă. Iar apoi am făcut cunoștință cu problemele ei de alimentație pe care, din nou, inițial nu le-am înțeles, poate din cauza faptului că eu sau persoane din jurul meu nu au avut de a face cu așa ceva.
M-am identificat însă, încă de la început, în anumite trăsături sau comportamente ale ei: ca de exemplu momentele ei de solitudine petrecute pe balcon, admirând priveliștea Florenței, fragilitatea ei pe care vrea să o ascundă de ochii celor din jur, aparenta dorință de a fi independentă. Iar aceste lucruri m-au făcut să citesc mai departe și să descopăr o poveste tumultoasă, să înțeleg anumite laturi ale comportamentului personajului principal.
De asemenea, am savurat descrierile Florenței și ale altor câteva locuri din Italia. Par a fi realizate foarte în detaliu și fidel cu realitatea, astfel încât în mai multe rânduri m-au determinat să dau un search pe google să văd dacă locul respectiv chiar există sau arată așa cum e descris.
"Sufletul nu poate trăi fără să iubească. Sufletul se unește întotdeauna cu ceea ce iubește și este transformat de acel lucru." - pag. 65
.
.
"Sunt plină de magia după-amiezii, sunt schimbată de ea. Și, în această clipă, am din nou senzația de apartenență la viitorul îndepărtat. Doar că, de data asta, nu mă mai tem de sinele meu din viitor, care se va uita înapoi, la femeia mai tânără a cărei călătorie a fost oarecum dificilă, plină de margini ascuțite și de fisuri întunecate, găsindu-și drumul pentru prima dată până în locul acesta, fără să știe cum sa se miște sau să iasă. Nu mă mai uit înapoi atunci, ci merg repede înainte pentru a fi cuprinsă de altceva." - pag.205
"Rămânem dedicați locurilor noastre. Există o promisiune în fiecare așteptare. <>" - pag. 293
M-am identificat însă, încă de la început, în anumite trăsături sau comportamente ale ei: ca de exemplu momentele ei de solitudine petrecute pe balcon, admirând priveliștea Florenței, fragilitatea ei pe care vrea să o ascundă de ochii celor din jur, aparenta dorință de a fi independentă. Iar aceste lucruri m-au făcut să citesc mai departe și să descopăr o poveste tumultoasă, să înțeleg anumite laturi ale comportamentului personajului principal.
De asemenea, am savurat descrierile Florenței și ale altor câteva locuri din Italia. Par a fi realizate foarte în detaliu și fidel cu realitatea, astfel încât în mai multe rânduri m-au determinat să dau un search pe google să văd dacă locul respectiv chiar există sau arată așa cum e descris.
"Sufletul nu poate trăi fără să iubească. Sufletul se unește întotdeauna cu ceea ce iubește și este transformat de acel lucru." - pag. 65
.
.
"Sunt plină de magia după-amiezii, sunt schimbată de ea. Și, în această clipă, am din nou senzația de apartenență la viitorul îndepărtat. Doar că, de data asta, nu mă mai tem de sinele meu din viitor, care se va uita înapoi, la femeia mai tânără a cărei călătorie a fost oarecum dificilă, plină de margini ascuțite și de fisuri întunecate, găsindu-și drumul pentru prima dată până în locul acesta, fără să știe cum sa se miște sau să iasă. Nu mă mai uit înapoi atunci, ci merg repede înainte pentru a fi cuprinsă de altceva." - pag.205
"Rămânem dedicați locurilor noastre. Există o promisiune în fiecare așteptare. <>" - pag. 293
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