Latest news with #Tartufo
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Book excerpt: "Tartufo" by Kira Jane Buxton
We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. In her novel "Tartufo" (Grand Central Publishing), Kira Jane Buxton (the author of "Hollow Kingdom" and "Feral Creatures") captures the comedy of truffle-mania in a tiny Tuscan village, upon the discovery of the world's largest truffle. Read an excerpt below. "Tartufo" by Kira Jane Buxton Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now. The wisest souls say that pure mountain air makes us all go a little mad. A wind—lawless and long-tailed—slices through the snow-stippled Apuan alps and the Apennines with all the wantonness of La Befana, the winter witch. Swifts catch this wind on their wings, carving up the crisp blue morning. Dipping down into the valley, the wind now worries over the murmuring blue tongue of the Serchio river on its journey to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It slips—an unseen spirit—under Devil's bridge. Shivers along the great gray hunch of the Devil's back. Hissing over every ancient stone. Rising from the river, the wind picks up speed, hastening toward the woods. Hurtling toward chestnut trees spaced like the pews of a great Duomo. The wind now weaves between golden leaves. Whispering quick consonants between the branches, borrowing an autumnal aura. Sweet sigh of ripe chestnuts and shed leaves. And here—where the wind steals woodland scents—hides a curiosity. Cloistered by soil, moss, stone and leaf litter, a thing unseen—a thing quite mysterious—lies in waiting. A thing that sits buried, like old bones. What lies under the soil has stayed secret. It is an underground barterer. A schemer who has set a trap in the soil. A sylvan swindler. A tormentor. A tiny god. Swelling to irresistible bulk, it has ripened into a knobbled fruit of corruption. And now the time has come. The tiny god releases a lusty sigh, soundlessly unfurling a phantom into the wind. No more visible than the notes of nightingale song. No more audible than a wordless wish. The tiny god has released a cipher. The breath of the tiny god is whisked away by the breeze, slipping through the damp woodland of chestnut worship. Deeper into the woods, the breath in the breeze paints the pupils of a fallow deer into great glistening lakes. Fur stiffens along a back freckled in the white of first snow. The doe salivates in answer to the call of the stranger she can smell but cannot see. Her nostrils flutter, messages flood her bloodstream. But the breath blows on. Now a wild sow lifts her moist snout from the leaf litter and inhales a slip of the wind. Instantly intoxicated, her muddy snout snuffing. The grunting sow is aroused into a frenzy. Bristled legs stab at the soil as she arranges them to assume her stance, ready to receive the boar she smells. Turning her head toward her tail, she hunts for him, but—and here is the trick, here is the olfactory deception—there is no boar and the breeze blows on through the woods, fanning the sensual scent along with it. See-through scarves of scent curl from the forest and swirl toward a beautiful medieval village, perched upon a peak. Its tallest point an 11th century bell tower with memories of steel swords and shields. The wind, pickled with flavors of the forest, ridden by the breath of the tiny god, tickles trees of olive and cyprus. Until it dangles its string of little calamities above cobblestone streets and terracotta roof tiles. And it settles upon the medieval village like a spell. Excerpted from "Tartufo" by Kira Jane Buxton. Copyright © 2025 by Kira Jane Buxton. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved. Get the book here: "Tartufo" by Kira Jane Buxton Buy locally from For more info: "Tartufo" by Kira Jane Buxton (Grand Central Publishing), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available January Trump reacts to Republicans who won't vote for Hegseth How much money is a U.S. president's signature worth? New Alvin Ailey exhibit reveals struggle, strength of legendary choreographer
CBS News
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
The Book Report: Washington Post critic Ron Charles (January 26)
By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles The year is already off to a great start: Adam Ross's terrific new novel, "Playworld," is dipped in nostalgia and flecked with love and sorrow. It's 1980 in New York: Griffin Hurt is a successful teenage actor who just wants to pass his classes, excel on the wrestling team and date a pretty girl, but instead he's got to deal with fame, his parents' ambitions, predatory adults, and his own yearning for authenticity. Drawing on his experiences as a child actor, Ross blends a child's innocence with a man's wry reflection to produce a big, irresistible story. As you forage through this winter's new books, you are not likely to find a more charming novel than "Tartufo." Kira Jane Buxton's story about truffle-mania whisks us away to Italy and serves up one buttery page of comedy after another. At the start, a little Tuscan village is dying, and the new mayor is desperate to attract tourists. As luck would have it, in a nearby forest, a truffle-hunter and his dogs are about to discover the largest truffle in the world. It's a miracle that could bring untold riches and worldwide attention – or unimaginable disaster! Tired of winter? In Alafair Burke's new thriller "The Note," three women who've been friends for years gather for a sun-filled vacation in the Hamptons. One night, on their way to dinner, a couple in a white sedan cuts them off and steals their parking space. Incensed, one of the women leaves a damning note on his windshield. It's just a prank, after all. But the next day, the driver goes missing ... and these three friends get caught up in an investigation that could uncover all manner of deadly secrets. Next month, Bill Gates, the legendary co-founder of Microsoft, will publish his first memoir. In "Source Code: My Beginnings," Gates reportedly looks back at his childhood, his awkward adolescence, and the experiences that led him to the then-burgeoning world of computers. This is a memoir that promises to reveal the formative life of one of the most revolutionary figures alive – a man whose products changed the way we work, and whose philanthropy is now racing to save the world. That's it for the Book Report. For these and other suggestions about what to read this winter, talk with your local bookseller or librarian I'm Ron Charles. Until next time, read on! For more info: Produced by Robin Sanders and Cameron Jimenez. Editor: Libby Fabricatore. For more reading recommendations, check out these previous Book Report features from Ron Charles: The best books of 2024 The Book Report (October 13) The Book Report (July 14) The Book Report (June 2) The Book Report (April 28) The Book Report (March 17) The Book Report (February 18) Ron Charles' favorite novels of 2023 The Book Report (October 22) The Book Report (September 17) The Book Report (August 6) The Book Report (June 4) The Book Report (April 30) The Book Report (March 19) The Book Report (February 12, 2023) The Book Report: Ron Charles' favorite novels of 2022 The Book Report (November 13) The Book Report (Sept. 18) The Book Report (July 10) The Book Report (April 17) The Book Report (March 13) The Book Report (February 6, 2022) The Book Report (November 28) The Book Report (September 26) The Book Report (August 1) The Book Report (June 6) The Book Report (May 9) The Book Report (March 28) The Book Report (February 28) The Book Report (January 31, 2021)
CBS News
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Book excerpt: "Tartufo" by Kira Jane Buxton
We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. In her novel "Tartufo" (Grand Central Publishing), Kira Jane Buxton (the author of "Hollow Kingdom" and "Feral Creatures") captures the comedy of truffle-mania in a tiny Tuscan village, upon the discovery of the world's largest truffle. Read an excerpt below. $27 at Amazon The wisest souls say that pure mountain air makes us all go a little mad. A wind—lawless and long-tailed—slices through the snow-stippled Apuan alps and the Apennines with all the wantonness of La Befana, the winter witch. Swifts catch this wind on their wings, carving up the crisp blue morning. Dipping down into the valley, the wind now worries over the murmuring blue tongue of the Serchio river on its journey to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It slips—an unseen spirit—under Devil's bridge. Shivers along the great gray hunch of the Devil's back. Hissing over every ancient stone. Rising from the river, the wind picks up speed, hastening toward the woods. Hurtling toward chestnut trees spaced like the pews of a great Duomo. The wind now weaves between golden leaves. Whispering quick consonants between the branches, borrowing an autumnal aura. Sweet sigh of ripe chestnuts and shed leaves. And here—where the wind steals woodland scents—hides a curiosity. Cloistered by soil, moss, stone and leaf litter, a thing unseen—a thing quite mysterious—lies in waiting. A thing that sits buried, like old bones. What lies under the soil has stayed secret. It is an underground barterer. A schemer who has set a trap in the soil. A sylvan swindler. A tormentor. A tiny god. Swelling to irresistible bulk, it has ripened into a knobbled fruit of corruption. And now the time has come. The tiny god releases a lusty sigh, soundlessly unfurling a phantom into the wind. No more visible than the notes of nightingale song. No more audible than a wordless wish. The tiny god has released a cipher. The breath of the tiny god is whisked away by the breeze, slipping through the damp woodland of chestnut worship. Deeper into the woods, the breath in the breeze paints the pupils of a fallow deer into great glistening lakes. Fur stiffens along a back freckled in the white of first snow. The doe salivates in answer to the call of the stranger she can smell but cannot see. Her nostrils flutter, messages flood her bloodstream. But the breath blows on. Now a wild sow lifts her moist snout from the leaf litter and inhales a slip of the wind. Instantly intoxicated, her muddy snout snuffing. The grunting sow is aroused into a frenzy. Bristled legs stab at the soil as she arranges them to assume her stance, ready to receive the boar she smells. Turning her head toward her tail, she hunts for him, but—and here is the trick, here is the olfactory deception—there is no boar and the breeze blows on through the woods, fanning the sensual scent along with it. See-through scarves of scent curl from the forest and swirl toward a beautiful medieval village, perched upon a peak. Its tallest point an 11th century bell tower with memories of steel swords and shields. The wind, pickled with flavors of the forest, ridden by the breath of the tiny god, tickles trees of olive and cyprus. Until it dangles its string of little calamities above cobblestone streets and terracotta roof tiles. And it settles upon the medieval village like a spell. $27 at Amazon $29 at Barnes & Noble Buy locally from For more info:
