"Bramare: (Archaic) To Yearn For and A House" and "The Land It Takes Two Oxen Two Days to Plow" Summary and Analysis

Frances Mayes had recently gone through a divorce and had recently become involved in a new relationship with her lover, Ed. Frances had been a frequent visitor to Italy and had fallen in love with the simplicity of life there. For the past few years, Frances and Ed had come to visit together and began looking for a house to buy in place of the rentals they were always forced to use on their frequent visits.

In Bramare, Frances sat in her hotel room anxiously awaiting word from the bank letting them know the large amount of money they had had transferred to a local...