Short Circuit

Finished August 9

Short Circuit by Wolf Haas, translated by Jamie Bulloch

This fascinating thriller novel was inspired by the artwork of M.C. Escher and jigsaw puzzles. One of the main characters is Franz Escher, a man who works as a funeral orator and lives a quiet life. Years ago, a woman gave him a birthday gift of a jigsaw puzzle of one of Escher's pictures and he became hooked. Now he has bookcases filled with jigsaw puzzles. He does them often. His other hobby is reading about the mafia, both fiction and nonfiction. Some time ago Franz wrote a fiction book about working in the funeral business, that drew heavily from his real life and real people, including a co-worker named Nellie. Nellie had not gotten angry exactly, but she brought up certain elements of the fictionalized version of herself, and why he made certain choices. Franz felt embarrassed at his literary work, and took the small advance he earned from it and invested it in an online bookstore that he read about that was doing badly financially and expected to go into bankruptcy. He just wanted the money to go away. 

Franz has a faulty outlet in his kitchen, that has been getting gradually worse, and now has a loose connection that makes him nervous. He only has the one countertop outlet, and must constantly unplug appliances in when he wants to use a different one: kettle, coffeemaker, toaster. He has called for an electrician and while he waits he first finished a jigsaw puzzle, and now he is reading a book about an Italian mafioso turned informant Elio Russo. Russo is awaiting being released from prison into a witness protection program. 

Meanwhile, Elio is nervous about his upcoming release and can't sleep, so he is reading a book about a man named Franz Escher, who is waiting for an electrician to come fix a faulty outlet in his kitchen.

As we move back and forth between these two stories, and a third voice related to one of the protagonists, we find ourselves in a surreal world as we wait for them to realize what is happening. 

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Every Time We Say Goodbye

Finished June 18

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

This is the third book in the series The Jane Austen Society. It is set mostly in 1954-1955 with flashbacks to a related storyline in 1943. The main character is Vivien Lowry, a British playwrights. She's recently premiered her second play on the London stage, but it wasn't well received by critics. Her contacts, which include several well-known women including Peggy Guggenheim, Daphne du Maurier, and Ava Gardner, arrange a job in Italy for her, working on the script of an American director. Many of those working on the film have left the United States due to the McCarthy investigations, including her fellow writer American Jew Levi Bassano, a young man who served with a Field Photo unit in the U.S. armed forces during World War II. The lead actress in the film is American Claudia Jones, a beautiful biracial woman who passes for white. As she engages with the film community in Rome, we see other real people enter the story, including a young Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, and Gina's husband Milko Skofic. Vivien becomes friends with Claudia, who recently starred in a film as a nun and who is making some life decisions of her own. We also see the strong influence the Vatican had on the film industry at the time. 

Vivien is still coming to terms with the disappearance of her fiancé David, who had been captured by Italian forces during the war and then gone missing. She hopes to be able to gather more information while she is still in Italy. 

An Italian director is looking to do a film about a young woman known only as La Scholaretta, who was a partisan during the war and who was executed for the assassin of a Nazi SS Commander. He also has a personal connection to her story. In the 1943 portion of the plot, we see this young woman in the hours surrounding the assassination and her motivations and actions during this time.

I found it interesting to see how these two plots came together and how the repercussions of the war were still being felt during this time. As part of the series, this book centres women who make their own careers and decisions and who support each other doing so. 

I also enjoyed learning that the author is Canadian. 

Room on the Sea

Finished March 1

Room on the Sea: Three Novellas by André Aciman

This was my first encounter with this author and I really enjoyed these novella. I think my favourite is the title one. 

The first novella in the book is The Man from Peru. It is set in coastal Italy, at a hotel in a small town. 

A group of American, friends from college, is there, meeting ten years after graduating. One of them was unable to attend, but the others are letting him know about the good time they are having. They've noticed an older man by himself, along with other fellow guests, and some of them have been making unkind comments about them and guesses about their lives. 

On of the Americans, Mark, has a shoulder injury that is bothering him and the older man stops at their table and holds his shoulder for a moment while telling him it might help and the shoulder appears healed. The man, Raul, reveals that his family used to vacation here regularly when he was a child, and he offers other predictions and advice that proves to be true. He seems to have an interest in one of them, Margot, even though she is the most catty of the women, and gets her to spend some time alone with him. The outcome is interesting and unexpected, but fits with the other strange stories he has.

The second novella is Room on the Sea, and takes place mostly in New York City. Two people in their sixties are both attending the courthouse for jury duty. They begin a friendship, going for lunch together, meeting for coffee before jury duty, wandering the streets and visiting art galleries. As they share details of their lives, they also befriend an Italian-born barista at the coffee shop and his stories of Naples get to be part of their story as well. This is an interesting look at the serendipity of relationships and how we as people change over our lives as well.

The third novella is Mariana and is also set in Italy. The title character is attending an art school, and she is drawn to a man already there as a student when she arrives. They have a short relationship, and he moves on, but she finds herself unable to get over him. Her actions draw attention and she learns more about herself and the other women he has spent time with.

32 Days in May

Finished October 13

32 Days in May by Betty Corrello

This romance has an interesting twist to it. Nadia Fabiola has gone to her family's summer home in Evergreen on the Jersey Shore. She has had a life-changing diagnosis of lupus, and due to her symptoms has lost her job as an advertising director. She feels that she has lost control of her life and her body. Her mental health has suffered. She has recently begun working for one of her downstairs neighbours, Sophie, at her produce stand. She's also trying to keep her sister Liv and her parents from worrying about her.

When her rheumatologist asks her to show around his cousin, Marco, who will be house-sitting for him while his family is away, she is unsure. When she realizes that Marco the cousin is Marco Antoniou, the famous actor who has had his own setbacks, and is absolutely gorgeous, she agrees. Their first date is a crazy night, but it leads to an agreement to date each other for the rest of May, no strings attached. 

Nadia doesn't let Marco know about her lupus, and throws herself as much as she can into a normal life for the month. The two have great chemistry, but also connect in deeper ways. When the stress of some situations affects her health, she has to decide whether to come clean to him and take a risk on a real relationship.

Their dates take them not only to New York City, but also to Italy for Marco's commitments, and Nadia finds herself noting more hidden aspects of Marco. 

I enjoyed this read and the two main characters each trying to find fresh starts.

The Lovers

Finished June 10

The Lovers by Paolo Cognetti, translated by Stash Luczkiw

This novel is set in an unnamed time, but it doesn't mention technology that we use today like cellphones and internet, so it feels pre-1990s. Fausto is in his 40s and freshly divorced. He has left his home in Milan for solace in the mountains, renting a small home in the alpine village of Fontana Fredda. After some time spent hiking and trying to write, he is running low on funds and takes a job in a seasonal restaurant someone going through a similar life change ran. The other cook trained him, and he found himself liking the job. He also found himself attracted to a young waitress and he finds that she likes him as well and they begin a relationship. We watch as the work their way through the seasons, part and reunite and work out some of the questions they each have.

I can see why this novel was a bestseller, even though it is slow-paced and quiet. It has a real sense of place, and is understated. Thanks to the bookstore Mr.B's in choosing it for me. 

The Glass Maker

Finished November 11

The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

This novel takes place over several time periods, all following one character, Orsola Rosso of Murano, Italy. Chevalier uses a very interesting device to do this: imagining that time flows differently in this area of the world. The story starts in 1486, with Orsola at nine years old, the eldest daughter in a family of glass blowers. She makes her first acquaintance with a female glassblower in another family in Murano, Maria Barovier. Women don't generally work with glass, although they play a key role in the family, and sometimes have a role in the family business as well, in the background. They also have a social position and traditions that accompany that. When Orsola is seventeen, her father, the maestro of their family glass shop, dies in a workplace accident, she is encouraged by Maria to try her hand at lampwork, a technique of making glass beads that was beginning to be practiced by women as a way to gain some independence and bring additional money into the household. 

The family is struggling, and her oldest brother, Marco, doesn't have the full training to take charge, and yet he must. Their father's assistant Paolo must serve as a teacher and mentor, guiding Marco and his brother Giacomo in their work. But Marco is impetuous and temperamental and it is the women in his life who must manage this, first his mother, and then his wife. Maria also provides helpful advice in their difficult situation. We also see the importance of the merchant for the family. He is the one who takes their work and sells it, not only locally but also internationally. He also indicates what type of product he is looking for and has the power to accept or decline new products. For the Rossos, this merchant is Gottfried Klingenberg, a German who has specialized in glass. It is around this time she also meets a man who joins the business, one who will hold her heart as the years pass by. 

The first jump in time is to 1574, but Orsola is only a year older at eighteen. As we follow her through the years, which, while they flow slower than the rest of the world, don't flow at an even rate, we see her grow in her skills and adjust to new tastes in the market. 

We also see her family change, grow and contract, and add new members from outside the initial family group. We also see major historical events, such as plagues, Napoleon's conquest of Venice, and wars. 

I alway enjoy Chevalier's writing, with strong female characters at the center, and this one brings in a new aspect with the large time frame it encompasses. This also gives us insight to cultural change, in the society in which Orsola lives, but also in the city she lives in and the larger world. The introduction of a slave to the story in a gondolier named Domenego brought in another social element, one inspired by a painting the author saw. She used real life characters in some time periods that added to the historical settings. For me, this was also an introduction into an industry I knew only a little about before. 

Hunting Season

Finished March 16

Hunting Season by Andrea Camilleri, translated by Stephen Sartarelli

This novel was one I picked up because I enjoyed the author's Inspector Montalbano mystery series. It is nothing like that series. It is a mystery, but also a farce, with touches of romance, and nods to several of Shakespeare's Italian plays. It also rambles a lot and I found I didn't really care about it enough to try to follow all the plot strings.

There are many interwoven plots for such a short novel, but the central one has a man returning to the town of Vigata under an assumed name after being away for years. He escaped after his father was murdered, and has an agenda that it takes some time to reveal. The local nobility, the marchese, is a womanizer who ignores his daughter while trying to produce an heir, with most of the local inhabitants turning a blind eye. 

Some reviews called this bawdy and humorous, but it felt contrived and hard to follow to me, and I found the female characters to be pawns with no real choices. 

I finished it because I was reading it for one of my reading challenge goals, but wouldn't recommend it. 

Dissipatio H.G.

Finished September 21

Dissipatio H.G.: the Vanishing by Guido Morselli, translated by Frederika Randall

This novel takes us into the mind of the narrator, who appears to be the last man on earth. He is an unhappy man, and had decided to end his life by dropping into an abyss within a cave near his mountain home. But somehow his thoughts took him elsewhere and he, instead returned home. But he soon finds that the world is not as he left it. All humans have disappeared, along with whatever they were wearing at the time. Cars have crashed or sit idling, homes are empty except for any pets or farm animals, 

We watch him explore this world from looking into his neighbours homes, to venturing to the nearby city of Chrysioilis (a city reminiscent of Zurich), to train stations, airports, and hotels, looking for humanity. He wonders whether he was spared by his location, deep within the earth, and venture to a nearby mining site. He listens for radio reports, makes phone calls to distant locations, but never finds another human. 

This is a story of both wonder and sadness, of questions unanswered, and hopes unfulfilled. 

The author was ahead of his time in the themes he wrote around, and after many rejections by publishers, he committed suicide in 1973. A good friend was instrumental in getting nine of his books published after his death, including this one, and they were generally very well received. 

I found the initial passages much more readable than the more philosophical and intellectual questioning that happens towards the end of the book, but the book is an interesting exercise in possibilities. 

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre

Finished May 10

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester

This novel follows more than one timeline and moves between them. The author has done a lot of research for this book and there are notes at the end that tell us what she took from real people and events and what she created. The character at the centre of the novel is a creation, but she is placed around real events and real people as her story unfolds. 

The book opens with Alix graduating from private boarding school in Switzerland and moving on with her plan to create an independent life for herself. Alix was orphaned while still a child and taken in by a wealthy Hollywood family that her parents, costumers, had worked for. We see her going to Paris and charming her way into a job in the fashion industry. 

The book then jumps ahead nearly ten years and Alix is once again arriving in Paris for a job in the fashion industry, only this time she's been invited, and the job is heading PR for Maison Christian Dior just before the launch of his first collection in 1947. Alix has been working in New York City, and has bad memories of Europe due to her time spent there during the war. Unfortunately, it seems like she isn't able to leave those memories behind as a voice from her past seems determined to affect her present. 

The book then jumps back to 1942, where Alix worked in Bern, Switzerland as an OSS agent, where she deals with a unsupportive superior, and yet still manages to make significant impacts in Italy through her contacts there. 

The book moves back and forth between Paris (and later New York) in 1947 and Alix's time in Europe during the war, and we see how the events from the past are still affecting her emotionally and with real threats to the life she wants to live. 

This is a book that sometimes had me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happened next, and sometimes brought emotions as I learned of what Alix did and lived through. This illuminated a part of World War II that was less familiar to me, and the author's note really helped to clarify that. 

Definitely worth the read. 

Talk Bookish to Me

Finished May 10

Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley

This novel is set around romance novelist Kara Sullivan. Kara has always loved romance novels, and now has a few of her own. She has a looming deadline for her next one, but is having trouble getting in the groove. She's also very busy helping with the wedding of her best friend Cristina, which is just over a week away. The book opens with Kara arriving at a pre-wedding party. Cristina is there, but her fiance Jason is late, waiting for a couple of groomsmen who are arriving from out of town. When they arrive, Kara is stunned to find that her college boyfriend Ryan is the best man. 

Ryan graduated first and moved away, but the long distance now present in their relationship and family pressures on both sides created a situation ripe for miscommunication, and the relationship ended badly and abruptly. 

The two have a lot to catch up on, and yet, so many underlying feelings that it is hard to communicate well, just like ten years ago. When Kara gets back home that evening, she finds herself inspired and her writing pours out of her. With financial pressure to get the book in, since Kara has prepaid for a six month trip to Italy, she decides to take advantage of the muse that Ryan seems to be for her, and spend significant time before the wedding in his company. The presences of his adorable bulldog Duke only adds to the fun. 

The first part of the story moved quickly, taking place in that week before the wedding, with lots of activity, meals, outings, and encounters. The book then switches to a more leisurely pace as Kara relaxes in Italy, mulling her life and enjoying the company of a lovely man. 

I liked Kara and Ryan, and could connect with their occasional emotional outbursts when faced with situations they don't like. I liked how Duke was portrayed, and the little idiosyncrasies that the author gave him. The plot has a few surprises as well. 

An enjoyable read.

The Woman in Red

Finished April 22

The Woman in Red by Diana Giovinazzo

This is a fictional tale highlighting the life of a real woman in history. Anita Garibaldi was born in 1821 as Ana Maria de Jesus Ribeiro da Silva, the daughter of a gaucho in the Santa Catarina area of southern Brazil. She left school very young and worked with her father, learning the skills of his trade. But he died in an accident when she was still a child, and her mother moved her and her sister to a town where they could live with her godfather. 

Giuseppe Garibaldi had left Europe in exile after fighting for freedom for the Italian people and a united Italy. He found his way to Brazil where he joined their fight for independence and the two were drawn to each other immediately upon meeting, and she began to use the name Anita. 

This novel explains the significance of her taking that form of name in an interesting way. 

She was a strong willed woman and fought in the Brazilian battles, at one point becoming separated from Giuseppe during battle, and captured by the Imperial forces, but she managed to escape despite being pregnant, and rejoin him. Soon after the two moved to Uruguay, where they led a more peaceful life for a few years, marrying and having more children. When the Argentines tried to take over Uruguay, Garibaldi formed a legion of Italian expatriates and fought once again for freedom. With Italy showing more hope of unification, the family returned to Genoa in 1848, and fought for independence from the Austrian Empire. Once again, Anita was by his side, but she died in retreat when she was pregnant and ill from malaria. 

This book expands her story to include an earlier arranged marriage for Ana, more details about the rebellions they participated in, her actions with the creation of the redshirts in Uruguay and the role she played in stirring up support there and in Italy. It also shows her personal life, her early struggles as a female who didn't fit well into traditional female roles and fought against men controlling her life, her relationships to other women, and her children.

I really enjoyed learning about this historical figure, someone who hadn't been on my radar before.

Catch-22

Finished September 28
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

I've owned this book for years, but picked it up for the Classic Challenge. I'm glad to get it crossed off the list and portions of it hit home, but overall I can't say that I enjoyed it. My version of it had a new preface by the author, where he talked about his intentions compared to things some critics have said about the book.
The main character in the book is Yossarian, who is a bombardier in the American military during World War II, now stationed in Italy. He has legitimate worries about his survival, and is frustrated with his superior officer's habit of continually raising the number of missions the crews have to do before getting leave back home.
There is a lot here around the bureaucracy of the military, and of governments in general. Whether it is someone who was on a flight manifest for a flight that crashed, and is therefore declared dead, even though he tries to argue that he is right there, or a man who had barely arrived in camp, just dropping off his stuff in his tent before going out on a mission, never to return, and therefore is in limbo. Never formally arrived, so can't be formally declared dead. There are many instances of this sort of thing happening that show the frustration felt by those controlled by the bureaucracy.
There is also a theme around the image of the senior officers, competing for approval from their superiors, for promotion, or for favourable media coverage. Their decisions aren't made for the benefit of the men, or even the strategic military goals, but for personal reasons.
Another theme that really got me angry, as I'm sure it was meant to, was the theme around financial gain. One man, starting out as the chef in the canteen, kept advancing his activity around procurement, making money off trading goods of various types. The situation kept escalating and got to a point where the collateral damage of men's lives, civilian lives, and even battles with the enemy didn't matter at all, as long as money was being made.
The catch-22 of the title alludes to the idea that if you are able to claim to be unfit due to being crazy, then you aren't actually crazy.
As Yossarian watches more and more of the original group of men he works with get killed or injured, or simply disappear, he becomes more and more mired in his hopelessness and fear for his own survival, acting out however he can to protest the situation.

Me and You

Finished July 14
Me and You by Niccolo Ammaniti, translated by Kylee Doust

This short novel focuses on a young man, with most of the story taking place when he was a teenager, over a week. Lorenzo Cuni is not socially adept. He has spent time watching his peers and trying to mimic their behaviour to fit in, with limited success. He isn't picked on like he used to be, but he doesn't have any close friends.
On a weeklong school holiday, Lorenzo has told his parents that he was invited to go on a ski trip by fellow students, and now he has to figure out how to manage this. Setting up a spot in a storage space in his apartment complex basement that his parents never use, he stashes supplies and activities to occupy himself with during the week. But he must find a way to manage his mother's phone calls, and deal with an unexpected visitor, his half-sister.
The present day has him connecting once again with that sister, honoring the special connection they developed during this time, and recognizing how she helped him emotionally.
I found this book extremely poignant and really felt for the young Lorenzo as he tried to manage the expectations of those around him.

The Reluctant Tuscan

Finished July 12
The Reluctant Tuscan: How I Discovered My Inner Italian by Phil Doran

There were aspects of Doran's experience that I quite liked, such as his efforts to learn the language, and aspects that I didn't like, such as how the local people were often caricatures of various Italian stereotypes and his humour, which is in the style of the sitcoms that he wrote for as a career.
At the beginning of the book there is a disclaimer that all the events are true, but some of the place names and all of the people's names have been changed to ensure their privacy. This is good, but given some of the people's secrets, if you know Phil and his wife and where they actually have a home in Tuscany, I would think that some of these secrets might still become associated with the actual people, which is worrying given the promises made to those people.
There is the usual issue of Italian bureaucracy and the machinations used to sidestep and overcome it. Having never dealt with this, I couldn't say if these are real or exaggerated, but certainly at times it feels a bit much.
This memoir covers a year or so during which Doran's wife, a sculptor and lover of Italy, buys a ruined house with many issues and sets about making it into a home. One of her motivations is worry about the stress Doran has over getting his scripts accepted now that he is no longer on salary to a particular show or studio. She believes getting him away from California will help his health. Given the stress around this project, I'm not sure how successful this ploy was, but he did get a book out of it anyway.
Despite the stereotypes, one did get glimpses of the real humanity in the people he encountered, and some of them were more interesting to me, and I would like to know more about them, such as the young female mechanic.

Ties

Finished March 8
Ties by Domenico Starnone, translated by Jhumpa Lahiri

Separated into three parts, this short novel tells the story of a marriage, not a happy one. The first part is from 1974, twelve years into the marriage, and is letters from the wife to the husband. He has left the family for another woman, and she doesn't understand why, and is angry and frustrated. She is also in desperate financial straits, unable to make rent and provide for the children's needs. Her letters show her emotional state and her situation.
The second part is in the present and the husband and wife leave their apartment for a holiday by the beach. They're arranged for the grown children to stop by and look after the cat. But when they return the door is jammed against something and they find their apartment disturbed and in cleaning it up and picking things up, they are each reminded of the past.
The third part is from the children's point of view, both back during the separation and now and we see how their parents marriage affected them.
This novel is poignant, and fascinating. Once I got into it, I could barely put it down.

A Chill in the Air

Finished February 12
A Chill in the Air: An Italian War Diary, 1939-1940 by Iris Origo

This diary was a fascinating look into the experience of being in a country at a very uncertain time. Iris Origo was the daughter of a British mother and an American father. Her father died when she was a young child, and left instructions that she not be raised in either of her parent's home countries, but somewhere else, where she could be free of nationalistic feeling. He suggested Italy, His widow, Iris's mother Sybil followed his advice. She rented, then bought a villa in the hills above Florence and raised Iris there. Iris was a debutante three times, in Florence, London, and New York, but she fell in love with an Italian, Antonio Origo. Together, they defied both their families' plans for them and bought an estate in southern Tuscany that was in very bad shape. The estate included twenty-five farms. The young couple were determined to return the land to fertility and its inhabitants to prosperity. Following the death of her young son Gianni in 1933, she spent some time away, mostly in England, but was back home at the estate by the time that war rumours were beginning.
Iris's godfather was William Phillips, the American Ambassador in Rome, and she had a multitude of other highly placed connections, both socially and politically. She had befriended Virginia Wolff during her time in London, and both she and Antonio were well-liked among the local people.
This diary is about her feelings and reactions to what is going on politically and was meant for her eyes alone, as she sorted through what was happening around her. It doesn't include her private life at all. She kept another diary later in the war covering the years 1943-1944 and it was published in 1947, showing the actions of many of the Italian people during this time, and doing much good for the country's reputation following the war.
I was fascinated by this book, and really got a sense of what was happening, from the feelings of the people for Mussolini, the propaganda that was distributed, and the uncertainty for the future.

Swimming to Elba

Finished March 27
Swimming to Elba by Silvia Avallone, translated by Antony Shugaar

This novel surprised me by being quite different from what I expected. It centers on Anna and Francesca, two barely teen girls in a poor area of Piombino, Italy, just across from Elba. The girls live on the Via Stalingrad in one of a group of apartment buildings.
The girls are just becoming aware of their sexuality and the power it brings. Anna lives with her mother, Sandra, who works outside the home and is a social activist; her father Alessio, who has lots of charm and is always looking for a way to make a fast buck; and her older brother Mattia, who works at the local ironworks and is a very good looking young man.
Francesca lives with her father Enrico, a man with a strong temper, a limited intellect, and a suspicious nature; and her mother Rosa, a meek woman who puts up with a lot.
Anna and Francesca are the prettiest and most popular girls in their age group, and Anna is often doted on by the older girls interested in her brother. She is aware of Francesca's difficult home life, but doesn't really know how to help.
As we see the girls through one summer and into the next school year, we see how the changes affecting their lives also brings change to their relationship.
Because of the environment and social class, this is different from other books I've read about girls this edge. Life is more difficult, and more uncertain for these girls.

Like Family

Finished August 20
Like Family by Paolo Giordano, translated by Anne Milano Appel

This short novel is told by a young married father and centers around a woman who first came into his life when his wife had a difficult pregnancy. Mrs. A is recommended as a housekeeper, and she quickly grows close to Nora, the narrator's wife who is home on bedrest. When the baby is born, Mrs. A. naturally takes on the role of nanny to young Emanuele, even though she has no prior experience with that type of job, not even having had children of her own.
The narrator is a research scientist, who is not entirely happy at his current job. He had won a spot at a university in Zurich, but circumstances made it difficult for him to accept, and he is now almost resigned to the stagnant status of his career.
When Mrs. A. suddenly quits, each family member takes it differently. Nora is begging to get her to come back, and Emanuele is confused about the sudden loss of a woman who was a second mother to him.
While the narrator tells the story looking back at events that have already happened, we only gradually understand the true nature of the Mrs. A's motivation, and the complicated relationship that she has with the family.
A very thoughtful book.

At Least You're in Tuscany

Finished June 28
At Least You're in Tuscany: a Somewhat Disastrous Quest for the Sweet Life by Jennifer Criswell

This memoir is told with a great sense of humour and personal insight. I really enjoyed it.
Jennifer is a lawyer in New York City, but doesn't enjoy her job, and started planning ten years earlier to move to Tuscany permanently. Her grandmother was Italian, and that offers her a foot in the door. Saving money where she could for the last few years, and researching all the paperwork required to actually live her dream has been a long haul.
The book begins with a prologue a few months into her move to Italy, at pretty much the lowest point of her story, but the real story begins in the spring as she moves into a rented apartment with an amazing view of the countryside. She moved to Montepulciano with her weimaraner Cinder in tow. She has taken language lessons, but hasn't really immersed herself in the language seriously, and as she looks for work and waits on the final paperwork to allow her to gain Italian citizenship, she finds many barriers between her and her final goal. She just keeps reminding herself that at least she's in Tuscany.
Finding work isn't easy, partly due to paperwork issues, and partly due to her language skills. She realizes that she must take more Italian lessons and work hard at them to make herself more employable. She finds out the different cultural habits of her new neighbours, struggles to make her money go further as time goes on, and finds that her love life is everybody's business and a topic of small town conversation.
From food to friends, wine to working, we see how she meets each challenge and defies it, persevering to her end goal. A great read and insight into such a unique experience.

Racing the Sun

Finished March 6
Racing the Sun by Karina Halle

This romance novel has Amber MacLean on what she fears is the last leg of her backpacking trip. She's coming into Positano along the Amalfi coast in Italy and not only has little money left, she has dipped into the funds that were to purchase her ticket home. She really doesn't want to go home, as she still feels she hasn't figured out what direction she wants to go in for her future. Her father is pressuring her to return home and get a job rather than looking for her passion.
She decides she is going to have to find a job, even if it is just to get enough money to get back home, and answers an ad she spots in a cafe. The job is to teach English to two Italian children, and she figures that with her English degree, it is something she can manage. When the interview takes her to the nearby island of Capri, she is enchanted by the beauty of the island.
The interview is odd, but goes well, and she settles in to her job, finding ways to gain the attention of the children and find a friend she can connect to. The children's older brother and guardian is a distraction though, and she finds that the rumors she hears about the family don't fit what she sees living with them.
This is a story of a young woman searching for a life that makes a difference. And of a man recovering from a tragedy while dealing with responsibility he wasn't ready for. It is a story of connections and of growing up. And one of love.