Review: A realistic taste of Italy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 28, 2013
As soon as I worked out that this was a story rather than a travel book, I warmed up to it quickly as the narrative took me right into some action and the references and snippets of language hit a familiar note with me from my own trip to Italy a few years ago. The writing style flowed well and took me into the world of a woman who had sustained a minor injury in Vatican City with limited knowledge of the local language. I quickly found myself wondering where the rest of the story would go.I really liked that the story started with action. It's a technique that draws a reader into a story quickly, even if they might not have had much in common with the characters otherwise. I also like that the situation immediately felt very real, concurring with much of my own experience of Italy from the tourist side of the fence. It's fairly obvious that the writer knows the area from first hand experience.I also enjoyed a laugh at some very good depiction of what one might call the ignorance of some tourists. My phrasebook Italian isn't very proficient, but I believe I was told that the author lives in Rome so I'm happy to take the accuracy of the Italian on faith and maybe even learn from it, as I have plans for another trip to that country in the next few years.What didn't I like? Well apart from having trouble getting used to the idea of Brennan as a girl's name, I thought the child Cristiano needed a good slap. I don't know the cultural attitude towards smacking children in Italy, but this kid would have driven me nuts if I came across him in a public place with his mother so obviously not in control of him.While I personally didn't identify with any of the characters, I have to say that they were well written and that the story continued to flow well. I expect that American readers will more easily see themselves in the personalities portrayed. There were amusing moments, and the narrative was just generally engaging. ChickLit is not my usual fare, but it's good to see it done well.I won't give away the ending, but I will say that I felt rather nostalgic that pizza was involved. The best pizza I ever had in my life was in a little cafe in Limone' Italy. For me the story was a lovely revisit to a place that left its mark on me, as it did for the characters themselves.