"This enchanting and whimsical literary novel contains themes of friendship, love, and understanding-of-self as it explores Tuscany, coming-of-age and aging with a knowing yet empathetic pen. "
If you are looking for a quietly amusing gift-wrapped package of beautiful writing, evocative setting, delightfully unique characters, and the most gentle of mysteries then allow yourself the pleasure of a visit to Villa Coco. Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer apparently set out to write a ‘charm novel’ and what better location than Tuscany and a wide-age-gap burgeoning friendship in which to settle the charm.
Our young archivist narrator tells of his time in Italy at some point after the Second World War, with the beautifully eccentric and aging Lisabetta, otherwise known as Coco. His initial expectations are not fulfilled, and yet his next few months allow him to explore the magic of a life lived with energy, positivity, and a helping of chaos.
I felt as though I was experiencing a hidden, almost forgotten Tuscany, one off the beaten track and one that called out to me with the turn of every page. The characters are divine, particularly those who have lived their lives with passion. Coco is unforgettable, and the mystery of her great love hovered in place.
The ending made me smile, and this literary feel-good novel just had to be a Liz Pick of the Month. Playful, soulful, and gently amusing, Villa Coco shines its charming light on the developing friendship between coming-of-age and devil-may-care older years characters.
Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer ("A great chronicler of our times." -San Francisco Chronicle) showcases his wit, sophistication and deep knowledge of focaccia in this magical and madcap tale of a young man who takes an unspecified job with a charismatic elderly Baronessa at her crumbling villa in the Tuscan hills
| Primary Genre | Literary Fiction |
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Technically, our young man is an archivist, charged with cataloguing Coco's extensive and eclectic collection of art and artifacts, but what are his actual duties? He is charged with ridding the house of a marten, whatever that is, locating the antediluvian septic system, entertaining an endless carousel of guests (from bohemian painters to elderly princesses to handsome nephews), attending a funeral in order to make off with the urn, and not inadvertently sabotaging Coco's great and final plan-to locate the lost love of her life and be reunited before it's too late.Told with the signature wit, insight, and deeply felt humanity that made Less an international phenomenon, Villa Coco is a dazzling, sun-soaked ode to life itself-a romp through a youthfully self-constructed emotional obstacle course, a meditation on what we give and take from others, and a bawdy Mediterranean ballad about becoming who you've always wanted to be.
Villa Coco features in the following genres: Book Club Recommendations, Liz Robinson's Picks of the Month, Feel-Good Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Literary Fiction, Sharing Diverse Voices, Literary Fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Diversity, equality, inclusion, Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Narrative theme: Sense of place
Hardback, Paperback. Not Available.
Villa Coco was written by Andrew Sean Greer and published by Random House an imprint of Diversified Publishing
Villa Coco has 368 pages
