Tag: italy

Pagan Holiday

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Perrottet, Tony. Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists. Random House, 2002.

Reason read: Tony Perrotte celebrates a birthday in October.

I don’t know which is more entertaining: Perrottet’s humor or his descriptions of traveling around ancient Rome and Naples. His denial about his wife’s pregnancy was funny (“…avoiding our impending parenthood situation” (p 127) as he called it. He certainly went to great lengths to see ancient Italy as a tourist would. Diving to see the lost town of Baiae with its spas, village, and lighthouse was interesting. Visiting the ancient hook-up spots and gladiator arenas. Imagining ancient day Ubers with stables for renting mule-pulled wagons. One’s status dictated how many mules pulled a customer around and whether or not he or she had a mule driver. Speaking of driving – what about chariot road rage as compared to modern day six lane highway antics? Or imagine soliciting a prostitute at their “office” better known as the local cemetery. Perrottet also visited Greece and Turkey hauling along his increasingly pregnant wife. Learning the sex of the child while on their journey brought them both one step closer to the reality of becoming parents, but it didn’t stop Perrottet from seeking out lost cities and crawling around pyramids.

As an aside, I would like to know if the Appian way is still lined with family vaults. That would be pretty interesting to see. I also want to know if Medusa’s head still graces with Arcadian Way.

Author fact: Tony Perrottet also authored Naked Olympics which is on my Challenge list.

Book trivia: Pagan Holiday was originally published as Route 66 A.D.

Music: “O mio babbino caro,” Jim Morrison, George Michael, Ringo Starr, “Zorba,” the Beatles, “Frere Jacques,” U2’s “Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For,” Cole Porter,

Natalie connection: Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a pre-Raphaelite painter featured in Pagan Holiday. His daughter wrote a poem called “If No One Ever Marries Me” which Natalie set to music.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter “Dewey Deconstructed: 900s” (p 62). Also noted in Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Where On Earth Do These Books Belong?” (p 261).

Naples ’44

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Lewis, Norman. Naples ’44: a World War II Diary of Occupied Italy. Pantheon, 1978.

Reason read: In Naples, there is a pizza festival usually celebrated the third week of September.

Norman Lewis kept a clear-eyed diary from September 8th, 1943 to October 24th, 1944 when, as an Intelligence Officer in the Italian Labyrinth, he joined an established Field Security Service outfit in Italy near the end of World War II. Not having a specific assignment Lewis moved about Naples fulfilling various tasks. Beyond Naples Lewis visited the island of Ischia and the city of Caivano.
Besides a first-hand account of the Allied liberation of Italy, Lewis was witness to the civilian suffering and the colleterial damages of war. Wide spread bombings, children being prostituted by their parents, police and mafia corruption. Grossly underpaid officers resorted to crime to make ends meet. I found it interesting that Lewis learned to turn a blind eye from some small forms of corruption. He casually admitted “I am gradually becoming drawn into the system” (p 172). In the end Lewis enjoyed his time in Italy so much that he wished he had been born there.

Quotes I found telling, “I found Dr Lanza in his clinic, which smelt not only of ether but success” (p 141) and “This is the season and situation when insanity has become almost respectable” (p 145).

Author fact: Lewis lived to be 95 years old. He also wrote Goddess in the Stones (January 2036), Tomb in Seville (July 2037), and A Dragon Apparent (September 2056).

Book trivia: my audio version was read by Nicholas Boulton. In the book version there are no photographs.

Music: “O Sole Mio,” “Ammore Busciardo,” Torna a Sorrento,” and “Triumphal March” from Verdi’s opera Aida.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Ciao, Italia” (p 46).

In Sicily

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Lewis, Norman. In Sicily. Thomas Dunne Books, 2000.

Reason read: there is an almond blossom festival that takes place every March in Sicily.

Norman Lewis fell in love with Sicily and its environs in the mid 1950s. In Sicily is a remembrance of that long-gone era. The mafia does not have the grip it once had, but Lewis has his memories and heartbreaks tied up in the violence and terror of wartime yesteryear. He married a mob daughter, after all. Sicily is a place of long-held corruption; of falling down palaces and open-air lovemaking and Lewis does not miss a single detail. In Sicily is an open love letter, full of crime, mythology, superstition, and passion.

As an aside, Lewis reported that Italians have a difficult time pronouncing the letter H. I can attest to that. My friend, born and raised in Rome, cannot pronounce my name.
Another aside. I am in love with the Dancing Satyr of Mazara. It’s now on my bucket list.

Quote to respect, “There are many lessons to be learned, the first being that as a black he had become invisible” (p 125).

Author fact: Lewis wrote a bunch of interesting books. I am reading a total of five of them for the Challenge.

Book trivia: the dedication is surprising. I have not seen one of its kind before.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the simple chapter called “Sicily” (p 209).

Long Finish

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Dibdin, Michael. A Long Finish. Pantheon Books, 1998.

Reason read: Dibdin was born in March. Read in his honor.

Do you like wine or truffles? This is a murder mystery centered around both delicacies in Alba, a small hill town in northern Italy. Aurelio Zen has been sent from the big city of Rome to aid in an unusual case. Instead of finding the real killer, he is to clear the name of a winemaker accused of (and jailed for) killing his father. Only when Zen gets to Alba, the murder case of Also Vincenzo is “solved” without his contribution or nosey interference. Strange. When the authorities try to rush him out of town he grows even more suspicious and decides to stick around. The town intrigues him and he is no hurry to leave. It becomes even more mysterious when subsequently two more people die. One by suicide and one by accident…or so it seems.
The more I read about Zen the more I remembered his character from Cosi Fan Tutti. He is still a very complicated man. He is prone to sleepwalking to the point of serious injury. When he starts receiving strange calls he doesn’t know about phone devices that can disguise voices. As a police officer, this detail surprised me. He has the ability to become unglued at a moment’s notice. An act or truth, I could not tell. He might have fathered a child out of wedlock. He doesn’t always have the best intentions but other times he will surprise you.

What exactly is a “powerful but lazy wind” (p 155)?

Author fact: Dibdin passed away in 2007.

Book trivia: Long Finish is the sixth book in the Aurelio Zen series.

Playlist: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Ciao, Italia!” (p 46).

Volcano Lover

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Sontag, Susan. The Volcano Lover: A Romance. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1992.

Reason read: the Carnival of Ivrea happens in February every year. It is essentially a four-day food fight with oranges in the town of Ivrea in Northern Italy.

The Cavalier, an art dealer and British ambassador to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, is obsessed with three things: collecting beautiful and rare pieces of art, watching Vesuvius breathe and rumble, and having a relationship with his nephew’s former lover. I know, it’s an odd beginning. When the Cavalier’s nephew, Charles, grows tired of his mistress he simply sends her to live with his uncle once the Cavalier became a lonely widower. How do you learn to love a stranger? What do you do when that love matures into devotion and passion falls by the wayside? Beyond being a story about relationships and circumstances, The Volcano Lover is also the love story of art, war, and devotion to a life well lived with passion.
There is a cleverness to Sontag’s writing. Most of the story is told in the third person with touches of first person narrative sprinkled in. Is that Sontag offering personal tidbits about herself? Who is this off-camera speaker? In the very last section of Volcano Lover the Cavalier, his wife, his mother-in-law, and the Queen all offer first person perspectives on their lives with one another. Both the Cavalier and his mother-in-law are careful to never reveal the Cavalier’s wife real name (modeled after Emma Hamilton). No one mentions the hero’s name (Lord Nelson in real life), either.

As an aside: I listened to an interview with Sontag conducted by Muriel Murch. The whole time I kept thinking one of their voices sounded familiar. There is a professor (retired now) who sounds exactly like Sontag.

Lines I liked, “Sometimes it felt like exile, sometimes it felt like a home” (p 67), “Pleasure is haunted by the phantom of loss” (p 201) and “Nothing is more hateful than revenge” (p 313).

Author fact: While Sontag has written more than The Volcano Lover, it is the only book I am reading for the Challenge.

Book trivia: The Cavalier is based on Sir William Hamilton.

Playlist: Farinelli (Carlo Broschi), “God Save the King” and “Rule, Britannia”, Mozart, Haydn’s “The Battle of the Nile”, Vivaldi, Handel, and Couperin.

Nancy said: Pearl calls The Volcano Lover a historical romance for intellectuals. She’s not wrong.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the very simple chapter called “Naples” (p 146).

Roma

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Croce, Julia Della. Roma: Authentic Recipes from In and Around the Eternal City. Chronicle Books, 2004.

Reason read: Having just come back from Rome, a coworker gave this to me as a gift.

There is more to Roma than delicious recipes and luxurious photographs. Inside the pages of this cookbook you will find the history of some of Rome’s most traditional ingredients like polenta, olives, and artichokes. You will read about what Caesar liked to serve his guests (moray eels) and learn that Anzio was the birth place of Caligula and Nero. Croce also includes a section on where to eat and sleep in and around the ancient city. Because she includes addresses, phone numbers, and days of operations, it is strongly advised to doublecheck this information as Roma was published nearly twenty years ago. Some places may have not survived Rome’s devastating battle with Covid in 2020. There is a section of mail order resources, complete with address, phone number, fax, website and a brief description. Again, I would check for accuracy.
One of my favorite sections of Roma is the information on festivals. The ancient city celebrates everything from polenta, artichokes, flower artwork, fish, pork, lentils, bread salad, olive oil, and of course, grapes.
Croce ends Roma with information about cooking schools, wine courses and Italy tours, starting with her own Italian cooking school, La Vera Cucina and ending with “To Italy with Julia”, a culinary and cultural tour of Italy.
As an aside, I liked the phrase “an aggressive use of pepper” but it had me wondering exactly how much constituted “aggressive” in Croce’s eyes.

Book trivia: The gorgeous photographs within Roma were shot by Paolo Destefanis.

Author fact: I only have this one cookbook by Julia Croce. Probably because I am not a huge fan of Italian cuisine. I am a huge fan of Chronicle Books, though. I have several cookbooks from them.

As an aside, while I was in Rome for ten days I had the privilege of staying with a Roman family in the Laurentino district. On New Year’s Eve, my host cooked an elaborate ten course meal that included pasta, fish, salad, and bread. The last dish (served at 1:30am) was a lentil-sausage stew. The sausage rounds symbolized coins of wealth in the coming year. It was really delicious.

Rome From the Ground Up

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McGregor, James H. S. Rome from the Ground Up. Bel Knap Press, 2015.

Reason read: Kisa and I are going to embark on a roman holiday at the end of the year.

McGregor starts off by saying Rome is an agglomeration of historical cities. That statement alone fires the imagination and makes one want to read on. Rome was not a planned city. It has gone through multiple redesigns. Each city section had its own purpose, much like New York City has it’s myriad of regions within the five boroughs. Yes, McGregor will walk you through every section of Rome and describe everything along with way with meticulous care. He encourages readers to take Rome from the Ground Up as a guide book to the city. He does not include restaurants or the best places to stay, as those will change over time.
Here are some of the things I gleaned from reading Rome from the Ground Up: the Mouth of Truth may have been an ancient manhole and sewer cover. There were two palaces of power, the Vatican and the Quirinal. Julius Caesar was assassinated and his body burnt on a pyre in the Forum. Later, a temple was built on the spot and dedicated to him. As an aside, I bet all dictators wish they had temples built in their honor. Laurel trees were sacred to Apollo. Read Rome from the Ground Up if you are into minute details descriptions of architecture, including details on the art within every museum, church, or chapel.

Some things I would like to research while in Rome: is the fig tree still standing in the Forum? Can you still see the collapsed bridge that was never repaired from 1598? What about the Seated Boxer? Is he still near the Baths of Constantine on the Quirinal Hill? What about the final resting place of St. Valentine? Are they still in the Chapel of San Zeno?

As an aside, if you know me then you know I find connections to music all over the place. When McGregor mentioned Stations of the Cross performed in the Coliseum by the pope every Good Friday, I thought of Josh Ritter.

Line to like, “Vows of celibacy could be difficult to maintain; pilgrims far from home turned into randy conventioneers” (p 193).

Author fact: McGregor has written a bunch of “From the Ground Up…” books. I am only reading about Rome for the Challenge.

Book trivia: Rome from the Ground Up has the most wonderful photographs and architecturally detailed plans.

Nancy said: Pearl said Rome from the Ground Up is great for architecture and history buffs.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Roman Holiday” (p 188).

Seasons of Rome

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Hofmann, Paul. The Seasons of Rome. Illustrated by Joanne Morgante. Henry Holt and Company, 1997.

Reason read: Kisa and I are going to Rome in a few months.

Paul Hofmann decided to record daily life in Rome for one year. He wanted to remember how the city and its people lived through 1994 to 1995. Each chapter takes place in a different month, beginning in September. Why start in September? I have no idea. Hofmann writes about Rome with an air of authority that borders on possessiveness. It is obvious he loves his city.
Things I learned about Rome from thirty years ago. Holidays and Sunday closures made it nearly impossible to by medicine or milk, but the good news was that you would be able to find parking. And speaking of cars in 1994, 16,000 people were permitted to take their cars into the center, but only 12,000 were admitted. Sounds like a scam to me. Although, fifty years earlier (1945), Hofmann was allowed to park his Jeep at the Vatican, thanks to being a war correspondent with the New York Times (Rome was just liberated by the Allies six month prior).
I love it when assumptions are turned on their heads. Here is one of mine. When I think of religious figures, I think of monks living in monasteries or ministers in parsonages. I think humble. Very humble. So, it was strange to read about a pope needing a heliport or an Italian air force to warn him of inclement weather before flying. Then it dawned on me…Vatican City. Oh.
Thanks to Hofmann’s book, there are other elements of Rome I cannot wait to check out: is there some kind of memorial to Keats at No. 66 Piazza di Spagna? There was not at the time of Hofmann’s book. Where do I find a mechanical creche? Does the C line from the Colosseum to the Vatican exist yet?
This is a charming book, albeit, a little outdated.

As an aside, I can see Dermot writing a song and using the word sirocco. I have no idea why, but it is a very passionate word in my mind and it fits the way he writes. And speaking of Dermot, he revealed where in Rome she said “I wish we could stay”. You can bet the Kisa and I will be trying to visit that place.

Author fact: at the time of publication, Hofmann was chief of the New York Times bureau in Rome. He passed away in 2008.

Book trivia: The Seasons of Rome was illustrated by Joanne Morgante.

Playlist: Verdi’s “Aida”, “Requiem”, and “Rigoletto”, Maria Callas, Wagner, Herbert von Karajan, Danna Takova, Puccini, and Maria Jeritza.

Nancy said: Pearl called Seasons of Rome immensely interesting.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Roman Holiday” (p 188).

Ancient Shore

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Hazzard, Shirley and Francis Steegmuller. The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples. University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Reason read: We are planning a trip to Italy in at the end of the year. At the time I put this on my list I didn’t know if we would make it to Naples or not. It turns out, we will not be going to Naples this time. Something for the next trip!

Hazzard begins Ancient Shore with an abbreviated autobiography of her childhood and how she discovered Italy. From there, different essays connect Naples to its culture, politics, history, and endless charm. Hazzard remembers Naples of the 1950s so there is a nostalgic air to her writing. Because Ancient Shore is a little dated, I wondered if some of the details are still accurate. I guess I will have to travel there to find out!
Hazzard’s husband, Francis Steegmuller, steps in for a story about a violent mugging he experienced. His tale is terrible. Terrible because he was warned many times over not to carry his bag a certain way. Terrible because the violence caused great ever-lasting injury. Terrible, above all, because he knew better. This was not his first time in Naples.

Lines worth remembering, “There can be the journey to reconciliation, the need to visit the past of to exorcise it” (p 17), “Like luck itself, Italy cannot be explained” (p 125), and my personal favorite, “We are encouraged to stop defining life, and to live it” (p 126).

Author(s) fact(s): I am reading four of Hazzard’s books. Ancient Shore is the second on the list. Steegmuller was a man of many hats. He died in 1994.

Book trivia: Ancient Shore is a very short book, but please take your time reading it. The photographs are wonderful, too.

Playlist: Diana Ross.

Nancy said: Pearl called Ancient Shore a lovely little book.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter simply called “Naples” (p 146).

Brunetti’s Venice

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Sepeda, Toni. Brunetti’s Venice: Walks with the City’s Best-Loved Detective. Grove Press, 2008.

Reason read: prepping for a grand trip to Italy. Venice is on the list. I cannot wait to walk the same streets as Lord Byron, Wagner, Goethe, and Proust. They all went to the San Marco district of Venice for inspiration. I must see the equestrian statue of Colleoni.

Brunetti’s Venice is a very clever book. Part travel guide to Venice and part homage to Donna Leon’s character, Guido Brunetti, Brunetti’s Venice is one hundred percent entertainment. Using direct quotes from each of Leon’s mysteries a reader can tour Venice through the eyes of Brunetti. Places like Murano become more vivid. Quoting from all Leon’s mysteries was a bonus for me. I am afforded glimpses of passages from books not on my Challenge list. It also gave me a chance to get to know Guido Brunetti better, as Sepeda writes just as equally about Commissario Brunetti the person as she does the island city of Venice.
As a travel book, the most appreciated information was the time it should take to walk each route using the detailed map. I have to wonder if the information has held up. Information like when restaurants are closed, how to visit a basilica, how to avoid the seedy parts of town. When Brunetti’s Venice went to press Sepeda said, “…today only three exist until the new bridge linking Piazzale Roma and the train station designed by the Spanish architect Calatrava is finished” (p 143). Well, is it finished? Are Venetians still suspicious of Sicilians?
Aside from wondering how current the information, I loved the idea of the great authors who have wandered around Venice: Charles Dickens, George Sand, Balzac, and Cocteau to name a few. Imagine Othello in Venice…
Confessional: I fell in love with Guido from the very first book. He is passionate, sensitive, and predictable. I loved that as a member of the law he lived in an illegal apartment; a structure without permits, blueprints, or statement of intent.

As an aside: Donna Leon admits to getting lost in Venice. Tommy Puzey guaranteed we would get lost during his Walk Italy series on iFit (so far we haven’t).

Quote to quote, “One of the secrets Paolo and Brunetti never revealed to anyone was their decades-long search for the ugliest Christ child in western art” (p 127). Can you just see them whispering to each other, rating the artwork across Venice?

Author fact: I heard a rumor that Sepeda has given guided tours of Brunetti’s Venice. She must really love Donna Leon’s books.

Book trivia: Sepeda uses arrows to indicate when it is time for walkers to move on. I felt it was unnecessary.

Playlist: Vivaldi

Nancy said: Pearl said it would be fun to recreate strolls described in Brunetti’s Venice.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter “Veni, Vidi, Venice” (p 240).

Bay of Noon

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Hazzard, Shirley. The Bay of Noon. Little, Brown and Company, 1970.

Reason read: the Battle of Oranges takes place in February.

There is a secret in Bay of Noon. My eyes did a double read when the words “I am in love with my brother” floated past my face. Did narrator Jenny mean what I think she meant? Is that the secret every reviewer alludes to when writing about Bay of Noon? Hazzard drops hints like pebbles disturbing tranquil waters.
In addition to being a story about a woman fleeing a dark secret, Bay of Noon is about the power of friendship. In the end, the reader is left with this question: do years of disconnection matter if the bonds of relationship are stronger than any prolonged length of time?
Confessional: None of the characters were likeable to me and maybe that was the point. I really did not care for Justin. His refusal of plain speak was annoying. Circumventing addressing matters of the heart the way he did would make me walk away. What I did love was the vivid descriptions of the Mediterranean. It made me hunger for all things Italy.
Bay of Noon has been called a romance novel and I guess in some ways it is, but I didn’t like any of the couples and I never really felt any of them were actually in love.

Author fact: Hazzard was Australian but wrote a great deal about Naples.

Book trivia: Bay of Noon was originally published in 1970 but found life again after being republished in 2003. It was shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize in 2010.

Play list: Hazzard has many opportunities to mention songs of musicians by name through all of the dancing, signing, and listening to the radio, but she doesn’t.

Nancy said: Pearl called Bay of Noon “most likely autobiographical” (Book Lust To Go p 148).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust to Go in the simple chapter called “Naples” (p 146).

Italian Days

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Harrison, Barbara Grizzuti. Italian Days. Worldenfeld and Nicolson, 1989.

Reason read: there once was talk of going to Italy in September or October. Read in memory of that aborted excursion. Also, some people celebrate Italian Heritage Month in October. Read in the offchance that is a thing.

From the very first few pages I knew I was going to enjoy Italian Days. Harrison is funny, witty, smart, and even a little sarcastic at times. She peppers her prose with interesting personal annectdotes about her connections to Italy. Sometimes it is about motherhood or her marriage. She comes alive when writing about her daughter Anna. Other times she talks of old lovers and new friends with such a sensuality there is an undertone of sexuality to her confessions, as if to say “I know I am beautiful. What of it?”
Harrison’s observations about Italian people and places are spot on. She has a running commentary on everything from feminism in Milan to artificial insemination by an unknown donor. She enjoys movies and references them from time to time.
It is obvious Harrison has an appreciation for the words of others who have written so beautifully about Italy’s charms. There are lots of quotes from Stendhal, Ruskin, George Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, and Henry James, but mostly Italian Days is a thoughtful blender concoction of cultural, spiritual, historical, and personal observations. Art, science, food, family, architecture, memories, religion, philosophy, and society swirl on every page. You’ll pick up a little Italian in the process. My favorite phrase was “qui sono felice” or “Here I am happy.”
Interesting that Piazzare Loreto bears no recognition of Mussolini’s demise.
As an aside, since Italian Days was published in 1989 I have to wonder if Milan is still as dependent on America as some seemed to think.
Thanks to Harrison’s descriptions of Italy there are a few places I would like to go: the church of Santa Maria Sacravia with its basalt stones; Rome, the city of Saints Peter and Paul (does anyone else think of Josh Ritter’s “Girl in the War” when hearing those names?); the Capuchin Cemetery to “cultivate a taste for the memento mori” (p 300). I now want to see the statue of David just to see his curiously small…ears.

As an another aside, remind me never to try the chocolate panforte – Harrison’s description of it sounds absolutely awful. Who would want to eat a spongy rock impregnated with gravel? On the other hand, when I go to Italy I want to try every flavor of gelati and I want to find the final resting place of Patrician Cecilia, the virgin patron saint of music and musicians. Supposedly, she is buried in a catacomb on the Appian Way.

Favorite lines: First, this is the one that made me laugh, “I have never but once had the occasion to threaten to knock someone’s pearls down her throat” (p 5). Then came, “It is very hard to be charming in a foreign language” (p 13), and “I have always wanted to live in an enclosed world, but when I did, I wanted to get out” (p 348). Spoken like a true cat. Meow.

Author fact: Everyone has their “thing” that makes them nervous. It was interesting to learn Harrison does not like masks or puppets.

Book trivia: there is a nice section of black and white photographs.

Setlist: Bach, Prince, Ben Webster, Ethel Merman, Mario Lanza, Tina Turner, Mozart, Vivaldi, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, “Once There Were Three Marys”, “Amapola, My Pretty Little Poppy”, “O Sole Mio”, “Arriverderci Roma”, “Be Silent Mortal Flesh”, “Edelwiess Forever”, Frank Sinatra’s “New York”, “Agnis Dei”, “Puff the Magic Dragon”, “If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus”, “Day is Done”, “Little Boxes”, “Love Walked In”, “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild”, “Jesus is My Friend”, “Tea for Two”, “Ave Maria”,

Nancy said: Pearl didn’t say anything specific about Italian Days other than to outline what the book is about.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Ciao, Italia” (p 46).

Eat Pray Love

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Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. Viking, 2006.

Reason read: March is Women’s History Month. Celebrating Gilbert this time.

Does everyone picture Julia Roberts when they hear the words eat, love and pray in that order? I know I do. I haven’t even seen the movie and yet that is exactly what goes through my head. Admittedly, before I even started reading the book I had a preconceived notion of what the storyline would be: a woman of means takes a year off from her crash-and-burn American life to find herself in the beyond beautiful countries of Italy, India and Indonesia. She spends four months in Italy eating her way through the wine-soaked landscape. She spends another four months in India meditating and losing the weight she gained in pasta. After paying a bribe, she spends the last four months of her year away on the Indonesian island of Bali being courted by the culture and in the end, a man. A year of seemingly easy leisure produced Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. But. But! But, my cynicism ends there. Gilbert is a skilled storyteller. Even if my synopsis is pretty accurate, Eat, Pray, Love is a highly entertaining read. I enjoyed every second of it.

Author fact: I have two other Gilbert books on my challenge list: Stern Men and The Last American Man.

Book trivia: Confessional – I have been calling this book Eat, Love, Pray for months now. I can’t even get the title right.

Best line ever, “…showing you the way, scaring off thieves and demons, brining you confidence and protection” (p 148).

Playlist: Count Basie, Eagles, Neil Young, Ray Charles, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, and Kenny Roger’s “Coward of the Country,”

Nancy said: Pearl said Gilbert became famous for writing Eat Pray Love.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter “The Maine Chance” (p 136). As an aside, Eat, Pray Love shouldn’t in this chapter. It has nothing to do with the state of Maine.

Uniform Justice

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Leon, Donna. Uniform Justice. New York: Penguin, 2004.

Reason read: to end the series started in September in honor memory of plans to go to Italy. Fukc covid.

When we return to the Venetian world of Commissario Guido Brunetti he has found himself mired in the apparent suicide of a military cadet found hanging in a dormitory shower. It should be an open and shut case, but there is something about the death that doesn’t sit right with Brunetti. Moro’s father resigned from Parliament after Mrs. Moro was shot in an apparent hunting accident. Now Mr. Noro’s son is dead. Is this retribution for his meddling in a corrupt investigation? As usual, Brunetti”s boss, Vice-Questore Patta, is eager to move on. Looks like a suicide, smells like a suicide, so it is a suicide. Hog-tied by political play, Patta would rather Brunetti poke his nose elsewhere. Brunetti is forced to bend the rules in order to solve the mystery. It reminded me of how Brenda would stop at nothing to get a confession on one of my favorite television shows, The Closer.
Aside from the intriguing character of Guido Brunetti, Leon always illustrates Venice in a way that is mouth-watering and fills this reader with the yearning to pack her bags.

Author fact: Donna Leon was once a teacher.

Book trivia: Uniform Justice is #12 in the series, but the last one I will be reading for the Challenge.

Nancy said: Pearl said Uniform Justice is a “particularly good one.”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the obvious chapter called “Ciao, Italia” (p 46).

A Noble Radiance

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Leon, Donna. A Noble Radiance. New York: Penguin Classic, 2003.

Reason read: to continue the series started in September in honor of Leon’s birth month.

Commissario Guido Brunetti is back. This time he takes on a case of a kidnapping turned murder.
What was once an abandoned field is now the final resting place of a young man buried in a shallow grave. Although badly decomposed investigators can see he was killed with a bullet to the back of the head. The crest ring found with the body suggests it is the only son of a wealthy Venetian count. This son, Robert Lorenzoni, had been kidnapped under suspicious circumstances two years prior and was never heard from again. Dental records confirm that the body is Count Lorenzoni’s only son, sending the family reeling with grief.
Confessional: I was a little disappointed with this one. I figured out who did it and why pretty early on. There was a final twist that should have been a shock but really wasn’t. The best part about A Noble Radiance was learning more about Brunetti’s home life. The scene where he must suffer his daughter’s salty cooking is hilarious. I could see that in a movie. I also enjoyed his intimidating dinner date with his father-in-law (also a count) who inadvertently helps Guido solve the mystery.

Author fact: Leon also wrote Suffer the Little Children. Not to be confused with the documentary of the same name, or Suffer the Children by John Saul, or the 1980s song by Tears for Fears.

Book trivia: A Noble Radiance is the seventh in the series.

Nancy said: Pearl said she enjoyed A Noble Radiance. That’s it.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the obvious chapter called “Ciao, Italia” (p 46).