Rating 4 out of 5 stars
Marc, his wife Rohan, new born baby Louis, and their dog Tetly decide to make a sea change. They don’t just move from the city but move countries. They leave behind the rat race of Sydney Australia to live in a small village on the Island of Lipari of the Italian coast.
When they arrive it is the middle of winter. The two bedroom villa while small and stuffy with no windows but a terrace with a view that takes the breath away. However the weather turns bad, Louis refuses to settle and spends the night crying, Marc is frequently sick, he and Rohan seem to constantly fight and that is before the social blunders they inadvertently create which leave them out cold socially. Slowly they begin to realise that the idyllic life they had imagined was a lot harder than they thought.
A great book, with some hilarious moments as they bumble through local customs. I particularly loved the chocolate and garlic cake episode. It was great to see the progress of their life on the island which went from being up beat and jubilant, to miserable, rock bottom, and come out the other side. Originally I was drawn to this book mostly because Italy is somewhere I really want to travel too. It was nice reading about a slice of Italy you rarely hear about. I did think the ending was a little bit of a letdown. I am not sure why, I can not put my finger on it, but I definitely felt a sense of “Oh is that all?”.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a nice light read and enjoys different cultures.
Marc, his wife Rohan, new born baby Louis, and their dog Tetly decide to make a sea change. They don’t just move from the city but move countries. They leave behind the rat race of Sydney Australia to live in a small village on the Island of Lipari of the Italian coast.
When they arrive it is the middle of winter. The two bedroom villa while small and stuffy with no windows but a terrace with a view that takes the breath away. However the weather turns bad, Louis refuses to settle and spends the night crying, Marc is frequently sick, he and Rohan seem to constantly fight and that is before the social blunders they inadvertently create which leave them out cold socially. Slowly they begin to realise that the idyllic life they had imagined was a lot harder than they thought.
A great book, with some hilarious moments as they bumble through local customs. I particularly loved the chocolate and garlic cake episode. It was great to see the progress of their life on the island which went from being up beat and jubilant, to miserable, rock bottom, and come out the other side. Originally I was drawn to this book mostly because Italy is somewhere I really want to travel too. It was nice reading about a slice of Italy you rarely hear about. I did think the ending was a little bit of a letdown. I am not sure why, I can not put my finger on it, but I definitely felt a sense of “Oh is that all?”.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a nice light read and enjoys different cultures.
the book sounds delightful
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