American newlyweds Scottie and Michael arrive in Sienna in 1956. They don't know each other very well and they are both harbouring secrets from each other - quite big secrets actually!
Set in postwar Italy at the height of the cold war this light-hearted romp peopled by cliched expats and Italians is an easy breezy summertime read but one that left me cold and disappointed.
Its another book that has had - you've guessed it - excellent reviews and one that once again proved to be something of a disappointment to me. I found the storyline to be way too far-fetched to be believable and even the timeline of the story made no sense. The shallow characters were all stereotypes who acted unrealistically with no consequences, I honestly cannot see people living as they did.
The writing was okay, there were some good passages but so much of the story seemed irrelevant and the author appeared to be trying to fit in far too many elements (Horses! Fashion! Food! Politics! Espionage!) in order to set the scene of Tuscany in the 1950's.
I suppose this may be an okay book to take with you if you are holidaying in an Italian villa but ultimately, for me, it was a silly book that I was happy to finish.
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