Italian Lessons [Paperback]

Peter Pezzelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007

With his trademark warmth, humor, and wisdom, Peter Pezzelli's newest novel weaves an unforgettable tale of Italian-American life and family, hope and heartbreak, lessons learned and lessons deferred, and a love that can heal time's greatest wounds...

Italian Lessons

Fresh out of college, Carter Quinn has returned to his home in North Providence, Rhode Island, unsure of just about everything except his plans to go to Italy and pursue the woman of his dreams. To do that, he needs to learn to speak Italian, and only one man is right for the job--Giancarlo Rosa...if Carter can survive him.

Giancarlo is nobody's fool. The middle-aged music professor does offer Italian lessons, but only to those who are truly motivated. If Carter wants to learn, he will have to prove himself: lessons three times a week, hours of studying, strict discipline. And there will be no questions about the professor's life--why he hasn't written music in years, why he lives alone, and why he left his homeland in the first place. Carter may see Italy as a land of romance, but Giancarlo knows just what disappointments and betrayals live under the Abruzzo sky. What begins as an apparent mismatch between mentor and student soon blossoms into something deeper--a friendship that carries them into the old country, where forgotten secrets may hold the key to a new lease on life.

Now, in a land of sun, wine, new romance and old wounds, two men will embark on separate, unpredictable journeys that will take them deep into the untraveled places of the heart where everything must be learned...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pezzelli (Francesca's Kitchen; Every Sunday; etc.), brings his fans a light if sometimes trite story of two lovelorn men who form an unlikely friendship. Recent college graduate Carter Quinn has fallen in love with Elena, a beautiful woman with whom he has had little more than a conversation in which he learned she was from a small town in Italy. Carter has the somewhat unrealistic dream of traveling to Italy to pursue his newfound love. Not knowing the language, Carter turns to Giancarlo Rosa, a local music professor in Providence, R.I., for private Italian lessons, though Giancarlo is leery of taking on Quinn as a student. He does, of course, and Giancarlo's broken heart—the result of a long-ago betrayal—begins slowly to mend itself. After a summer of intense study, Quinn leaves for Italy, and Giancarlo wonders whether he should again allow himself to love. Pezzelli makes readers want to believe in love at first sight, and his earnest storytelling should win over its share of readers. (Oct.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758220502
• ISBN-13: 978-0758220509
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #888,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pezzelli's best, November 8, 2007

By 

Johann W. Vanderbijl (Greenville, SC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Italian Lessons (Paperback)

Surely this is Peter Pezzelli's crowning glory so far - with the possible exception of Every Sunday (although the writing was good and the approach interesting, I found the subject matter, ie the adultery humor, troublesome), I have thoroughly enjoyed every book (which I read in quick succession one after the other) Pezzelli has written so far, but this is surely his best yet. His characters are delightfully real and the reader cannot help but think that he or she knows someone just like that. The youthful and naive romace is captivating and the reader is tranported into the world of the determined lover. The unfolding drama of the brothers reunited by tragedy, at first a puzzle and then slowly unravelling as one is taken back to the country and the people the proffessor once left behind. There too the characters are fullly rounded and almost tangible in Pezzelli's descriptions. The cameo appearance of Pezzelli's first character, Pepi, did not go unnoticed either...and the end is simply charming...if at once you try and fail, try, try and try again...what a gem - I can hardly wait for the next one! Bravo! Benissimo!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant read for Italiophiles, April 16, 2008

By 

Cairns (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Italian Lessons (Paperback)

I second the comments of the reviewer who suggested that people who love all things Italian will find this book a pleasant read. I don't think the writing has much depth, but there is a certain authenticity to the characters and the locations that is appealing.

One of the reasons I decided to read this book is because I am attempting to learn Italian and thought it was nice to see Italian phrases sprinkled throughout the book. However, several times I questioned whether the phrase was correctly written, and was interested to see the post from the bilingual reviewer.

Ex. as written:

"Anywhere else you may call me Professore, but here I am simply Giancarlo, capito?"

"Capito," said Carter.

I think this should be "capisci?" or "capisce?" (if formal)..and Carter should reply "Capisco." "I understand." If I'm wrong and "capito" is an appropiate form that I haven't learned yet, my apologies to the author, but based on Bilingual's review I think there are some occasional problems with the use of the Italian language...maybe Pezzelli needs to find his own Giancarlo.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Predictable but Likeable, October 31, 2007

By 

L. Young "palmtree2000" (West Orange, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Italian Lessons (Paperback)

I picked up this novel to read on a plane trip and for this purpose it was acceptable. The setting is Providence, Rhode Island. It's the end of the school year at Rhode Island College. Loner and music professor Giancarlo Rosa is packing up to spend a quiet summer at home wallowing in his aloneness. Suddenly he finds himself confronted with jock Carter Quinn an all-American young man who has just graduated from college. Quinn has been told that Professor Rosa sometimes teaches students Italian in his spare time. Quinn is desperate to learn Italian so he can go off to Italy at the end of the summer speaking the language and looking for a needle in a haystack - a young woman named Elena whom he met briefly in Rhode Island. He doesn't even know her last name but seems to know the town in which she lives. The gruff professor takes Quinn on as a student. He excels at learning Italian. What happens when he finds Elena is quite predictable. Intertwined with this story is the story of the professor. Slowly we learn why he hesitates to fully engage with life.All things are resolved when a potential tragedy back in Italy brings the professor, his family and Carter Quinn together. Everything about the story is predictable. But if you love Italy - the country, the language, the culture you will find this novel mildly entertaining.