29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Trials and Tribulations in Tuscany, August 25, 2005
This book works on several levels. First of all, it is a very amusing account of adjusting to life in a small Tuscan town. The author struggles with the language, the maddening Italian bureaucracy and the often perplexing social customs. His wife, having visited the area many times, was more familiar with the culture. For example, when bureaucratic red tape slowed progress on home repairs or on the completion of paperwork, she used two things that never failed to bring results: tears and mention of mother. She "faked" crying on several occasions to get her way. I can't say I blame her, although it did get kind of old after a while.
Nothing seemed to get done without food being involved either. Lots of food.
Another reason this book works is as a travel book. You will learn things here about Italy that you will never find in a Rick Steves' tourbook.
And finally, this book works because it is wickedly funny. An enjoyable read.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A laugh-out-loud and intoxicating tale, August 17, 2005
"Reluctant" and "Tuscan" are two words that might seem contradictory. After all, who wouldn't seize the chance to live in the celebrated Italian region famous for its vineyards, lush scenery, and charming villages? Well, Phil Doran, for one.
Doran's reluctant Tuscan odyssey begins with a phone call from his wife, Nancy, an artist who travels frequently to Italy. "I bought a house," she tells him as he sits in his office in their home in Los Angeles. A television scriptwriter, Doran has no intention of leaving Hollywood behind for life in the rural Italian village of Cambione. But he's no match for Nancy, who is determined to save her husband from his high-stress, workaholic lifestyle. In his fifties, he's viewed by the entertainment industry as "a relic from another age," yet he can't seem to let go of the job that has defined him for twenty-five years.
Doran heads to Tuscany where he finds more drama than anything he could have conjured up for the screen. The 300-year-old farmhouse he now owns is ramshackle at best, a true fixer-upper that needs extensive structural work and has neither an address nor a road leading to it. The previous owners have decided they want to reclaim the house, and they try all manner of ways to get the Dorans to sell it back, including fixing them with the "evil eye." And the whole town, it seems, knows about their plight and has an opinion to offer. Finally, after navigating endless layers of bureaucratic red tape, renovations on the house finally begin --- bringing with it a whole new set of challenges.
Part memoir and part travel narrative, THE RELUCTANT TUSCAN is about a quest to restore a house. But it's also about Doran's journey to restore his life and reconnect in his marriage. For armchair travelers, though, there is no shortage of exquisite descriptions of Tuscany --- an open-air concert in a hill town outside Florence, an olive harvest, and "some of the most serenely beautiful wine country in all of Chianti," where "tall, spindly cypress trees swayed in the wind, and from everywhere at once came the smell of sun-warmed earth and budding Sangiovese grapes."
A cast of colorful characters includes the witty, charming, and no-nonsense Nancy, who is nicknamed Rompicoglione for her persistence in getting things done (the verb rompere means "to break" and coglione is slang for testicles); Annamaria, a neighbor who gives them a baby goat as a housewarming present; Dino, their temporary landlord with a boisterous extended family and a wayward son; and Horn Dog, a lusty canine who more than earns his moniker.
THE RELUCTANT TUSCAN is laugh-out-loud funny. Whether it's learning the language, buying a car, compiling a list of "Ten Things I Hate About Tuscany," or trying to glean insight into the Italian way of life, Doran's powers of observation are trumped only by his ability to convey what he sees and experiences with clarity and humor. Pour a glass of Chianti and savor this intoxicating tale. You might not find your inner Italian, but you'll have an enjoyable time as Phil Doran tells you how he discovered his.
--- Reviewed by Shannon McKenna
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