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Incontinent on the Continent: My Mother, Her Walker, and Our Grand Tour of Italy Paperback – September 29, 2009

by Jane Christmas (Author)

35 customer reviews

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To smooth over five decades of constant clashing, determined daughter Jane Christmas decides to take her arthritic, incontinent, and domineering mother, Valeria, to Italy. Will being at the epicenter of the Renaissance spark a renaissance in their relationship? As they drag each other from the Amalfi Coast to Tuscany — walkers, shawls, and a mobile pharmacy of medications in tow — they find new ways to bitch and bicker, in the process reassessing who they are and how they might reconcile. Unflinching and often hilarious, this book speaks to all women who have faced that special challenge of making friends with Mom.

Incontinent on the Continent: My Mother, Her Walker, and Our Grand Tour of Italy

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Editorial Reviews

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"[Christmas'] curmudgeonly mother, is a pure delight ...Armchair travelers will thoroughly enjoy both the travel elements of the account as well as the entertaining and tender mother-daughter story."—Booklist

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Product details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Greystone Books (September 29, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1553654005
ISBN-13: 978-1553654001
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,611,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2289 in Books > Travel > Europe > Italy > General
- #4517 in Books > Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Travel
- #6619 in Books > Travel > Travel Writing

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Customer Reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		40%
4 star		9%
3 star		20%
2 star		8%
1 star		23%

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Under a Tuscan Cloud

BytakingadayoffTOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICEon May 14, 2010

Format: Paperback

What you think of Incontinent on the Continent may depend on your relationship with your mother. Those who have strong, untroubled relationships with their mothers will find the book amusing and will suspect that it is outrageously exaggerated for comic effect. Those who have less sanguine relationships with their mothers will find the book uncomfortably accurate.

Jane Christmas and her mother have a lifetime of metaphorical baggage they're bringing with them on a six-week trip to Italy, the first time either of them has been to Italy, the first time they have taken a trip together as adults. Christmas hopes to have some heart-to-heart talks with her mom while they're away and come back the best of friends. What an optimist!

Her seventy-something mother is aging as gracefully as possible under the circumstances, the circumstances being arthritis, diabetes, and incontinence for a start. She gets tired easily. Christmas, on the other hand, is in good health, but her judgment seems to be impaired. She makes one questionable decision after another. Instead of resting overnight when they arrive after a long and tiring transatlantic flight, they jump into a rental car to navigate unfamiliar roads in the rain and dark to get to the small town where their rental condo is. Taking the trip in early spring means short days, unsettled weather, and many tourist spots aren't open yet.

Her mother's bright red walker represents everything about her mother that Christmas can't control. It's bulky and awkward. People stare at it. Christmas feels chained to it and to her mother who she compares to excess luggage at least twice. Christmas doesn't sugar-coat her feelings. She resents having to make all the plans and do all the driving and having to miss anything that isn't accessible to the handicapped. Sometimes it seems exaggerated, but I have no doubt that Christmas is being painfully honest about her own thoughts at the time. She knows she comes across as being childish and uncharitable, but that's how she feels. It doesn't help that everyone else sees her mother as charming and sweet. So in addition to being the caretaker, driver, and tour planner, she's the villain.

When I started Incontinent on the Continent, I figured it would be a humorously rocky trip that ends with everyone learning a lesson, sitcom-style. It was considerably more authentic than a sitcom, thank goodness. I found myself identifying with Christmas, which I expected to do. I also sympathized with her mother, which I did not expect to do. So I guess someone learned a lesson after all.

0Comment 11 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

INCOMPETENT ON THE CONTINENT

ByLilaon November 23, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The only reason I gave one star is because I couldn't give less. The title of this book should have been incompetent on the continent . The woman who wrote it travelled to Italy with her old sick mother without even doing any pre trip research on the weather! Much less proper hotel reservations for a disabled woman. Seems the goal of the book is to bash Italy at all cost when it is not Italy but she herself who needs to be educated.
She makes hurried statements like men would not step aside for her mother with a walker, people stared at them because they were using a walker which the Italians had never seen ( walkers are used in Italy but not as an all terrain vehicle to transport a disabled woman down cobbled stones that's for sure). She goes on to say all Italian women dye their hair black till the day they die , and wear black as a uniform, there are no modern hotels for the disabled and many other false accusation ... I could go on but I'd have to write a book to correct Jane's. They say write about what you know...might I add, learn before you go dear Jane.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A touching but realistic view of mother/daughter relationships.

BySupertrampon November 21, 2009

Format: Paperback

I had the wonderful fortune of discovering Jane Christmas when I read her hilarious account of walking the El Camino. This most recent book was not as good as her previous books but still quite engaging. I went to Italy with my Mom and could relate how traveling together can toss in elements of surprise in the dynamics of a Mother/Daughter relationship. Fortunately, we joined a tour and did not experience the driving/touring nightmare that Jane encountered. (Kudos to her for driving in Italy, I'd never be so brave)
I have a love affair with Italy so my biggest disappointment in this book was that Jane had a serious of misfortunes that tainted her overall trip. The weather, the driving conditions, her mother's health and so forth. I almost felt that she needs a follow up of going back and experiencing a more elegant and sensual time there. It is a country that when given the time to explore will enchant you.
However, I would still recommend reading this book. But please, read her previous two books, "What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim" and "The Pelee Project." They are both exceptionally written, humourous and touching.

11 comment 8 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most Recent Customer Reviews

I love being an armchair traveler and Jane Christmas has made ...

Jane Christmas writes poignantly about her relationship with her mother. This book is a mix of memoir and travelogue, reminiscent of Bill Bryson.Read more

Published 4 months ago by Emmie Zeelie

Love her writing style but too much negativity

Love her writing style but too much negativity. What did she expect from her mother? Too many chapters with the same reactions.

Published 11 months ago by SHARON A. MCSWEENY

Tiresome. Angry, stressful and unprepared daughter !!

Tiresome. The book starts with an interesting catch : the main focus beign the struggles we commonly face between mothers and daughters (despite the age)..Read more

Published 1 year ago by Mtracy

Great story.

An honest evaluation of a difficult relationship between mother and daughter.

Published 1 year ago by Gerda Moerkerken

On the ship were a lot of people like the author and her mother

I picked up this book in the cruise ship's library, at the same time we were in the Mediteranean. On the ship were a lot of people like the author and her mother.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Eva H. Morris

I absolutely loved this book

I have to say, I absolutely loved this book!!. Bravo for Jane for treading through the complicated mother/daughter minefield in such a humorous and honest way.Read more

Published on October 19, 2014 by Patsy K

Traveling through Italy with a Bad Attitude.

Perhaps I'm being a bit judgmental and missing some of her tongue-in-cheek humor about all the misadventures, but I thought she was
a bit harsh in describing the difficulties...Read more

Published on August 29, 2014 by AliBee

Summary

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very well written, the language was rich and engaging, so descriptive that it made me feel as if I was there.Read more

Published on May 26, 2014 by Kandie Francis

I guess it's Amusing

I didn't really enjoy reading this book, and hope it made my church's rummage sale a few bucks. Not that it's bad, mind you, I just found it tedious.Read more

Published on May 23, 2014 by Janemb35

Attitude is all.

Although the writer is talented and portrays the Italian countryside in a mouthwatering-I-want-to-go-there way, her acerbic descriptions of her mother and whining about having to...Read more

Published on April 30, 2014 by Rosemary

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