Italian Neighbors
Italian Neighbors by Tim Parks, published by Grove Press in 2003, offers a vivid account of life in an Italian neighborhood, blending personal narrative with cultural observations. Over 272 pages, Parks reflects on his decade-long experience living in Verona with his wife, Rita, capturing the unique interplay of tradition and modernity in a village setting. The book presents a rich tapestry of local life, featuring a mix of characters and the everyday realities that define the region.
Readers will find a detailed exploration of family dynamics, customs, and the social fabric of Italy, as Parks introduces a variety of personalities that embody the quirks and charms of provincial living. This edition invites readers to engage with the complexities of Italian culture, from the allure of the landscape to the intricacies of relationships. Italian Neighbors serves as both a personal memoir and a broader commentary on the nuances of life in Italy, making it a thoughtful addition to the literary collections on travel and social science.
Official synopsis Publisher
In this deliciously seductive account of an Italian neighborhood with a statue of the Virgin at one end of the street, a derelict bottle factory at the other, and a wealth of exotic flora and fauna in between, acclaimed novelist Tim Parks celebrates ten years of living with his wife, Rita, in Verona, Italy. Via Colombre, the main street in a village just outside Verona, offers an exemplary hodgepodge of all that is new and old in the bel paese, a point of collision between invading suburbia and diehard peasant tradition in a sometimes madcap, sometimes romantic always mixed-up world of creeping vines, stuccoed walls, shotguns, security cameras, hypochondria, and expensive sports cars.
Tim Parks is anything but a gentleman in Verona. With an Italian-born wife, an Italian made family, and a whole Italian condominium bubbling around him, he collects a gallery full of splendid characters who initiate us into all the foibles and delights of life in provincial Italy.
More than a travel book, Italian Neighbors is a sparkling, witty, beautifully observed tale of how the most curious people and places gradually assume the familiarity of home. Italian Neighbors is a rare work that manages to be both a portrait and an invitation for everyone who has ever dreamed about Italy.
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