A whitewashed fishing village, a shapely signorina and an infatuated young man - head over heels on the heel of the boot of Southern Italy. This is Chris Harrison's hilarious and captivating story of leaving his previous life for La Dolce Vita - that quintessentially Italian seductive way of life, with its luscious foods, physical beauty and sun-drenched vistas.
On a trip to Dublin, Chris falls head over heels in love with Daniela, an Italian girl with eyes the colour of Guinness, and follows her to her small home town of Andrano on the coast of Puglia. Among olive groves and cobblestone lanes, Chris takes us on a moving, insightful and often hilarious journey into the heart of southern Italy. Along the way he introduces us to a cast of eccentric characters: a policeman who rearranges crimes to suit the necessary forms, a doctor who prescribes patients his homemade lemon liqueur, and - the biggest challenge of all - Daniela's mamma, who's determined to convert Chris to the Catholic faith, supervise his choice of underwear, and build a second storey on her stucco home where the couple might live happily ever after.
Can this relationship with Southern Italy possibly survive or will the sweet life turn sour?
On a trip to Dublin, Chris falls head over heels in love with Daniela, an Italian girl with eyes the colour of Guinness, and follows her to her small home town of Andrano on the coast of Puglia. Among olive groves and cobblestone lanes, Chris takes us on a moving, insightful and often hilarious journey into the heart of southern Italy. Along the way he introduces us to a cast of eccentric characters: a policeman who rearranges crimes to suit the necessary forms, a doctor who prescribes patients his homemade lemon liqueur, and - the biggest challenge of all - Daniela's mamma, who's determined to convert Chris to the Catholic faith, supervise his choice of underwear, and build a second storey on her stucco home where the couple might live happily ever after.
Can this relationship with Southern Italy possibly survive or will the sweet life turn sour?
An intriguing book, very well written, well structured, entertaining and sometimes even challenging... a delightful and often humorous account of the author's evolving relationship with Italy as he comes to grips with everyday reality there... anecdotes provide both humour and vivid images of Italians and Italian life. Judges of the Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize