Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine and Love in Italy Book

I envisioned the story of a couple wholly immersing themselves in another culture when I first discovered Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy, but my expectations proved a little off target. This is the story of a complete snob who loves food, an uninspiring self-congratulatory foray into the life of Michael Tucker.

The book rubbed me wrong from the start. "The lobby was empty, too. Of celebrities, that is. There were other people - regular people - but you can't imagine how easy it is to tell the difference." Maybe I don't get his sense of humor, but he reads like a high bow jerk, begging for sympathy over the cancellation of L.A. Law and the 'traumatic' change of circumstance that forced him to sell his retirement property in Big Sur. I'm sorry, but I live in the real world and don't have much compassion for a man whining over a situation that allowed him to purchase and renovate a second home in a foreign country.

Tucker goes on to describe all the marvelous dishes he samples, occasionally offering up a small anecdote about the wine, but his brief departures into regional history are lifeless and dull. He does say some extremely flattering things about his friends, mostly expats who read as privileged and arrogant as he does himself, but it bothered me that Tucker didn't have much to say about Italians or their culture.

Pardon me, but there wasn't enough Italy in the book, just a lot of fluff about Tucker and his friends, people who are no more Italian than he is. If you are going to 'live in a foreign language' you should embrace it wholeheartedly, but the only aspect Tucker seems to appreciate is the cuisine. That being the case, perhaps he should consider writing a cook book. Compile the recipes, add the commentary and call it a day.