Reviews for The reluctant Tuscan

The average rating for The reluctant Tuscan based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-07-30 00:00:00 Scott Zackus The story of a couple who buys a run down, ancient building in the hills and renovates it is not unique. The appeal when I picked up this book was the claim by Doran, a former Hollywood screenwriter, that he was telling the story of how he came to love Italy after he and his wife renovated a house near Pisa. I don't believe him. From the beginning, when he reluctantly joined his wife after she bought the house, to the end, when they are living in the house, his tone is sarcastic and his description of the culture and people is derogatory. He is the classic "Ugly American" at the outset; in the end he is only slightly less ugly. The book might have been redeemed had he related the stories of the local people in a believable way. All of them, however, are caricatures. Every odd characteristic is exaggerated. In the end, Doran could not overcome his screenwriter training and mentality.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-12-11 00:00:00 Steven Montesano After reading this book I have mixed emotions. I loved the story of the people who live in this little town in Tuscany, but I didn't like some of the meanness of the author and his wife. I understood their reasons for being devious to the people in this town, but at the same time it seemed like instead of getting an attorney and working towards a mutual solution for everyone, they chose to be petty and spiteful, just like their neighbor. The author also shows how much us Americans are pampered in our air conditioned lives. But, the author also shows how, in this day and age, you can live in a different time and be happy. The life they live in Tuscany could be set back in the 1020's. So if you never left that town again, it would be like stepping back in time and life now in America would not exist. There are so many places in this book that I just burst out laughing. It made me smile a lot. If the author and his wife could have gotten past the petty it would have been a great story. A lot of the story also had me wondering if the author took a lot of "leeway" in describing what they actually went through to get this house built and livable. Some of the descriptions of the people sounded like caricatures and not actually how it was. But all that said, I enjoyed this book a lot, and would recommend it to anyone who likes a romp through history and a good laugh. I am hoping Phil Doran and his wife have settled in to their new way of life in Tuscany and that they and the town have come to love each other.