Villa Coco: ‘Set to be a staple on sun loungers' - BBC Culture, 40 most exciting books to look forward to in 2026 (en Inglés)
Reseña del libro "Villa Coco: ‘Set to be a staple on sun loungers' - BBC Culture, 40 most exciting books to look forward to in 2026 (en Inglés)"
A coming-of-age novel, a love story and a tale of life-enhancing friendship: Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer showcases his wit, sophistication and deep knowledge of focaccia in this magical tale set amidst the Tuscan hills.
Broke and directionless, our young man takes a job in the Italian countryside as the all-purpose assistant to Lisabetta, known to her friends as Coco - a strong-willed, wealthy widow of great local renown.
Trained as an archivist, he thinks he's been hired to catalogue the contents of the beautiful, crumbling mansion nestled in the green Tuscan hills... but what are his actual duties? Days are spent ridding the house of a marten - whatever that is - locating the antediluvian septic system, entertaining an endless carousel of guests (from bohemian painters to elderly princesses to unnervingly handsome nephews), attending a funeral in order to make off with the urn, and not inadvertently sabotaging Coco's great and final plan-to locate the lost love of her life and be reunited before it's too late.
As summer turns into autumn and the Italian countryside begins to work its magic on our protagonist, the secrets of Villa Coco and its inhabitants are slowly brought to light - and with them, an unforgettable story of the enduring power of friendship.
Greer is not only the funniest of writers, but he has a wonderful way with conjuring an image. . . Villa Coco is such a sunny book - Kate Atkinson, author of CASE HISTORIES and LIFE AFTER LIFE
No one writing in English is funnier or more charming than Andrew Greer. Every sentence in this novel sings. - David Sedaris
An absolute delight - Elif Batuman, author of THE IDIOT and EITHER/OR
What, at first, appears to be a gloriously bonkers escapade amidst the Tuscan landscape gradually transforms into the most beautiful paean to youth, to age and to the fulfilment of love. Absolute joy. - Sarah Winman, author of STILL LIFE
Eccentric, funny, touching: I adored it. - Nina Stibbe, author of LOVE, NINA and MAN AT THE HELM
In prose as expert and precise as the steps of a Balinese dancer, Andrew Sean Greer has written a tale of a young American man who spends a season in Tuscany working as an archivist for an endlessly demanding, supremely disorganized, and very charismatic Baronessa. It's a lyrical and witty reminder that the most meaningful life - and certainly the one with the best stories - can emerge from the deepest chaos. Villa Coco, the Baronessa's crumbling mansion, is referred to by all as 'a great treasure.' Villa Coco, the novel, is one, too. - Katherine Heiny, author of STANDARD DEVIATION and GAMES AND RITUALS
What a beautiful book: an absolutely engrossing world full of golden sunlight and strange little secrets and anchovies and art. I feel like I'd recognise its glorious haphazard villa and determined Baronessa on sight. - Holly Gramazio, author of THE HUSBANDS
This book is absolute magic. It is so rare to find a novel today that is both so sophisticated and warm-hearted, so erudite and yet absolutely unpretentious, so terrifically page-by-page funny and yet so full of hidden sadnesses. Also, it features one of the greatest characters in modern fiction, the unflappable and unforgettable Baronessa. Get ready for the literary treat of the year! - Gary Shteyngart, author of VERA, OR FAITH
