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Reviewed by David McNeilly Adriana Trigiani, the best selling author of Lucia, provides entertainment and warmth by the bucketful with her latest novel Rococo. An Italian-American herself, there is little surprise to find the novel emerging from a very similar environment. But this she does very well. Trigiani crafts from a stereotypically large, boisterous and tightly-knit Italian family, a very uncharacteristic Italian male – Bartolomeo Di Crespi.
This fast-paced account of the renovation of a church is delightfully narrated by intriguing and elusive Bartolomeo, who is an interior decorator by trade. Should you share this love of making everything beautiful, or even find yourself obsessing over every little detail in life then this novel will not disappoint. Description after description pours off every page with a huge emphasis on attention to detail. There is also recipe after recipe describing rich and indulgent Italian food which is both humorous and informative. Bartolomeo’s sister Toot is a fine comic invention. Uninfected by Bartolomeo’s artistic temperament Toot has the more pressing concerns of her lack of a sex life to think about. Despite having three children and being divorced her desire to be loved has not waned and she relates these concerns to her prissy brother in many humorous ways. A brief affair with an elderly gentleman, who sadly no longer has the energy Toot requires, is followed with a fling with her ex-husband culminating in an arrangement which is unusual to say the very least. Bartolomeo’s dream job of redecorating the church he grew up in causes him to seek outside help, which he get from the exotic Eydie Von Gunne, who amongst other things shares his passion for interior decorating. This close relationship, which is the most important one in the novel for Bartolomeo is less than the conventional happy ending some may have expected, but it must be stressed the Bartolomeo is a long way short of the stereotypically masculine Italian lover. With quotes like “It’s wonderful to spend time with the guys” and “All my life I have searched for someone with the same passion that I have for things. I have found it in Eydie. I could talk to her all night. Maybe I will!” (Men don’t think like this) you could be forgiven for wondering from which gender the speaker hails from. Whether it is harder than most people think to cross the divide and think like a member of the opposite sex or whether Bartolomeo is not one hundred per cent heterosexual is open to interpretation. The overall result is a very enjoyable read. Humorous, fun and well written, Rococo is the kind of book that you finish reading the same day you start. It has an advantage over most other novels as there is something very practical to take away from it - the improvement of your culinary skills. Rococo is the best cookbook you will read all year. |
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