Italian Neighbors

I am addicted to Tim Parks ever since I picked up his first book (Italian Ways) in a bookshop on a weekend trip to Rome last year. All in all, Italian Neighbors is my favorite book by the author so far. It has the charm of being the first book he wrote in his "my life in Italy" series. The style is simple, author's ability to savor and convey the Italian life extraordinary. Read by someone today, it is also a recent enough time capsule which brings you to the Italy of the eighties: Italy before cell phones, Italy before decades of economic downhill, Italy before the angry generation of 30 somethings on temporary contracts. Italy where prosperity still feels recent. My favorite thing about Tim Parks is that he takes small and makes it big. In this book, he takes on one house with four apartments without any elaborated story line, and yet you feel that you have gained something very significant when you put the book down. My second favorite thing about Tim Parks is that he is pained by Italy and yet he absolutely loves it. What comes out as a result for me is a sense of wonder that I cannot resist.

I bought this book on the advice of my Italian language instructor and have enjoyed it. It seems to be an accurate description of what it's like to live in the northern area of Italy.My daughter recently moved to the area and from what I have experienced while there this year Mr. Parks writes accurately of the local culture and special ways of the people. And he writes to include the humorous daily events and quirks of the inhabitants of his little condo building.It's not a travel guide type of book but does provide an intersting look into the daily lives of the village and surrounding towns. I enjoyed the book and plan on sending it to my American daughter living above the village of Montecchio noted in the book.

When you find yourself reading a book and you find yourself much too aware of the writing style, before you let your mind wander off, or you start skipping ahead in hopes that you will find a more interesting section,First ask yourself, “why is this author describing his experiences in the second person, with every sentence addressed to a certain “you” who is supposedly experiencing the local bars and rituals of a small italian town?”Well, most psychologists would tell you that when a person speaks of themselves or their experiences in the second or third person , it is a way of emotionally distancing themselves.For example, if a baseball pitcher says “if you don’t have your best stuff, you get shelled” after a bad game, its because he is not owning his own performance.So, I guess Mr. Parks is trying to distance himself from his experiences.Which seems to me, the worst way to go about writing about them.A few years ago I read his book about the italian rail system.I found tgat book to be pedantic, boring in its heavy reliance on uninteresting details,And condescending towards a culture in a way that only the british can do really brilliantly.I picked up this book in the hopes that a book about “neighbors” would somehow be more entertaining and insighful than a book about trains.I was wrong.For his next book, I think Mr. Parks should write“Places you will go where you will be able to look down on everybody”

Enjoyable story and characters. There were a few places where I found the language used mildly offensive, and had to remember it was written in the early 1990s. Good prelude to Italian Education by the same author.

* I rented that apartment! (except in ours we found dentures...)* I had those neighbors, that landlady! (we had different factions calling us on the phone asking details about which other faction may have taken furniture and warning us not to speak to the opposing factions!)* We had not one but two hound-dogs tied up on the terrace below, in full cry 23 hours out of 24, and each utility bill was in the name of a different dead relative.I can't think of another book that made me laugh to the point of tears! This is the REAL ITALY (at least, the real Italy as viewed by an Anglo-Saxon). Priceless for anyone thinking of making the move, or who is interested in a regular "slice of life" that isn't all sunflowers and wine, pasta and mandolins... Also worth reading is the continuation in "An Italian Education" but this one is fresher and funnier.

Having lived in Italy for several years, “Italian Neighbors” rang true in so many ways that I could not have envisioned prior to personal experience. Tim Parks is a very good storyteller and observer of people and culture. His stories and explanations of Italian ways, of “moments” as we call them in our household, brought back memories (both find and not-so). And now I better understand some things I once thought imponderable from an American perspective.

It is not possible to come away from this book roaring with laughter, and a tonic for low spirits and a refreshing boost to the heart. A generally "happy, " if quixotic and mirthful book, it contains much that is edifying about the Italian spirit and Italian way of life that we can profit from in our neurotic driven cultures. Yet, no civilization or culture is perfect, and we may intuit a sense of frustration, resignation, and sometimes cynical view of life exhibited in Italian culture and wring out hands at the foolish frustrations that Italians must endure. One may come away from this book wishing one were an Italian inhabiting those towns of ineffable beauty, but glad to be doing such daydreaming in countries that are less eccentric and less unorthodox--and a bit more pragmatic-- in political and civic matters.

and I don't like books with American spellings unless I've bought the book know that will be the case. It has not proved to be an easy read for me which has been disappointing loving all things Italian. From the date of purchase I am still only part way through

This is the fourth copy of the book I've ordered. It's about an English college translator who marries an Italian girl and they decide to go live in the Veneto region of Italy. I give it to all my friends who have had any contact within Italy. I've read it myself three times, and still get a good laugh at some of the chapters. Such as the local priest's attitude toward the selling of condoms at the local farmacia...or the right time to pick grapes, even in the early hours of the morning. It's a good read. Hilarious and spot on observations, beautifully written.

Awesome book. Very informative.

Book in excellent condition, a great addition to my library