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gerbieKaren Nelson – Italiaanse toestanden (05-048)
After travelling for three weeks, one ends up stuck in the jungle, with nothing to read at all. No half decent bookshop within half a day travel distance, no newspaper to distract from your reading void. So I picked up this book, the book Yolanda bought for this holiday. I admit I didn’t think it was going to be too bad. A book about Italy is always a nice idea, in my humble opinion.
I should have known better. This is chick-lit, even worse, this is bad chick-lit. In short: three neighbouring houses in Umbria haven been bought by three English groups, independently obviously. Nothing wrong with that starting point, a good English comedy starts with coincidences that are weirder than this one.
When they arrive they soon get to know each other well. The story starts developing. Summarized: House 1: Sisters Isabel and Henrietta, with her baby girl. House 2: Bernard and Mary with their three boys. House 3: Carl and Hugo, a gay couple.
Bernard falls in love with Henrietta, Mary thinks Hugo is falling in love with her, Isabel likes Carl, Henrietta wants Bernards baby, Mary’s mother visits the tiny village and makes things even more complicated. Isabel falls in love with an Italian.
Do you still follow it? Out of desperation I decided to finish the book anyway. It makes “Keeping up appearances” a television drama with unexpected depths.
Number: 05-048
Title: Italiaanse toestanden (Orig.: Foreign Fields)
Author: Karen Nelson
Language: Dutch (Orig.: English)
Year: 2000
# Pages: 260 (9215)
Category: Chick-lit
ISBN: 90-417-6077-6
After travelling for three weeks, one ends up stuck in the jungle, with nothing to read at all. No half decent bookshop within half a day travel distance, no newspaper to distract from your reading void. So I picked up this book, the book Yolanda bought for this holiday. I admit I didn’t think it was going to be too bad. A book about Italy is always a nice idea, in my humble opinion.
I should have known better. This is chick-lit, even worse, this is bad chick-lit. In short: three neighbouring houses in Umbria haven been bought by three English groups, independently obviously. Nothing wrong with that starting point, a good English comedy starts with coincidences that are weirder than this one.
When they arrive they soon get to know each other well. The story starts developing. Summarized: House 1: Sisters Isabel and Henrietta, with her baby girl. House 2: Bernard and Mary with their three boys. House 3: Carl and Hugo, a gay couple.
Bernard falls in love with Henrietta, Mary thinks Hugo is falling in love with her, Isabel likes Carl, Henrietta wants Bernards baby, Mary’s mother visits the tiny village and makes things even more complicated. Isabel falls in love with an Italian.
Do you still follow it? Out of desperation I decided to finish the book anyway. It makes “Keeping up appearances” a television drama with unexpected depths.
Number: 05-048
Title: Italiaanse toestanden (Orig.: Foreign Fields)
Author: Karen Nelson
Language: Dutch (Orig.: English)
Year: 2000
# Pages: 260 (9215)
Category: Chick-lit
ISBN: 90-417-6077-6
