In A Valley in Italy, Lisa St. Aubin De Teran tells the story of how she found her dream house in Italy and how her perpetually wandering family put down roots at last. De Teran and her husband bought an unfinished and deteriorating villa in a small town in Umbria and then set about restoring it - or, actually, hiring people to restore it. In the process, they assimilated into the nearby village, entering its life and even following some of its customs. Although I loved the book, it probably isnt for everyone. For one thing, De Teran and her husband are unusual people - the sort of people who would buy an enormous, mostly ruined house without any clear idea of how they would pay for it or how they could rebuild it. They are bohemian, they live casually, and they clearly have values very different from the average Americans. But for those who can appreciate people unlike themselves, the characters of the family members will make the book; much of the pleasure of it comes from hearing about the results of these peoples unusual choices.
Readers should go into this expecting a very personal memoir. De Teran has chosen an Austen-style microcosm - just a village and a manor house - and focuses on it exclusively. The result is a book that is not a travel guide and not a cultural survey, but rather a painting of a particular place at a particular time seen through particular eyes. A Valley in Italy beautifully communicates the nature of San Orsola and its residents - and also, of course, the author and her family.
De Terans prose, while unorthodox, is most enjoyable. Her humor and her descriptive prose are extremely enjoyable. Unlike many of the authors writing memoirs of Italy, De Teran doesnt take her subject with absolutely unleavened gravitas - she can be light and funny as well as artistically descriptive. In fact, the tone and voice not only make up for the somewhat unconventional paragraphing and the sometimes harsh transitions between topics, they manage to turn it into a cohesive style.
But probably the biggest single strength of the book is the authors involvement. Too many authors of expat memoirs hold themselves aloof, in their text and presumably in their lives, from their adopted countries. They lack the linguistic and social skills to enter village life, so they observe it and document it from afar. De Teran apparently managed to enter into the local culture, and as a result her book contains much less navel-gazing and is much less patronizing than many books of this kind.
In short, Lisa St. Aubin De Teran has written a gorgeous, pleasant, and funny book on the kind of life most of us would rather read about than live. A Valley in Italy succeeds supremely as both an engaging portrait of an Italian village and an amusing tale of one eccentric familys experiences. This book is well worth reading, not just once but again and again.
Romantic Italy with villas in ruins and colorful locals
Superbly Written