Un Amico Italiano

Edoardo Ballerini provides an ebullient, breezy narration of UN AMICO ITALIANO, capturing what one might imagine is the essence of Luca Spaghetti. If that name sounds familiar, it's because he's the Roman tax accountant who took author Elizabeth Gilbert on many a culinary adventure, later chronicled in her bestseller, EAT, PRAY, LOVE. While Ballerini's enthusiastic narration creates a strong image of the vivacious Spaghetti and his Italian warmth, it's evident that Spaghetti is not a writer, and his observations on growing up in Rome, spending time with Gilbert, traveling in the United States, and seeking out his musical idol, James Taylor, are not particularly out of the ordinary. One is left with the impression that Spaghetti is capitalizing on his famous acquaintance. S.E.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine