Italian Neighbors

May 31, 1993
A 10-year resident of a village close to Verona, British-born novelist Parks here celebrates the endearing and exasperating traits of his adoptive home and the ``magical duplicity'' of its people.

July 1, 1992
Accomplished English novelist Parks ("Goodness" was his sixth novel) has lived for a contented decade in a small Italian village flanked by the Alps and the city of Verona. No aspect of this life is too trivial for his bemused attention; Parks gets a real charge out of his surroundings. His enveloping descriptions positively dote on his neighbors and their habits, outlooks, and daily routines. As Parks and his wife attempt to fathom the feud between their absent landlady and crazy neighbor Lucilla, piece together a biography of their flat's former inhabitants from their neglected belongings, and cope with the heat, the unforgiving acoustics of their building, and various bureaucratic puzzles, they gradually become integrated into the tightly knit community. Proper pastry shop etiquette, attitudes toward gardening and pets, the ritual of sharing home-bottled wine, and the careful progress of conversation and confidence are all lovingly detailed. As Parks contrasts near-paradisiacal elements of daily life to "the dark side of Italy," his portrait of the village becomes a vibrant symbol for all the places we call home. ((Reviewed July 1992))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1992, American Library Association.)