Villa Coco

Quotes

“[Greer] captures the allure of la dolce vita—Renaissance paintings and books, bottles of Lambrusco wine and gelato—all bathed in a buttery Tuscan light.”
—TIME

“Travel to Italy without leaving your reading chair with the Pulitzer Prize winner's latest.”
—People

“[A] warm, witty escape, this time with olive oil and mild chaos.”
—Oprah Daily

“No one writing in English is funnier or more charming than Andrew Greer. Every sentence in this novel sings.”
—David Sedaris, author of Happy-Go-Lucky

“Not only [is Greer] the funniest of writers, but he has a wonderful way with conjuring an image. . . . Villa Coco is such a sunny book.”
—Kate Atkinson, author of Shrines of Gaiety

“An absolute delight.”
—Elif Batuman, author of Either/Or

“What, at first, appears to be a gloriously bonkers escapade amidst the Tuscan landscape gradually transforms into the most beautiful paean to youth, to age and to the fulfilment of love. Absolute joy.”
—Sarah Winman, author of Still Life

“Eccentric, funny, touching: I adored it.”
—Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina

“In prose as expert and precise as the steps of a Balinese dancer, Andrew Sean Greer has written a tale of a young American man who spends a season in Tuscany working as an archivist for an endlessly demanding, supremely disorganized, and very charismatic Baronessa. It’s a lyrical and witty reminder that the most meaningful life—and certainly the one with the best stories—can emerge from the deepest chaos. Villa Coco, the Baronessa’s crumbling mansion, is referred to by all as ‘a great treasure.’ Villa Coco, the novel, is one, too.”
—Katherine Heiny, author of Games and Rituals

“What a beautiful book: an absolutely engrossing world full of golden sunlight and strange little secrets and anchovies and art. I feel like I’d recognize its glorious haphazard villa and determined Baronessa on sight.”
—Holly Gramazio, author of The Husbands

“Outrageously good fun. The intricacies unspool, the characters fizz, the chaos ensures. Sheer, riotous, unmitigated joy.”
—Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies and Almost Life

“This book is absolute magic. It is so rare to find a novel today that is both so sophisticated and warm-hearted, so erudite and yet absolutely unpretentious, so terrifically page-by-page funny and yet so full of hidden sadnesses. Also, it features one of the greatest characters in modern fiction, the unflappable and unforgettable Baronessa. Get ready for the literary treat of the year!”
—Gary Shteyngart, author of Vera, or Faith

“From the first delightful sentence of this novel to its unconventional and satisfying conclusion, Greer takes readers on a charming Italian sojourn in which nothing is precisely what it seems. . . . While the twists and turns of the plot will keep readers smiling, a deeper theme emerges about finding one’s place in the world. . . . Disguised as a frothy, farcical romp, Greer’s novel is a heartfelt and poignant tribute to the mysterious process of growing up.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

“A [charming] love letter to Italy . . . Greer breathes life into the Baronessa and her world and captures its appeal to [the narrator], fashioning the novel into a box of treasures. This light and airy bildungsroman is great fun.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Part caper, part coming-of-age story, Greer’s latest comic examination of life entertains and edifies—not an easy balancing act. . . . [Told] in Greer’s trademark style of observational humor, keen descriptions, and affectionate exposition of his characters’ foibles . . . A delightful distraction from the mundane.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Richly descriptive, wonderfully written . . . Greer’s meditative, beautiful prose brings the gleaming olive groves and superb characters to life in uproarious detail, while the many silly capers are fantastically entertaining. Splendidly paced, this bildungsroman is, in keeping with Greer's signature qualities, funny, moving, and quietly profound from start to finish.”
—Booklist

“Greer has created a delightfully eccentric tale filled with colorful characters and unusual developments. . . . To catalog the items in a villa is one thing. To classify the mysteries of the human heart requires a completely different inventory system, as Greer demonstrates in this seductive work.”
—Shelf Awareness