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Description
Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer showcases his wit and warmth in this magical tale set amidst the Tuscan hills. Broke and directionless, our young protagonist takes a job in the Italian countryside as the assistant to Lisabetta – better known to her friends as Coco – a strong-willed, wealthy aristocrat of great local renown.
Trained as an archivist, he thinks he’s been hired to catalogue the contents of the beautiful, crumbling mansion nestled in the green Tuscan hills. But what are his actual duties? Days are spent in a series of increasingly eccentric pursuits: entertaining an endless carousel of guests (from bohemian painters to elderly princesses to unnervingly handsome nephews), attending a funeral in order to make off with the urn, and aiding and abetting Coco’s great and final plan – to reunite with the lost love of her life before it’s too late. As summer turns into autumn and the Italian countryside begins to work its magic, the secrets of Villa Coco and its inhabitants are slowly brought to light – and with them, an unforgettable story of the enduring power of friendship.
‘Greer is not only the funniest of writers, but he has a wonderful way with conjuring an image… Villa Coco is such a sunny book’ KATE ATKINSON
The most beautiful paean to youth, to age and to the fulfilment of love. Absolute joy’ SARAH WINMAN
