About book Marcus Of Umbria: What An Italian Dog Taught An American Girl About Love (2010)
This book is about an American girls experience in Umbria, Italy. I really enjoyed Justine van der Leun's style of writing; a combination of description and story-telling. After reading Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes and Cleaving by Julie Powell, this was the perfect blend of the both. I was a bit disappointed how it ended. Although the story wrapped up well, I didn't feel we found out what exactly she did learn about love from her experiences. I picked up this book because Ms. van der Leun graduated from the school where I teach (I remembered her and had also read some of her pieces in O Magazine) and I almost returned it to the library because my reasons for reading it were not pure. I am glad I read on because I really enjoyed this book. First, Ms. van der Leun is talented and engaging writer. Her story has a refreshing perspective. Critics on Goodreads said that she was self-absorbed and unlikeable as a character but what the heck! -- it's a MEMOIR, the author is supposed to be absorbed by her own experience at a very specific time in her life. I appreciated Ms. van der Leun's honesty (she is not without fault and peculiar motivation -- entirely human) and loved how she wove reflections about her past into her more contemporary story of living in a village in Umbria with a new love, limited (no?) prior knowledge of Italian and a paucity of wherewithal to trust herself in new and challenging environs. Her humor appears as she tries to navigate Italian country life, her boyfriend's tight-knit, extended and traditional Italian family and the language. I finished the book thoroughly satisfied and wanting to meet Marcus in person!
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Great book - easy read and easy to relate to. Wonderfully written, I could not put it down.
—jiri
I love reading memoirs that are written as a novel - this book is one of those!
—Ana
