- Paperback: 259 pages
- Publisher: Random House USA Paperbacks; Vintage Contemporaries ed edition (1 Jun 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0375705228
- ISBN-13: 978-0375705229
- Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 1.7 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,786,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Italian Fever: A Novel
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Review
'A dark rendering of the 'American in Italy' story.' (HARPERS & QUEEN (July) )
'Beautifully written.' (EVE (August 2004) )
'Martin's writing works best in the detail...[She] captures the tragic humour of DV's funeral and acutely observes the petty manipulations of Massimo. She also creates a vivid sense of dislocation as Lucy is both physically frail and unable to understand the language and cultural norms of the world in which she finds herself.' (Kath Murphy SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY (4.7.04) )
'Valerie Martin's ITALIAN FEVER is an absolute joy to read...[it] is part love story, part ghost story, and a wholly enjoyable and intelligent summer read...This is a wise, intelligent novel about how bad writers can suffer just as much for their art as good ones, and how true friendship is better than a thousand kisses. It should be enjoyed both in its own rights, and as a worthy addition to the growing line of Tuscan fictions.' (Amanda Craig NEW STATESMAN (19.7.04) )
'acute and playful reading.' (Sarah Dunant GUARDIAN (17.7.04) )
'Anyone who has ever had a foreign love affair will appreciate the subtlety with which Martin weaves her spell.' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE (1.8.04) )
'Part love story, part murder mystery, part psychological study...Valerie Martin's familiarity with Italy is put to good use in her renditions of the Tuscan countryside and of Rome, but it is in her vivid descriptions of Gianlorenzo Bernini's sculpture, Apollo and Daphne, and Piero della Francesca's fresco of the Resurrection that her writing truly soars. Worth reading for those alone.' (Penny Austin TIME OUT (11-18 August) )
'It makes for an interesting and thoughtful read.' (SUFFOLK FREE PRESS (29.8.04) )
'A sensual, intelligent, engaging book - a modern EM Forster.' (SKY TEXT )
'lighthearted...inquisitive and...joyfully irreverent.' (Alberto Manguel THE SPECTATOR (18/25 December 2004) ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'Beautifully written.' (EVE (August 2004) )
'Martin's writing works best in the detail...[She] captures the tragic humour of DV's funeral and acutely observes the petty manipulations of Massimo. She also creates a vivid sense of dislocation as Lucy is both physically frail and unable to understand the language and cultural norms of the world in which she finds herself.' (Kath Murphy SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY (4.7.04) )
'Valerie Martin's ITALIAN FEVER is an absolute joy to read...[it] is part love story, part ghost story, and a wholly enjoyable and intelligent summer read...This is a wise, intelligent novel about how bad writers can suffer just as much for their art as good ones, and how true friendship is better than a thousand kisses. It should be enjoyed both in its own rights, and as a worthy addition to the growing line of Tuscan fictions.' (Amanda Craig NEW STATESMAN (19.7.04) )
'acute and playful reading.' (Sarah Dunant GUARDIAN (17.7.04) )
'Anyone who has ever had a foreign love affair will appreciate the subtlety with which Martin weaves her spell.' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE (1.8.04) )
'Part love story, part murder mystery, part psychological study...Valerie Martin's familiarity with Italy is put to good use in her renditions of the Tuscan countryside and of Rome, but it is in her vivid descriptions of Gianlorenzo Bernini's sculpture, Apollo and Daphne, and Piero della Francesca's fresco of the Resurrection that her writing truly soars. Worth reading for those alone.' (Penny Austin TIME OUT (11-18 August) )
'It makes for an interesting and thoughtful read.' (SUFFOLK FREE PRESS (29.8.04) )
'A sensual, intelligent, engaging book - a modern EM Forster.' (SKY TEXT )
'lighthearted...inquisitive and...joyfully irreverent.' (Alberto Manguel THE SPECTATOR (18/25 December 2004) ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
EVE (August 2004)
'Beautifully written.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not worth your money, time or bookshelf space!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Italian Fever: A Novel (Hardcover)
If you love Italy, romance, mystery or good writing, you won't like this book. The critics must have read a different book than I did. Let me offer a contrast between their views and mine: Theirs - "A rich Italian tapestry of a novel." Mine - "A threadbare story written in shades of beige." Theirs - "Smart, taut tale." Mine - "Simple, unadorned writing." Theirs - "Funny, insightful tale of an American abroad." Mine - "Disconnected, shallow tale of a stereo-typical American woman in her 30's." Theirs - "Seamless narrative, remind[ing] us of the power of art to alter our lives." Mine - "A valiant but unsuccessful attempt to weave art and travel into an uninspired story." Theirs - "A pleasure that sticks to and tickles the ribs." Mine - "A light, facile read that will be forgotten before week's end."I really wanted to like this book. There just wasn't anything in it for me to enjoy. It certainly isn't a bad book. But it isn't a good one either.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A book with an identity problem,
By A Customer
This review is from: Italian Fever: A Novel (Hardcover)
I cannot dismiss it altogether. What I picked up from the bookis her satiric writing and that Lucy Stark is similar to the heroine in Austen's "Northanger Abbey" who having read one too many Gothic novels lets her romantic imagination run away with her. Similarly, Lucy is somewhat of a fool (not a cliche of a woman in her 30s. What exactly is that anyway?) who allows herself to be taken in by all her cliche notions of Italy and Italian men. How can anyone take seriously her head-over-heels, schoolgirl infatuation with Massimo? She never once thinks about the consequences of her adulterous affair although she is fully aware of his wife and children. And she quickly becomes impatient and jealous when she thinks he is also carrying on with the beguiling artist Catherine. The only truly unfortunate element of this story is its flimsy, pseudo-gothic, mystery story element. What began as a teasing story of foul play and an estate haunted by the ghost of murdered WWII Italian partisan quickly fizzles and is forgotten among the trappings of Martin's subtle send-up of all things Harlequinesque. The sequence with Lucy's horrendously detailed food poisoning complete with hallucinations and a bit later the section where she locks herself out of the farmhouse and has to seek shelter in a brewing windy storm are perfect examples of what could have made for a true modern day Gothic novel. So many writers today haven't a clue what constitutes a Gothic novel in its classic from. One need only look at the first ten chapters of "Italian Fever" for a primer in excellent use of classic Gothic mood, description and setting. I only wish there were more throughout the entire novel.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thank god for "Fever": just in time for my summer holiday,
By A Customer
This review is from: Italian Fever: A Novel (Hardcover)
What suprized me more than anything was how elegantly and vividly written this book was. Martin's description of Tuscanny was completely real, reading the book is like taking a vacation. And I have to confess, it's truly wonderful to read an intelligent novel, especially when the only summer alternative is movies like the Matrix and Wild Wild West.
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