37 used & new from £0.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Italian Fever: A Novel
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Italian Fever: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Valerie Martin (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


11 new from £0.01 26 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 19 used & new from £0.40
Paperback 6 used & new from £0.63
Hardcover (Large Print) 4 used & new from £1.82
Audio CD (Abridged,Audiobook,CD) £16.99 £14.44 9 used & new from £8.99
Audio Cassette (Abridged,Audiobook) 11 used & new from £2.94

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Property

Property

by Valerie Martin
3.5 out of 5 stars (23)  £4.98
Peony in Love

Peony in Love

by Lisa See
3.5 out of 5 stars (18)  £5.99
Trespass

Trespass

by Valerie Martin
4.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £5.49
The Great Divorce

The Great Divorce

by Valerie Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £6.29
The Return

The Return

by Victoria Hislop
3.0 out of 5 stars (100)  £4.76
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (8 July 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0297848860
  • ISBN-13: 978-0297848868
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,015,478 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

HARPERS & QUEEN (July)

'A dark rendering of the 'American in Italy' story.'

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) )
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Italian Fever: A Novel
87% buy the item featured on this page:
Italian Fever: A Novel 3.0 out of 5 stars (9)
Trespass
13% buy
Trespass 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.49
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth your money, time or bookshelf space!, 31 July 1999
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.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A book with an identity problem, 27 Aug 1999
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun,smart read, and a lovely Tuscan romance, 3 Aug 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Italian Fever: A Novel (Hardcover)
I loved Italian Fever The main character, Lucy is a contemporary, American version of a smart female heroine out of Henry James or Forster. Plus Martin knows her stuff--the wine, food, and romantic allure of Italy. You keep turning the pages and this is one book that just gets better and better. I highly recommend it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Found it lumbering and cumbersome in style, the prose very often as purple as the cover! I only stayed with it because much of it was set in Rome and I'm going there next week... Read more
Published on 11 May 2007 by C. Stokes

4.0 out of 5 stars amusing gentle tale
I picked this up in Italy with low expectations and was quite surprised by how much fun it was. It's very playful and knowing, which may irritate some (the heroine is called... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2006

4.0 out of 5 stars Thank god for "Fever": just in time for my summer holiday
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... Read more
Published on 27 July 1999

1.0 out of 5 stars Attempts to be romance and mystery but fails at both
This book tries to be a mystery, but the mystery is so irrelevant, and the thread unravels about once every 50 pages, that you really don't care "who did it. Read more
Published on 26 July 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars A mediocre red at best
Italian Fever was pretty disappointing. I kept hoping it would get better, but it never really did. Read more
Published on 21 July 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent, energetic romantic tale

For the past five years, Lucy Stark has worked as an assistant to the popular author DV. After proofing and typing five novels, she knows that he writes the same story every... Read more

Published on 15 May 1999

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject








i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.