Tim Parks' book Italian Neighbors or, A Lapsed Anglo-Saxon in Verona, takes the concept of travel narrative on a bit of a spin. Not only is he an American in Italy - he is living there. And unlike Frances Mayes, he is not rehabing a fab house that only the moneyed can buy. He is a translator and teacher who is living with his Italian wife in a condo, with three neighbors, and a whole village to deal with. If you think your neighbors are wacky in America, they can be quite the characters overseas. In a village outside of Verona, he learns to live with their traditions and superstitions, and they learn that the crazy foreigner can be a help around the neighborhood - cutting lawns, bottling wine etc. Tim and his wife really come into their own when she becomes pregnant and the whole area becomes friendlier and asks after the bambino.
He goes into detail on the fastidious but impracticable Italian laws and regulations that become almost prohibitive, and that require work-a-rounds to fulfill them. His seasonal writings make the reader feel as if they are taking the year off in Italy. It is a good book filed with humor, a sense of irony and answers the question - What really happens when the tourists are gone?
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