Reviews with content warning for Cancer - One Italian Summer

it was pretty good. i was annoyed that i had to skip a few parts at the very end. that’s the reason it’s not 4 stars. i didn’t enjoy the cheating trope but i’m glad everything worked out.

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cakeroo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

For my fellow Gilmore Girls fans- Lauren Graham narrates the audiobook version of One Italian Summer and she does an amazing job.

The originality of the plot of One Italian Summer appealed to me quite a bit, but nothing else lived up to my expectations. The characters were boring and their experiences read a bit like wish fulfillment (with the exception of the mother's death). Who wouldn't want to spend a summer in Italy eating amazing food, drinking wine all day, going dancing, falling for a handsome & wealthy stranger? The heavier aspects of the novel were overshadowed by the romantic ideal of an Italian summer. In addition to being boring, I found some of the characters' actions to be reprehensible.

The main character cheats on her husband but it isn't treated as such. The main character's mother abandons her infant daughter to party in Italy for a summer and everyone excuses this behavior after the initial (and very short lived) feeling of betrayal. Personally, I think it's dangerous and reductive to contribute to the narrative that a woman's life and sense of self stops the moment she has a child. Women continue to be individuals after becoming mothers. They can also continue to change and grow without having to abandon their families. I think there is much more to be gained in having children than lost, and it would have been nice if the book had explored that more

.

I think the author's writing really shined when she wrote about grief. The passages about Katy's depression during her mother's illness, and the subsequent anger and grief, were really moving. She didn't shy away from the dark thoughts that can come from grieving. I also enjoyed her descriptions of setting. In the end, I think this author is probably a decent writer and I will likely give her another chance.

Edit: I knocked this down from 2.5 to 2 stars because I remembered that Katy unironically mentions shopping at Erewhon.

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indyjg's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I was in a bit of a reading slump when I picked this up, ever since finishing A Court of Wings and Ruin. So, I picked this one up on a bit of a whim, knowing that even if the plot fell short, I could connect with the setting. And that is definitely the strength of Rebecca Serle's writing, transporting you to the Amalfi Coast with just her writing. Despite it being a bitingly cold autumn afternoon when I read this, I could almost smell the sea salt, taste the food and feel the heat of an Italian summer. I connected to the premise on a personal level, as losing my mother is one of my deepest fears I've yet to confront. However, I got lost with the strange time travel element.

I don't wish to spoil anything, so that I won't delve too deeply into it. Still, I found that element was clunky, shoehorned into what could've been a good novel about confronting grief, loss and a woman who seems to be her mother, and it is not explained well, in my opinion. My next qualm was how Katy treated her husband, and at first, I was giving her the benefit of the doubt because you never know how you'll act when you lose someone. But Katy's actions are wholly selfish,

One moment she's saying she's confused, grieving her mum, and then she has a whirlwind romance?

Plus, I never truly felt Katy's grief. Sure, I was <i>told</i> about it, but I never felt it. I felt like this goes back to the time travel element,

and the strange gimmick of Katy meeting Carol as a thirty-year-old and being confronted with the truth that her mum was still figuring shit out at that age

which again, bugs me that it isn't explained in any way.

All in all, a decent enough book for which I've rated it two and a half stars but bumped it up to three for Goodreads.

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