My Italian Bulldozer
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley June 3, 2016
Author Alexander McCall Smith
Distributor: New South Books
ISBN: 9781846973550
Publisher: Polygon
Release Date: June 2016
Website: http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au
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In this stand-alone novel McCall Smith once again introduces us to the wonderful fluidity of life as we live it as he takes a journey to Italy, Tuscany to be precise, on another adventure that could almost be true, and perhaps it was!
Paul Stewart is facing a bleak future; his relationship of four years has ended, his latest book on the foods and wines of Tuscany is sitting mouldering in an unfinished, well almost finished state, and his editor and friend Gloria is despairing of ever getting him back on track.
He simply can not seem to get over the fact that Becky, his love of the past four years, has left him for a tattooed body builder she met at the gym! Words and emotions fail him, but over dinner with friends he is finally convinced that heading to Tuscany to finish his latest book, get a grip on his life as well as eat and drink the wonderful foods and wines of the region. How hard can that possibly be!
The journey is planed down to the last detail by Gloria, but it is not until Paul arrives in Italy things decide to go somewhat out of kilter. His rental car is not available; in fact it appears to never have been available. In the stupendous mix up that follows, Paul is accused of attempting to steal a Mercedes, gets arrested and spends sometime at the local police station, locked in a cell with a notorious criminal.
A chance met fellow traveller in Professor Silvio Rossi, comes to his rescue and through a friend manages to get him a rather large means of transport; a bright yellow bulldozer, as there simply seems to be no rental cars available due to the long weekend being celebrated! And so he sets off to travel to the town of Montalcino, driving with some skepticism, the yellow bulldozer
So begins what is an adventure that could only occur in the sun drenched surroundings of Tuscany, peopled by the warm, fascinating and enjoyable characters who somehow seem to find their way into all McCall Smiths’ plots, along with the fun to be had when you decide that life really is what you decide to make it, bulldozer and all.
A fascinating, funny and totally enjoyable study of human quirkiness, as it only could be under the sun in Tuscany, penned by a master wordsmith.