The Reluctant Tuscan - European Travel Books

Hardcover - 07 April, 2005 - Gotham
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By: Phil Doran
ISBN: 159240118X

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Reviews by readers

Tilting at il piccolo rustico

In my reading experience, there have been several fine books written by expatriates, Brits mostly, who've discovered a better life by moving into dilapidated houses in foreign countries. These include Peter Mayle's series on Provence beginning with A YEAR IN PROVENCE, Chris Stewart's DRIVING OVER LEMONS set in Andalusia, and two volumes by Annie Hawes about her adopted home in Liguria, EXTRA VIRGIN and RIPE FOR THE PICKING. Here in THE RELUCTANT TUSCAN, burnt-out Hollywood scriptwriter Phil Doran finds inner peace and food for his starved soul.

Having written episodes for Tinseltown sitcoms such as ALL IN THE FAMILY, SANFORD AND SON, and THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, fifty-something Phil Doran finds himself essentially a Hollywood has-been with a big, expensive house in Brentwood. Then, his wife Nancy, off carving marble in Italy, phones to announce that she's bought a ramshackle fixer-upper in rural Tuscany. What follows, similar to the narratives of Mayle, Stewart, and Hawes, is an account of an outsider coming to grips with the neighbors and the local customs and government bureaucracy while struggling to renovate the new digs. What makes Phil's perhaps a bit different from the others is that he must also cope with the downers of a terminally stalled career and a sputtering marriage.

Having written comedy, one would think that Doran could make this a highly entertaining story - and he does, with an engaging self-deprecating humor that serves to paint Nancy as the hero of the piece. Phil claims that all events are true with names changed to protect the innocent. But, I suspect that the author, with his demonstrated talent for scripting comedic episodes, perhaps embellished just a little. However, this only makes THE RELUCTANT TUSCAN all that more fun. Indeed, it approaches being a couldn't-put-it-down diversion. I hope for a Tuscan sequel - hopefully one that will include photographs.

Don't Be Reluctant to Read This Book

After having read a cumbersome book (A Year In The World), I was ready for an easy read. The Reluctant Tuscan was an excellent choice - but don't be fooled by the light reading part. Having lived in another country for two years, I know that Americans tend to bring their "Americaness" wherever they go. Rather than being annoyed by Doran's impatience and at times, ignorance, of the Italian culture, I was rather amused. It brought back memories of being in Asia as a child looking for McDonald's (obviously a while ago) and wondering why eveything was so different - when I was the different one! The next time I travel abroad, I will remember how uptight Doran was and how he almost made an exciting life-changing adventure a miserable nightmare. He reminds me that life is a wonderful adventure!

There's much better out there.

Mildly entertaining and surprisingly poorly written for an author with a good deal of writing credits (the bulk of which were for TV so maybe this explains it...). I do love reading memoirs of folks who decide to up and move to Italy -- and maybe I've read too many of them now and, hence, they're all beginning to sound the same. Anyway, if you're interested in the material I'd start with "Italian Neighbors Or, a Lapsed Anglo-Saxo in Verona" by Tim Parks and/or even "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes.

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