Andrew Sean Greer
Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer is a light-hearted read about a naïve American college graduate who travels to Italy to catalog the antiques, paintings, and artefacts in the villa of ninety-two-year-old Baronessa Lisabetta, known as Coco. The novel unfolds in a series of vignettes. Part 1, in which Geoffrey first encounters Coco and her many eccentricities, is full of humorous anecdotes. Part 2 moves at a slower pace and what humor there is feels somewhat forced.
As a budding archivist, Geoffrey (nicknamed “Giovedi”) is eager to put his skills to the test. But chaos reigns in Coco’s villa. Geoffrey learns he must set aside his ambition for the orderly, disciplined task of cataloguing the contents of her rambling home and cater to the whims of his eccentric boss. These include pruning her roses, emptying drains, harvesting her olive grove, locating miscellaneous items she has misplaced, listening to her tall tales, and fighting off her mortal enemy—the unruly pine marten.
The narrative charts Geoffrey’s increasing familiarity with life in Coco’s villa. He learns to adapt to Coco’s whims and unpredictable nature, obeys even her most nonsensical demands, learns Italian, and plays the role of her right-hand man. Eventually, he comes to embrace her life-style, her friends, her eccentric ways, and her world view. Along the way, our intrepid narrator gets romantically involved with the Baronessa’s cousin, Giacomo.
Greer effectively depicts the Italian countryside in all its colourful glory. His characters are well-developed for the most part, although some tend to veer towards the stereotypical. Geoffrey’s coming-of-age is predictable and telegraphed early in the novel. The character who shines on every page is Coco. With her wit, acerbic humor, intelligence, crazy machinations, courage, outrageous stories, and unabashed embrace of life, she endears herself to Geoffrey and steers him on the path toward self-discovery.
A light, enjoyable read.