One Italian Summer

It wasn't until I was partway into One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle that I realized that this is the third book in a row that I'm reading that has to do with women (all younger than I) coming to terms with the death of her mother. On the week leading up to the anniversary of my mother's death. What are the chances?

One Italian Summer's main character, Katy, has just lost her mother. Like the two previous books I've read, Katy is trying to come to terms with her life, with her marriage, with her career. She  decides that taking the mother/daughter trip to Italy that she and her mother had planned to take together, that her mother had meticulously planned, might give her the distance from her life to figure out what should come next.

By now you know that I'm a sucker for books that take place in Italy. I'm still trying to recapture what I've lost by having to cancel our trip to Italy in October 2020. Of all the books I've read recently that take place in Italy, this gave me the truest flavor for what it's like to be an American visiting Italy. Katy's mother, Carol, had spent a summer in Positano as a young woman, and she wanted to share that with her daughter. Off Katy trots to Positano, alone. The descriptions of the scenery, of the food, of the people Katy comes in contact with, brought back memories of my time on the Amalfi Coast. (The only thing that disturbed me was that Katy chose to relax on the beach in Capri rather than explore the island - and drink limoncello!)

In some ways, this reminded me of Faye, Faraway as 30-year old Katy gets to know 30-year old Carol. I won't tell you any more about that.

Katy has so many questions for her mother which brought to mind things about my mother that I wish I knew more about. At least by the end of the novel, Katy is able to get some answers. This isn't exactly a romance novel, but it sort of is. Romance isn't usually my thing. However, I really enjoyed this novel. Now I want to go back to Positano!