Audiobook Review: One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
Narrator: Lauren Graham
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: March 01, 2022
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.
But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.
And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.
Katy’s mother Carol was her best friend and perfect in her eyes. When she dies, Katy is awash in grief. She decides to leave her husband and take the trip to Positano, Italy that she and her mother had planned. While there, she runs into thirty-year old Carol. How is that possible? She and Carol become friends and Katy learns a lot about Carol’s life that they never talked about when she was alive.
I chose this audiobook simply because Lauren Graham narrates it. I went in blind. I was surprised by the magical realism element but I went with it. It was a clever way for Katy to learn about her mother’s past. I enjoyed the story but the prose got a little repetitive – like every food was described as delicious. Overall, it was an enjoyable listen. I think the narration made me like it more than if I’d read it in print.
