A young, gay recent graduate student with a degree in Archives and Records Management, is at loose ends. What does he want to do with his life? Where does he go after the regimentation of learning his specialty? His college advisor threw him a lifeline in the form of an advertisement-a woman in Tuscany required an assistant to catalog her holdings, which apparently ranged from art to literature, and beyond. He snapped it up.
Thus began his introduction to the crazy life of "his Baronessa," Lisabetta, or Coco. When he arrived at the "modest country house" of the advertisement, he couldn't find it at first, before realizing it was built into one of the mountains. When he entered, by way of Coco's neighbor, he found rooms heaped with treasures of all kinds-how would he catalog this bizarre pile of stuff by December? Estelle, the neighbor, told him that he had arrived too early, and the rooms he had to catalog were not ready yet-but she also told him that his time would not be wasted, as there was much to do.
To say that Coco was eccentric was a large understatement. She was old, regal, and unexpectedly scatological. Her first interaction with "Giovedi" as she dubs him, ascertained that he was American and thus unsuitable-he was to leave on the first train out. However, she would allow him to stay if he learned Italian, not just the language-the lifestyle. As he entered the world of the Baronessa, her friends, servants, and relatives, he began to realize that he knew nothing-but he was willing to learn.
Something was going on in the house that was certainly mysterious, but perhaps also nefarious. As Giovedi navigated Villa Coco, worked, drove the Mitsu Bitchy, and fell in love, his education plowed on. But at some point he had to make some life changing decisions based on his new-found knowledge...would he have the courage to make them?
I love books that take you to unexpected places and this is certainly one of them. The magic of Tuscany, the maturation of the main character, and the slowly revealed secrets of Villa Coco, make this novel unique. Buono!
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
June 9, 2026
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