Reviews

Botticelli Blue Skies
An American in Florence
Merrill Joan Gerber

From Library Journal, 9/15/02
Gerber (creative writing, California Inst. of Technology), an author of
seven novels and four volumes of short stories, was not pleased when her
husband was invited to teach in Florence, Italy, for three months. She
feared leaving behind her family, friends, and home. Filled with humor and
honest emotion, this lively tale describes Gerber's initial reluctance to
move to a country whose language she did not speak, her eventual acceptance
of her fear of travel, and her varied adventures in Florence, which ranged
from losing her underwear over the balcony to the surprises of her first
grocery shopping trip. Gerber, no traditional traveler, does not shy away
from describing her exhaustion during sightseeing trips and her boredom
with tour guides. She often seeks out the familiar, purchasing American
peanut butter and celebrating the Jewish New Year with an Italian family.
The American students studying with her husband also add color to the
narrative, with convoluted romantic involvements and relationship angst. An
absorbing account of life in another country; recommended for larger public
libraries.—Alison Hopkins, Brantford P.L., Ont.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.