First of all I’d like to extend my thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for the invitation to read this novel via Netgalley.
My Sardinian summer is marketed as appealing to fans of Ruth Hogan so I was delighted to begin reading this as I love a quirky novel. It is definitely that and then some! With an interesting eclectic mix of characters the novel makes for an unusual but often humorous read. Perhaps not the laugh out loud read I was expecting but it certainly prompted more than a few giggles at the expense of Giacomo and his friends and family.
The thirty five year old translator is back in his home village at the behest of other family members, convinced Nonna is on her death bed living out her last few days. Having escaped the claustrophobic atmosphere of such an attentive family and a small village, he is at first reluctant to be back on home territory. Further on in the narrative there’s a line that sums up Giacomo’s feelings perfectly, which suggests that all Italians have a problem with their mothers!! But I suspect whilst resenting being treated like a little boy instead of a grown man, he wouldn’t want it any other way. This Italian family is extremely close knit, unable to understand why anyone would want to venture beyond the confines of their village and so the exchanges between Giacomo and his mother, in particular are hilarious to read; she is the epitome of the doting, proud mother, highly temperamental especially where her husband is concerned but totally lovable.
I’m undecided as to whether sometimes Giacomo’s storytelling felt like many anecdotes, past and present, simply strung together although the deeper you delve into his summer in Sardinia you realise he is much in need of his family’s warmth and love and hospitality. He needs putting back together in order to move forward from a tragic situation and where better to do that than in the bosom of his family. Currently in the midst of translating an unseen version of Moby Dick, there are many references to this classic that frame his present state of mind, which I did find bizarre on occasions but ultimately make sense. What makes this novel stand out is the wonderful quirkiness of the characters, from the reluctant to die grandmother to the Captain who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Giacomo. This burgeoning relationship is quite touching as well as humorous and the scenes featuring Dr Ignazio as the hilarious and hopeless doctor who prescribes the same remedy whatever the symptoms make great material guaranteed to raise a laugh.
Whilst this novel may have passed me by when browsing in a bookshop, I’m really glad I’ve had the opportunity to read this ARC as it was entertaining and enjoyable and a touch bittersweet, celebrating the meaning of family and friendship and that maybe after all, there really is no place quite like home. Maybe a touch too quirky for my liking overall but on the basis of this novel I would seek out previous titles by this author.

Giacomo is 35, is from Sardinia but lives in Marseille. He’s a translator and is currently working on an unpublished version of Moby Dick and there are plenty of Captain Ahab and Ishmael references in the book. He has to return to Sardinia as his Nonna is very ill and possibly won’t recover. Sardinia is portrayed well as a bit of a time capsule with life unchanging in many respects. The story is told by Giacomo who is sad and struggling to come to terms with his divorce from Jessica.

First of all, the setting in Sardinia is lovely as is the portrayal of life on the island. There are some amusing anecdotes such as references to his father’s snail like driving, Giacomo’s extremely unsuccessful football team and a youngster and his love of Manuela the grocers wife as a teen. There are some crazy characters such as his Uncle Gavino and the island doctor who may or may not have actually been a doctor. I like the depiction of his Mama and his Nonna is delightful. I also like the changing relationship with the local ‘celebrity’ war hero The Captain who he’s extremely wary of as a youngster but as a adult develops a strong bond. It’s interesting to see how the island gets Giacomo back in its thrall but it's a case of you can’t live there but equally you can’t live without it, constantly feeling it’s pull.

However, I feel the pace in places is slow with some sections being long winded and drawn out. It also flips backwards and forwards with no discernible pattern, almost on a whim which is a bit disconcerting. It is quite amusing in some places but definitely not laugh out loud and I suspect what is deemed humorous in Italian is not seen the same in the UK as our senses of humour are completely different. Some scenarios are a bit baffling for example at the end Giacomo’s actions on the ferry back to France seem senseless.

Overall, a pleasant read but not particularly memorable. Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC.

This book describes the little Sardinian town and its residents very well, conjuring up images of both.

However, for me, I didn't connect with the characters, despite the good descriptions. The whole story seemed disjointed, probably because of the lack of chapters and the back and forward between the past and present. This I think made it hard to read and follow.

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect escapist read.

This is an evocative and slow paced book about life on a Mediterranean island. Little changes - people even seem to live long lives so that memories linger on and are recalled decades later. Life in a more or less enclosed community (few leave the village, let alone the island) is lovingly described, especially relationships with family and friends. A relaxing read.

I'm so sorry, I tried 3 times to read this book and could not get into the narrative. I love Sardinia but felt the language too sad and cheerless, I felt sorry for the character to have such depleted memories. Nothing for me to relate to, so perhaps I am not the right audience for this book.
I will not be sending this review as feel it would be unfair.
Thank you

I was given this English version of this book to read by Netgalley to read, which is called my Sardinian Summer. I could only find this version of the book on Goodreads. This is not typically my kind of book but I liked the descriptions and that it was located in a lovely Italian area of the country. I really really tried to get into it. It is not an easy book for me to review. The descriptions were wonderful and it gave us a good overview of a quaint little Sardinian village plus you did get to know the main character, Giacomo, and his family. However, I found this to be a difficult book to read since it had no chapters and seem to move very quickly from past to present. It was also difficult to follow along since it was rather pedantic and heavy. Also the ending seem to cut off rather with nothing accomplished. It just ended.

I would like to thank the author/ publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

#MySardinianSummer #NetGalley Not my usual genre but I was drawn to this book by the Italian location. Not an easy book to review for me. A nice description of life in a sleepy Sardinian village and you did get to know Giacomo and his family, but overall I found this a slow and sometimes heavy read. Not helped, I think, by having no chapters and by switching so dramatically from past to present - it all seemed rather disjointed. Nothing seemed to be really resolved at the end - although maybe that was the point. Not really for me but I am grateful for the opportunity to read and review.

3.5 Stars

This is a tricky book for me to review - you may not think so if you know how tempted I am by anything with an exotic location, a holiday feel to it, and a gorgeous cover - obviously all the elements that first attracted me to the book.

And I can definitely say that is is an interesting read, each time I picked up the book I was happy to be between the pages although it didn't really call to me in between. The writing is good and I feel I have learnt a lot from reading the story, about life in Sardinia especially for locals in a small village.

About family life in Sardinia, and also about the work of a translator. Which did amuse me as the first thing I noticed on opening it, was that it is a translated piece of fiction itself, and the main character is a translator.

I loved his description of his job as a nearly man - someone who says nearly the same thing as the original author.. but not quite identical. The theme of nearly runs through the book quite a lot.

Yet there are no chapters, lots of paragraph breaks, but no actual chapters which I found to be disconcerting. And if feels as though the chain of thought dots about seemingly at random. One minute we are perhaps in the hospital at Giacomo's grandma's bedside, the next its gone off a tangent as perhaps a memory is introduced, or something about a friend or acquaintance.

In some ways it felt disjointed, but in others possibly a bit eccentric. There were characters of course to get to know, and I did feel as though I knew Giacomo's family quite well by the end of the story.

I have probably missed a key point in the book, as I'm just not sure it worked for me. but I can easily see how others will probably like it. I suspect that Giacomo translating a new version of Moby Dick with regular references to it were off-putting for me, as I've never read Moby Dick. Equally I've never heard of half the literary works that are mentioned even in passing, and thus a connection to the story fully was just out of my reach.

An interesting book that I am glad I had the opportunity to read even, and I loved getting an insight into Giacomo's little portion of Sardinia.

Thank you to Hodder and Netgalley for this copy which i have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A lovely story I was drawn in from the beautiful cover right into Sardinia.A man returning home a grandmother with a plan for him.I enjoyed the setting the characters warm wonderful read.#netgalley#hodderstoughton.

A man returns from Marseille to visit his dying grandmother in hospital, but she has a trick up her sleeve. He reunited with an old school friend and relives his childhood in Sardinia. Nice description of the island.

Beautiful cover that drew me to the book. Happy to say I was not disappointed. The book was lovely. Nice location. Lovely feel good story. The book was well written and flowed well