Thursday 11 April 2019

#BlogBlitz Chickens Eat Pasta - Escape to Umbria by Clare Pedrick


Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Chickens Eat Pasta - Escape to Umbria by Clare Pedrick. It's a memoir, which seems so perfect that one could assume it's fiction.

Enter the Giveaway below to Win an audiobook copy of Chickens Eat Pasta (Open Internationally) (Winner gets to pick between audible and ibooks audio code)


About the Author
Clare Pedrick is a British journalist who studied Italian at Cambridge University before becoming a reporter. She went on to work as the Rome correspondent for the Washington Post and as European Editor of an international features agency. She still lives in Italy with her husband, whom she met in the village where she bought her house.


About the book
Not just another romance, but a story of escapism, coincidences, friendship, luck and most of all... love.

Chickens Eat Pasta is the tale of how a young Englishwoman starts a new life after watching a video showing a chicken eating spaghetti in a mediaeval hill village in central Italy.

“Here I was, 26 years old, alone and numb with boredom at the prospect of a future which until recently had seemed to be just what I wanted.”

Unlike some recent bestsellers, this is not simply an account of a foreigner’s move to Italy, but a love story written from the unusual perspective of both within and outside of the story. As events unfold, the strong storyline carries with it a rich portrayal of Italian life from the inside, with a supporting cast of memorable characters. Along the way, the book explores and captures the warmth and colour of Italy, as well as some of the cultural differences – between England and Italy, but also between regional Italian lifestyles and behaviour. It is a story with a happy ending. The author and her husband are still married, with three children, who love the old house on the hill (now much restored) almost as much as she does.

Chickens Eat Pasta is Clare’s autobiography, and ultimately a love story – with the house itself and with the man that Clare met there and went on to marry. If you yearn for a happy ending, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a story that proves anything is possible if you only try.

Review
I really need to stop reading books that make me want to move to New Zealand, search for pearls on Pearl Island or in this case uproot my entire life to move to a ruin of a building in Umbria.

Pedrick certainly makes the experience sound a lot more entertaining than it probably was. I can imagine it was nerve-racking and frustrating, but thrilling and fulfilling at the same time.
Imagine just throwing all caution aside and leaving family, career and friends behind based on a whim. An impulsive nostalgic moment of suggested freedom is the beginning and culminates in the purchase of a possible money pit.

It ends with a life, something completely different than she had perhaps imagined, but it ends with a chosen path. It makes one wonder whether there is such a thing as fate. Was it meant to be? Or is it all about being brave enough to listen to our gut instincts and reach out for something other than what society and family expects of us?

I think what makes this read such an entertaining one is the way the author captures the eccentricity of the small Italian or Umbrian community. They are so funny without even trying to be. At times it even seems as if they are living in a strange little time bubble.

It's a memoir, which seems so perfect that one could assume it's fiction. The fact it reads like a fictional story is also what will draw readers in, because memoirs can often be dry and a little on the boring side. This is many things, but boring isn't one of them.

Buy Chickens Eat Pasta - Escape to Umbria at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Matador; pub date 23 July 2015. Buy at Amazon com.
Buy the Audiobook at Amazon Uk and Amazon com.

Enter the Giveaway below to Win an audiobook copy of Chickens Eat Pasta (Open Internationally) (Winner gets to pick between audible and ibooks audio code)

a Rafflecopter giveaway *Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box above. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.*

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