The Italian Summer: Golf, Food, and Family at Lake Como

by Roland Merullo

The author of Golfing with God traces his 2007 summer near the shore of Italy's Lake Como, where he played on several northern-region courses of distinction, shared lavish meals with his family, and interacted with a host of eccentric locals.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2009

About the author

ROLAND MERULLO is an awarding-winning author of 24 books including 17 works of fiction: Breakfast with Buddha, a nominee for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, now in its 20th printing; The Talk-Funny Girl, a 2012 ALEX Award Winner and named a "Must Read" by the Massachusetts Library Association and the Massachusetts Center for the Book; Vatican Waltz named one of the Best Books of 2013 by Publishers Weekly; Lunch with Buddha selected as one of the Best Books of 2013 by Kirkus Reviews; Revere Beach Boulevard named one of the "Top 100 Essential Books of New England" by the Boston Globe; A Little Love Story chosen as one of "Ten Wonderful Romance Novels" by Good Housekeeping, Revere Beach Elegy winner of the Massachusetts Book Award for nonfiction, and Once Night Falls, selected as a "First Read" by Amazon Editors.

A former writer in residence at North Shore Community College and Miami Dade Colleges, and professor of Creative Writing at Bennington, Amherst and Lesley Colleges, Merullo has been a guest speaker at many literary events and venues and a faculty member at MFA programs and several writers’ conferences. His essays have appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, Outside Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Newsweek, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Magazine, Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Merullo's books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, German, Chinese, Turkish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Czech.

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know nothing about golf, but it was still enjoyable. Having been to Lake Como, I could picture everyplace he'd been. It was wonderful escapism to imagine myself there--which was easy to do with his wonderful descriptions of the landscape, food, and people.

[Daniel Ronan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, it was alright. Made me want to go back to Italy and to play more golf, and to eat more food.

My friends made fun of me saying that this was my version of Eat Pray Love. I can't really disagree...

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not being a golfer limited my enjoyment of the chapters about that game, but everything Merullo said about Lake Como was interesting.

[Peter Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Such an easy, easy going read. Would love to spend a summer like that.

[Turi Becker · Rating 3 out of 5]

When this book came across my desk to be cataloged, I wasn't sure where to put it - in with the golf books, in the Italian travel section, or (and this is the eternal question) as a biography? There was a lot of description of the area around Lake Como, only some of which was golf-related, so it ended up in with Italian travel books. That said, there was enough hole-by-hole description of rounds of golf that no-one but a golfer would want to read the whole thing. It was an quick and interesting read, though - all about relaxing for the summer, enjoying life, family and food at a leisurely pace.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you're into golf, you might like this. but if you're like me and know practically nothing about golf, you will not enjoy this. it started off so promisingly, but i found myself skipping chapters that focus exclusively on golf (and they are frequent) and finally gave up about halfway through. the title is misleading and this book would probably be better categorized as a sports book instead of a travel memoir. i also am not a fan of merullo's writing style, which, in addition to the golf references, prevented me from finishing it. what i did manage to get through wasn't entirely awful, but it just didn't deliver on what the title and jacket promised.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admire Roland Merullo's fiction. This non-fiction account of a family summer at Lake Como was not interesting enough to keep me reading to the end. I would recommend it, though, to golf lovers and gourmands. If you're not into golf, you can skip 1/3 of the chapters. If you're not a foodie, you can skip another 1/3.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I am not a golfer, much of the book was not interesting to me but I enjoyed his descriptions of the Lake Como regions. Food was discussed thoroughly as well.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like to read about golf than you will enjoy this book. I expected it to have more of a storyline about lake como in Italy.

[Patrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice read, but this guy is obnoxiously obsessed with golf!

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

259 pages