Catherine McNamara , who wrote this book, is one of our guest speakers in the The Art of Writing Writer’s retreat upcoming in June 2013.
When I met her she assured me that this story was the result of her fertile imagination and not her own experience – which is perhaps reassuring – but if it was all true , reading this will attract a lot more newly single ladies to Italy!
In her own blogspot Catherine answered questions about this book in the following way:-
What do you hope readers will take away from The Divorced Lady’s Companion to Living in Italy?
“I hope that readers will laugh at my protagonist’s escapades, but as the novel was also triggered by my disenchantment with the way contemporary women grow older, I wanted to create a believable, flawed mother-of-teenagers who has let herself go a little, and finds a way into the light without needing to look like a twenty-eight-year-old. The invisibility and insecurity of the older woman is appalling, especially in Italy, and the idea of the beauty and sexiness of maturity was what I wanted to convey. Not original, I know, but commercial women’s fiction has far too many thirty-year-olds living extremely superficial lives!”
Who do you picture as the ideal reader of your work?
“The older woman, the curious older male. Someone with a weak spot for Italy. Especially the suffering divorcée!”
Like all good stories there is plenty of truth in what Catherine writes about – and in my experience Italy is one of the places where women don’t just disappear because they are over 45 – Holey moley just look at Sophia Loren!
It is a place where men young enough to be your children – and old enough to know better – do boldly stare where Englishmen would be far too polite to notice!
Making an effort with your clothing will be rewarded with whistles from scaffolding – it is an element of every builders duty worldwide and one that is taken far more seriously in Italy.
But a wolfwhistle doesn’t denote a genuine interest and I have not yet learned of a sexual encounter – however fantastic – that has led to a lifetime commitment……? This is Italy – the country which maintained Silvio Berlosconi ofr so long – that we are talking about after all!
So Catherine’s amusing book skips along merrily and gives one enormous hope for the future, but there are serious warnings for anyone coming to Italy looking for a faithful lover that should be well noted!
The divorced ladys companion to Italy can be purchased from Amazon on this name link .
It is a hugely entertaining read and I am really looking forward to seeing Catherine again at the Writers Retreat in Casentino
Biography
Catherine McNamara’s novel The Divorced Lady’s Companion to Living in Italy (Indigo Dreams, UK) was released in October 2011.
Catherine McNamara grew up in Sydney, Australia, went on to travel and live in five other countries, and currently resides in Italy where she works as a translator and writer.
Her children’s book Nii Kwei’s Day was published by Frances Lincoln, and her short stories have appeared in numerous publications including Wasafiri (forthcoming in 2012), The View From Here,Kerouac’s Dog, Australian Reader, and Pretext.
