Not to discredit this text, in any (unscholarly) manner, but: I believe I'll purchase this book for my mother--a birthday/Christmas gift idea, for sure. Laura, our main character, is (scarily to a T) my mother--except she has yet to make an escape to Italy; but don't worry, the plans have long been in the making. Any way, I've already digressed before I've even begun.
The entire text is romanticized (in every possible way imaginable). I do wonder about the second-person, though--especially since I'm not sure what to do with this. On the one hand, I can see how (particularly because The Italian Affair is classified as a memoir) the second-person would be, perhaps, more effective. I also think the choice a smart one--considering the fact so many women (single and in their late thirties-early forties) would have no issue with adopting the narrative as self. The targeted audience not only easily self-identifies with the narrator but also has no issue in investing and completely immersing themselves into the narrator; it's much more than empathy, I believe.
With regards to perceptions of Italy, today, as a site: this memoir hits the nail on the head (in relation to beliefs of its targeted audience). These women, my mother included, are single and longing for romance --which clearly cannot be had in the States because it was all lost with the divorce or the kids or the banality of a desk-job; so they fantasize Italy. Why not? The media showcases Italian men in sexy suits, hot sports cars, and better-than-sex smelling cologne. Of course these women want a man like that--from Italy. And, a little stereotypically, these woman more than likely enjoy good wine and pasta. Italy. Long walks on the beach? Being pampered with Italian hands? Kissing someone you can't understand? Italy.
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