CATHERINE McNAMARA
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The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy (2012)
Marilyn's life falls apart when her husband leaves her. After a long married life together and two children, he trades her in for the younger, more gorgeous version of her former self. Marilyn's reaction is to flee - based on the memory of an old high school friend who travelled to Italy and married a stunning Italian man (allegedly) and lived happily ever after running an international English school. Marilyn has high expectations but experiences one disastrous event after another. This includes a number of sexual relationships upon arriving on Italian shores. Her association with Italy reads as a tawdry sex romp with one man after another and endless sexual references. She steals another person's clothes and part of her identity, has no job, and can't speak the language. She justifies her endless sexual encounters as making up for lost time and revenge on her husband who saw fit to screw everything with two legs whilet they were married. This story reads as if it is highly autobiographical; if not, it's great fiction. It is supposed to be a journey of one woman's self-discovery after the breakdown of a relationship, but really it is about running away, not taking responsibility and relying on sex and men to empower oneself. (LF)
