About

Pulitzer Prize-winner Andrew Sean Greer joins Mr B's Emporium for the release of Villa Coco, tale of life-enhancing friendship set amidst the Tuscan hills.

What ever happened to the 'charm novel'? The kind of novel you want to live inside, and re-read every year for comfort. These were the thoughts running through Andrew's mind as he sat down to write what would become Villa Coco. A 'charm novel' for our times, it's a sun-drenched paean to youth, to age and to the fulfilment of love – filled with great wisdom and a spirit of unadulterated joy.

About the book:

Broke and directionless, our young protagonist takes a job in the Italian countryside as the assistant to Lisabetta – better known to her friends as Coco – a strong-willed, wealthy aristocrat of great local renown.

Trained as an archivist, he thinks he's been hired to catalogue the contents of the beautiful, crumbling mansion nestled in the green Tuscan hills. But what are his actual duties? Days are spent in a series of increasingly eccentric pursuits: entertaining an endless carousel of guests (from bohemian painters to elderly princesses to unnervingly handsome nephews), attending a funeral in order to make off with the urn, and aiding and abetting Coco's great and final plan – to reunite with the lost love of her life before it's too late.

As summer turns into autumn and the Italian countryside begins to work its magic, the secrets of Villa Coco and its inhabitants are slowly brought to light – and with them, an unforgettable story of the enduring power of friendship.

'No one writing in English is funnier or more charming than Andrew Greer. Every sentence in this novel sings' – DAVID SEDARIS

'Greer is not only the funniest of writers, but he has a wonderful way with conjuring an image… Villa Coco is such a sunny book' – KATE ATKINSON

'The most beautiful paean to youth, to age and to the fulfilment of love. Absolute joy' – SARAH WINMAN

About the author:

Andrew Sean Greer is the bestselling author of eight works of fiction, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Less. From 2016-2018, Greer was the first Executive Director of the Santa Maddalena Foundation, working alongside president Beatrice Monti della Corte to invite authors from around the world for a writing residence in the Tuscan countryside. The setting of Villa Coco, Greer's latest novel, is partly inspired by the time he spent there.