Why Did I Listen To Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst?
Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst is a book that I chose to listen to because contemporary fiction really works well on audio for me. There are some genres that I like to listen to more than others and this is one. Also, totally transparent, I had an eARC from Netgalley that I had not gotten to as quickly as I had hoped. So, picking this up on audio via Libby meant diving in much more sooner than anticipated. Plus, this was a great way to read this while feeding the baby.
What’s The Story Here?
Our Italian Summer follows three generations of women – Sophia, Francesca, and Allegra. Sophia is the mother of Francesca and grandmother of Allegra. She believes that she is dying, so she keeps that a secret, naturally, and decides to spend the summer in Italy with Francesca and Allegra. Sophia hopes to repair the relationship between Francesca and Allegra. Although, Sophia presents it as a way to go back to their roots. Meanwhile, Francesca is a workaholic and owns her own advertising firm. She has to learn to take a step back and focus on her family. Whereas Allegra starting hanging out with a new crowd and got in trouble for possession of weed. There’s a whole lot of healing to wade through, but the journey within Our Italian Summer is worth wading through.
How Did I Like Our Italian Summer?
I genuinely thought this was a good book. I’ll admit that it was quite a departure from the other Probst book I’ve read -Â The Marriage Bargain. That’s something I really like – when authors try to write totally different things and go outside the comfort zone. Also, I am such a sucker for a multigenerational story. Probst does a great job with each of the three women – Sophia, Francesca, and Allegra. Surprisingly I really liked Francesca’s story – in that she is so career driven and afraid to give other people more responsibility. That’s something I struggle with on occasion too. She really grows while in Italy and I could appreciate reading about that.
How’s The Narration?
Well, if you like audiobooks with multiple narrators, Our Italian Summer is the book for you. The chapters are each from the perspective of one of the three main characters – Allegra, Francesca and Sophia and so each of the main characters have a different narrator. Narrating this audiobook are Cassandra Campbell, Holly Linneman, and Suzanne Toren. Each narrator seemed appropriate for the character they were picked for. It was easy to distinguish between the characters as well. This audiobook is 12 hours and 44 minutes long.
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