(Above: Treviso, near Venice, Italy)
On the Trail of John Grisham
Although John Grisham is a favorite author of mine, when I read The Broker, I was especially enthralled. Here Grisham places his protagonist in Italy--where he must pass as Italian or face the consequences of being shot or worse! Joel Backman's motivation is high even though the process of "Italianization" is anything but easy.
I sympathize with Joel because I too learned Italian the hard way--through consistent study and lots of practice. I appreciate the protagonist lawyer because he's stubborn enough to succeed no matter how long it takes to correctly order an espresso.
Joel's quest to develop his Italian identity is so life-like that I use the novel in the Film and Literature course I often teach for summer classes in Orvieto, Italy.
When I had a chance to travel to Bologna myself, I carried the novel in my backpack and faithfully traced its key settings. Luckily, however, no one was chasing after me in order to exact revenge!
Below are a few favorite views.
On the Trail of John Grisham
Although John Grisham is a favorite author of mine, when I read The Broker, I was especially enthralled. Here Grisham places his protagonist in Italy--where he must pass as Italian or face the consequences of being shot or worse! Joel Backman's motivation is high even though the process of "Italianization" is anything but easy.
I sympathize with Joel because I too learned Italian the hard way--through consistent study and lots of practice. I appreciate the protagonist lawyer because he's stubborn enough to succeed no matter how long it takes to correctly order an espresso.
Joel's quest to develop his Italian identity is so life-like that I use the novel in the Film and Literature course I often teach for summer classes in Orvieto, Italy.
When I had a chance to travel to Bologna myself, I carried the novel in my backpack and faithfully traced its key settings. Luckily, however, no one was chasing after me in order to exact revenge!
Below are a few favorite views.
And here are a couple of videos:
Getting started on the Trek to the Santuario
A good look at the Santuario San Luca
Other literary trails:
W.B.Yeats
J.R. R. Tolkien
Getting started on the Trek to the Santuario
A good look at the Santuario San Luca
Other literary trails:
W.B.Yeats
J.R. R. Tolkien