Italian Ways

Tim Parks’s books on Italy have been hailed as "so vivid, so packed with delectable details, [they] serve as a more than decent substitute for the real thing" (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, in his first Italian travelogue in a decade, he delivers a charming and funny portrait of Italian ways by riding its trains from Verona to Milan, Rome to Palermo, and right down to the heel of Italy.

Parks begins as any traveler might: "A train is a train is a train, isn’t it?" But soon he turns his novelist’s eye to the details, and as he journeys through majestic Milano Centrale station or on the newest high-speed rail line, he delivers a uniquely insightful portrait of Italy. Through memorable encounters with ordinary Italians—conductors and ticket collectors, priests and prostitutes, scholars and lovers, gypsies and immigrants—Parks captures what makes Italian life distinctive: an obsession with speed but an acceptance of slower, older ways; a blind eye toward brutal architecture amid grand monuments; and an undying love of a good argument and the perfect cappuccino.

Italian Ways also explores how trains helped build Italy and how their development reflects Italians’ sense of themselves from Garibaldi to Mussolini to Berlusconi and beyond. Most of all, Italian Ways is an entertaining attempt to capture the essence of modern Italy. As Parks writes, "To see the country by train is to consider the crux of the essential Italian dilemma: Is Italy part of the modern world, or not?"

“"Tim Parks has reinvented the narrative of the train journey with an epic voyage into the essence of Italy itself. With a novelist's keen eye he mines absurdity and deep meaning from small, overlooked moments and gestures."”

"This mix of piercing social observation and undying affection for Italy is classic Parks." -- Rachel Donadio - New York Times "[A] treat equivalent to a ride on the Orient Express... Italian Ways is no Ferrari on rails but instead something much better: a slow train so thoughtfully appointed that one never thinks to look out the window or care about the destination." -- Ben Downing - Wall Street Journal "Fascinating [and] droll... Parks [is] perhaps the most faithful foreign inamorato Italy has ever had." -- Andrea Lee - newyorker.com "Parks really shines. He gives us a country that is as frustrating as it is endlessly fascinating." -- Marjorie Kehe - Christian Science Monitor "[Parks is] a perfect guide-an outsider, but one with a deep familiarity and respect (plus a dash of exasperated skepticism)-to the country's celebrated eccentricities. Parks has a charming voice and a novelist's eye." -- Chloe Schama - Smithsonian "Incisive [and] hilarious." -- Alexander Aciman - The Daily Beast "Relaxed, humorous, meandering [and] charming." -- Brigitte Frase - Minneapolis Star Tribune "A movable feast to say the least." -- Richard Eder - Boston Globe "Presents a picture of Italy you won't get from any tourist board... sympathetic and lively." -- Micahel Upchurch - Seattle Times -- Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic "This is the best book I've ever read about Italy. Never have I encountered a more insightful and hilarious insider/outsider portrait of the country at the center of Western civilization. Tim Parks should be given a villa in Rome and the title of English ambassador." -- Sean Wilsey, author of Oh the Glory of I "Engrossing, entertaining, and wonderfully revealing about the country and its people. It makes perfect armchair travelling - a delight from beginning to end." -- David Lodge, author of Changing Places< "Starred review. Delightful [and] hilarious... Combining wonderfully evocative prose with a wry analysis, Parks provides local color while continually seeking hidden social meaning... The result is a fascinating portrait of a society that seems rooted in place no matter how fast it goes." -- Publishers Weekly

Tim Parks’s acclaimed books about Italy include Italian Ways, Italian Neighbors, and An Italian Education. He is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. He lives in Italy.

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