Chris HarrisonHead Over Heel: Seduced by Southern Italy

I am definitely an arm chair traveler at this point in my life. Living in suburbia with a teenage daughter very involved in extra-curricular activities, there hasn't been a lot of time or opportunity to travel so I feed that part of my soul by reading travel narratives. Bill Bryson and Frances Mayes are two writers that I have enjoyed over the years and Chris Harrison is actually a blend of the two in my opinion.Chris (or Crris in Italy), is an Australian who falls for an Southern Italian woman (Daniela) while visiting Ireland. The result of that chance meeting is his decision to move to Italy to be with her and see how the relationship progresses. While the relationship is the catalyst for the move and it for the narrative, and it takes a major role in the narrative, it doesn't dominate the story like it could have. Largely focused on the first year or two of his transition to living in Italy, this is an incredible piece of writing by a very talented man. The reader is able to walk along beside the writer as he deals with all that is wonderful and terrible in his adopted country. One of the great strengths of this piece is the unvarnished truth of Italian life - some is wonderful, some is horrible (the visit to the hospital stands out here), and often it's both at the same time. While Frances Mayes has a romantic view of life there, which is supported by a fair amount of money it appears, this book is more about what life is like for the common man.To be honest, I actually picked this book up once and put it down after reading just a few pages. Initially, I thought it had too much "man ogling beautiful Italian goddess" for my taste but that wasn't representative of the vast majority of the book. An absolutely wonderful romp through Southern Italy (as well as Milan) that lovers of Italy, arm-chair travelers, and readers wanting a different world view than their own will enjoy.I really can't say enough good things about this book and would love to read more as the rest of the story unfolds. Fantastic!!!(I did receive a free e-book copy furnished by Nicholas Brealey Publishing through NetGalley. There was no other compensation and no requirement of a positive review. I have reviewed many other "free" books and have no hesitancy to rate a book low if that is what I think it deserves.)

First of all I will admit that I have read many books in the Travel Memoir genre, and most of those are about Italy. Within that small group, most authors will write about the beauty, food, architecture...all those things that we know Italy is already famous for-and the tales they tell are meant to seduce you and to make you want to visit. The approach Chris Harrison has taken is different. Yes, he talks about the beauty, architecture, and the food, but he also presents the gritty side of Italy. The side that only one who has lived there can understand and appreciate for what you can learn from it. The reader that will appreciate this book most is someone who has lived there for a short time as I have, or the British/Australian/American ex-pat who currently lives in Italy and has a love-hate relationship with the country. I have spent the winter in Milan and know just how dreary it can be there, but unlike Chris I also appreciate Milan for the hidden loveliness that can be found behind the pollution stained exterior of most buildings.Harrison also is brutally honest in writing about the discrimination between the North and the South of Italy, but tempering the ugly realities of that situation with a description of a wonderful, warm 'festa' that unites both North and South by the end of the book. I say BRAVO Chris Harrison for being able to put into words the feelings of so many of us that have lived there and tried to explain how Italy all at once frustrates and fascinates us.Lest this review seem too serious, I must say that I laughed out loud many times while reading this book-more so during the parts where he explains in detail his frustration with the government and bureaucracy as it does seem too ridiculous to be true...but it IS real life and humor is sometimes the only way to deal with that level of irony.An enjoyable read from cover to cover.

This should be a bestseller in the category: travel and memoirs. I love reading books in the "I left my country and lived overseas" type of genre, and this is a gem. Chris Harrison writes on (mostly the south) Italy with such insight, honesty and clear observation that the book is a joy from start to finish. He lays bare the soul of southern Italy which other writers on the same topic could not do. His humor is wry, very funny, often dry and frequently sardonic. I love his style, and I admire his powers of observation.As an Australian he fell in love with an Italian girl in Ireland ... ! He moved to a small village in the heel of Italy to be with his love, spent time in Milan (which sounds somewhat dreary as a city), and eventually finds himself back in the village of Andrano, which is Daniela's home village -- where everyone knows everyone else else, many are related to one another, and each has their own foibles. In many ways -- as he outlines it himself -- he is a misfit who has a love-hate relationship with Italy. He devotes chapters to Italian idiosyncracies, especially as far as some laws -- and traffic regulations! -- go.This book deserves far wider attention than it seems to be getting. It is quite simply a brilliant memoir. Thanks for a few highly enjoyable hours, Chris! I hope a follow-up is in the offing, as I'd love to know "what happens next"!

Hmm - for a book whose title includes "Seduced by Southern Italy", it spends an awful lot of time describing the author's frustrations with the Italian bureaucracy, disregard for the rule of law, chaotic driving habits, corruption, propensity to be lax with the truth and general inability to recognise that the many ills of Italy can be traced directly to the decisions, actions and views of its inhabitants. I would have given the book more stars if the title and the promotional materials described the book more accurately - along the lines of its actual contents. Because if you want a book which takes a critical and honest view of what was like to live in Italy in the '00s - and specially in the south (although the author does spend a year in Milan - which is covered) - then this work would rank as a pretty accurate and sincere attempt at doing just that. Sure - there is genuinely romantic content - and the author's love story for Daniela is wonderful - but I am still a bit puzzled as to why it was decided to market it as some fairy tale love story with Italy - as it kind of is a bitter one in most places.

Extremely well-written and engaging. I bought the book because we are shortly going on holiday to the Puglia and staying quite near Andrano. "Some local colour (this is a non-fiction book), a few tips and a love story to boot. What could be better?" Well ─ it's not quite like that. Daniela, the heroine, must indeed be a stunner because the greater part of this book contrasts Italian ways with Anglo-Saxon equivalents. Whether the subject is driving manners, nightmarish bureaucracy, love of animals ─ you name it, Chris has a hard time persuading himself that there are enough upsides to the Italian way of life to compensate for the general awfulness.And that is why I have only given this book 4 stars ─ to a considerable extent it has made me fearful of what we may encounter. It's an excellent book but I wish I hadn't read it before we went; and I shall certainly not show it to my wife till afterwards!

I have 'met' Chris Harrison on Twitter and he sounds such a nice chap I thought I would buy his book Head Over Heel. At first I was a bit put off by the small print, but when I began reading I was so pleased as it meant the story would last longer. I found myself rationing it because I didn't want it to end. Great to hear there's a sequel on its way.I couldn't stop laughing at some of the scenes and descriptions, but Chris relates it in such a way he never makes fools of the southern Italians, but we meet them as loveable characters that although, as an Aussie, he'll never truly understand, cannot help warming towards them. And so do we.Bill Bryson was always up there as my favourite travel writer (because I adore his humour) but Chris is definitely as good as, or dare I say, even more witty than dear Bill.I have always wanted to go to Puglia and was going to save the book until I went. Now, I feel I've actually been there, tasted the coffee, delved into the pasta, and heated my pale goosepimpled skin under the relentless Mediterranean sun. Head Over Heel made me want to pack my bags and go and live in Puglia and vow never to step foot in that part of Italy in equal measure. Just joking as I will go one day, and will be sure to pack Crris 'Arrison's book in my case. It would be the best of fun to re-read it while I'm there. Ciao!

I bought this book simply because we were going to Puglia for the first time and the title came up under 'guides to Puglia', which it isn't. What I found instead is a mesmerising story of local life in Italy's far south, the challenges for an expatriate in coming to terms with a local and hugely different culture, self-discovery, and above all love. This is the true story of Chris an Australian journalist from Sydney and the enchanting Italian school-teacher Daniela. They meet by chance in a pub in Ireland while on holiday and fall in love; but Daniela comes from the little town of Andrano almost at the bottom of Italy's 'heel', and that is where she lures him to. Chris Harrison writes beautifully. His descriptions of what it takes to become resident in Italy, in particular the many absurd encounters with local government in all its forms, are brilliant: hilarious and despair-inducing at the same time. And always there is Daniela's family in the background.... What makes the story so attractive is that the author's Aussie action-man persona is accompanied by a deep sensitivity towards everything around him, a sincere self-awareness, and above all his love for the woman he knows he cannot live without. The reader will laugh out loud again and again, but there are moments when you also cry.The book is substantial and lasted for almost the whole of our holiday; I was on tenterhooks to know how it would end, but it was so good that I could not bear to finish it too quickly. Very highly recommended.

This is a great little book. There seem to be hundreds of books published about people moving to a foreign country, and recounting their experiences in a 'aren't foreign countries funny' way. Some are amusing, some are interesting, many are boring and repetitive. This one is one of the best I have read.This is explained mainly by the fact that the author goes to Italy to follow a girl he hardly knows, so not only is he discovering a new country, he is also discovering a new partner. This adds much the the story, and makes it more interesting - as much for him, I suspect, as for us.I cannot speak for the accuracy of his portrayal of southern Italy - there seems to be some disagreement amongst reviewers here - but it does make for a good read.