In the wry but affectionate tradition of Bill Bryson, Ciao,
America! is a delightful look at America through the
eyes of a very funny guest — one of Italy’s favorite
authors who spent a year in Washington, D.C.
When Severgnini and his wife rented a creaky house in Georgetown
they were determined to see if they could adapt to a full
four seasons in a country obsessed with ice cubes, air-conditioning,
recliner chairs, and, of all things, after-dinner cappuccinos.
From their first encounters with cryptic rental listings to
their back-to-Europe yard sale twelve months later, Severgnini
explores this foreign land with the self-described patience
of a mildly inappropriate beachcomber, holding up a mirror
to America’s signature manners and mores. Succumbing
to his surroundings day by day, he and his wife find themselves
developing a taste for Klondike bars and Samuel Adams beer,
and even that most peculiar of American institutions -- the
pancake house.
The realtor who waves a perfect bye-bye, the overzealous
mattress salesman who bounces from bed to bed, and the plumber
named Marx who deals in illegally powerful showerheads are
just a few of the better-than-fiction characters the Severgninis
encounter while foraging for clues to the real America. A
trip to the computer store proves just as revealing as D.C.’s
Fourth of July celebration, as do boisterous waiters angling
for tips and no-parking signs crammed with a dozen lines of
fine print.
By the end of his visit, Severgnini has come to grips with
life in these United States -- and written a charming, laugh-out-loud
tribute.
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