Not just another romance, but a story of escapism, coincidences, friendship, luck and most of all… love.
Chickens Eat Pasta is the tale of how a young Englishwoman starts a new life after watching a video showing a chicken eating spaghetti in a mediaeval hill village in central Italy.
“Here I was, 26 years old, alone and numb with boredom at the prospect of a future which until recently had … until recently had seemed to be just what I wanted.”
Unlike some recent bestsellers, this is not simply an account of a foreigner’s move to Italy, but a love story written from the unusual perspective of both within and outside of the story. As events unfold, the strong storyline carries with it a rich portrayal of Italian life from the inside, with a supporting cast of memorable characters. Along the way, the book explores and captures the warmth and colour of Italy, as well as some of the cultural differences – between England and Italy, but also between regional Italian lifestyles and behaviour. It is a story with a happy ending. The author and her husband are still married, with three children, who love the old house on the hill (now much restored) almost as much as she does.
Chickens Eat Pasta is Clare’s autobiography, and ultimately a love story – with the house itself and with the man that Clare met there and went on to marry. If you yearn for a happy ending, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a story that proves anything is possible if you only try.
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The author feels compelled to travel to Italy, to view houses in Umbria, after seeing a video of chickens eating pasta. Although she has recently come out of a long term relationship, and her family are somewhat sceptical, Clare makes the decision to buy a run down house and move to Italy.
Despite her families lack of enthusiasm, she thrives in her new surroundings, and makes lots of new friends, including Angela and Ercolino, Tito the local shopkeeper…
I loved her descriptions of the local culture, particularly the food and wine.
“Chickens Eat Pasta” was a terrific memoir, and I would love to read a sequel.
Beautifully crafted words and crisp narration
I was lucky to win a copy of this audiobook in a competition.
In the past, I had issues listening to books. Either I found the narrator difficult to follow or the story not compelling enough to finish.
This audiobook was an exception, and I loved it. An enthralling memoir, it is narrated in a very professional way. I enjoyed following Clare Pedrick’s story of how, after a relationship breakup, she bought a house in Umbria and left her life in England to live there.
Words are beautifully crafted, and the crisp narration adds an extra dimension to Clare’s story of settling into a new life abroad and the challenges she faces. Colleen MacMahon brings Clare’s characters to life and gives the individuals their own recognisable traits and accents.
This is an audiobook to savour at your leisure and is easy to pick up after a break. I listened to it over a period of three weeks and never had to recap any of the earlier chapters. The narration was so strong it stayed with me and I looked forward to listening to each new chapter.
If I could give this audiobook 6 stars, I would. Highly recommended.
Tantalizing
The author’s prologue states, “following your instincts often leads to happiness, even if it doesn’t mean taking the easiest path you could have chosen. And indeed, when Clare bought a centuries-old house in Umbria, Italy, after watching a video—it seemed the perfect recipe for disaster. It meant leaving Brighton, England, and her job, which she had always loved.
Her decision also signaled arriving at an ancient, crumbling house as a twenty-six-year-old single “signorina,” which brought single and married men alike flocking to her with offers to assuage her loneliness. However, Clare was not lonely, nor was she seeking a relationship. She had simply fallen in love with the ancient stone house on top of the hill overlooking the village of San Massano, and with the warm, carefree Italian lifestyle.
The author fills the pages with comedy, tragedy, hardships—even danger—as she pens a book as tantalizing as its title, “Chickens East Pasta.”
Transport yourself to a wonderful new life in rural Italy.
This is a cross between a love story and a travel memoir. It is full of rich descriptions, characterful local people, rural living and a young woman who abandoned everything in the UK to start a new life abroad. The author fell in love with a region, an old abandoned house and ultimately the man who would become her partner. This is a charming book, full of well-rounded descriptions, full-bodied wines and delicious food and just the right amount of romance too. At times it is easy to forget this is actually a true story, it reads like a well-written satisfying novel. A delightful book.