My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall SmithMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I picked up this book, knowing by the title that it could be beyond belief. However, I enjoy a bit of fluff and was looking forward to fluff that came with a male lead character. While the title seemed absurd, the description on the back made it seem interesting. I should have paid more attention to the title. There is not much meat to this book and I don’t feel like we get to really know any of the characters.
In the beginning, Paul is feeling sorry for himself because his girlfriend of many years threw him over for her personal trainer. So, he’s lamenting being single and goes to Italy to basically recover and finish his book (he’s a food writer). I hope this is not the “real” Italy. **Spoiler ahead**. He winds up with a bulldozer after he’s arrested because the car he rented isn’t in the parking lot and they accuse him of stealing it! I wish I were making this up. Someone he met at the airport (or on the plane), who is a local, bails him out and talks with the folks at the rental agency. They explain that they are all out of cars, but they’ll rent him a bulldozer! For him to drive to another city and use as car while in Italy! I’m not kidding.
I couldn’t really get past the ridiculousness of renting a bulldozer as a car, thought Paul was kind of a whiny little dude and that a little backbone wouldn’t have hurt. There was a side story about an escaped prisoner that was never fully developed. and, while you could see the ending coming, it just sort of appears -- there was no development leading to this.
If you’ve read and liked Alexander Smith McCall’s books, you may like this. I have not read any of his other books and do not plan on reading them. If you’re looking for a good bit of fluff to read, pass this one up. I was hugely disappointed, but was immensely proud that I was able to finish it as I hate not finishing a book.
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