Portofino - Hardcover

Schaeffer, Frank A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0026070510 ISBN 13: 9780026070515

Publisher: Macmillan USA, 1992

Synopsis

On the Riviera with his Fundamentalist missionary parents, ten-year-old Calvin escapes from his parents' constant bickering by befriending the locals and falling in love with Jennifer, a sensible Church-of-Englander

About this title

Review:

" 'Eloquently captures the atmosphere of place and period... Schaeffer describes both the pleasures and the occasional torments of childhood with charm and humour...The warmth of characterisation is matched by the novel's rich evocation of Italian life, and the accuracy with which it captures the nuances of 1960s manners' - THE TIMES 'Evocative, funny and wonderfully observed, reading this book is a holiday in itself' - GUARDIAN 'Not since Huck Finn has American literature been graced with a character as irresistible as Calvin Dort Becker' - ANDRES DUBUS III 'Poignant and hilarious...by turns, sentimental, celebratory, evocative and very funny' - LOS ANGELES TIMES 'Beautifully written with great insight and unselfconscious humour' - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"

From the Back Cover:

‘Some kids I met told lies to be special. I told lies to be normal...’

It is the early 60s and for young Calvin Becker, the son of embarrassingly over-zealous American missionaries, the family holiday on the Italian Riviera resort of Portofino is the highlight of the year. But even under the seductive influence of a Mediterranean summer, the remaining members of Calvin’s family seem incapable of ever really relaxing. His father’s always slipping into one of his Bad Moods, his mother will insist on trying to convert the ‘pagans’ on the beach, while his big sister Janet keeps a ski sweater and a miniature bible in her suitcase because you never knew when the Russians might invade and pack you off to Siberia.
Calvin’s dad says everything is part of God’s Plan. Well, this particular summer, Calvin has a few plans of his own...plans that involve such exuberantly pagan locals as Gino the whisky-drinking painter, the Bagnino and his boats, the very sensible and very English Bazlintons and – above all – their very lovely daughter Jennifer.

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan USA
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0026070510
• ISBN 13: 9780026070515
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256