Villa Coco
'Some books just feel like a vacation' VOGUE
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 9 Jun 2026
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- 10,99 €
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- Pre-Order
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- 10,99 €
Publisher Description
⭐ The book of the summer
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less ⭐
'A gorgeous, sun-soaked novel that feels tailor-made for holiday reading' I NEWSPAPER
'Some books just feel like a vacation' VOGUE
'A mad tangle of houseguests, handymen and other quirky characters'
NEW YORK TIMES, The Novels Everyone Will Be Reading This Summer
'No one writing in English is funnier or more charming than Andrew Greer'
DAVID SEDARIS
'Villa Coco is such a sunny book'
KATE ATKINSON
'Absolute joy'
SARAH WINMAN, AUTHOR OF STILL LIFE
A coming-of-age novel, a love story and a tale of life-enhancing friendship: Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer showcases his wit and warmth in this magical tale set amidst the Tuscan hills.
Broke and directionless, our young protagonist takes a job in the Italian countryside as the assistant to Lisabetta - better known to her friends as Coco - a strong-willed, wealthy aristocrat of great local renown.
Trained as an archivist, he thinks he's been hired to catalogue the contents of the beautiful, crumbling mansion nestled in the green Tuscan hills. But what are his actual duties? Days are spent in a series of increasingly eccentric pursuits: entertaining an endless carousel of guests (from bohemian painters to elderly princesses to unnervingly handsome nephews), attending a funeral in order to make off with the urn, and aiding and abetting Coco's great and final plan - to reunite with the lost love of her life before it's too late.
As summer turns into autumn and the Italian countryside begins to work its magic, the secrets of Villa Coco and its inhabitants are slowly brought to light - and with them, an unforgettable story of the enduring power of friendship.
A 'charm novel' for our times, Villa Coco is a sun-drenched paean to youth, to age and to the fulfilment of love - filled with great wisdom and a spirit of unadulterated joy.
⭐ One of the most anticipated books of 2026 for The Times, BBC Culture, People, Time, Oprah Daily, Seattle Times, Bookseller, Waterstones and Barnes and Noble ⭐
'An absolute delight'
ELIF BATUMAN, AUTHOR OF THE IDIOT AND EITHER/OR
'A great treasure'
KATHERINE HEINY, AUTHOR OF STANDARD DEVIATION
'Eccentric, funny, touching: I adored it'
NINA STIBBE, AUTHOR OF MAN AT THE HELM
Praise for Andrew Sean Greer
'Bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful' New York Times
'I recommend it with my whole heart' Ann Patchett
'Brilliant' Guardian
'Basically perfect' Dolly Alderton
'Unforgettable' Independent
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This charming tale of an innocent abroad from Pulitzer winner Greer (Less) doubles as a love letter to Italy. The narrator, Geoffrey, a 21-year-old American college student, lands a job as an archivist for an eccentric Baronessa in Tuscany. Arriving in the fall after his graduation, he's immediately swept into the magical if unsettling world of his 92-year-old employer. To Geoffrey, the villa "look both like the British Museum and like a child's bedroom, filled with beloved trash and treasures." Soon, the Baronessa has him doing everything but cataloging the villa's contents. Ten hours a day he trims the rose bushes; searches for books and magazines; makes appointments with doctors, masseurs, and veterinarians; and listens to the Baronessa's endless fantastical tales. Everyone in her life has a story, the young man learns: "They lived in a sealed world of comic-strip logic, and within that world, all schemes ended as happily as a monkey's life in Zanzibar." As the months pass, Geoffrey absorbs Italian culture, breaks his vow to avoid romantic entanglements, and faces some tough choices for his future. Throughout, Greer breathes life into the Baronessa and her world and captures its appeal to Geoffrey, fashioning the novel into a box of treasures. This light and airy bildungsroman is great fun.
