VILLA COCO rating: four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
The novel VILLA COCO (Doubleday/Penguin Random House, June 9, 2026) by Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 novel LESS (Back Bay/Hachette), is a raucous feast of all things Italian. A young gay American archivist falls under the spell of the 92-year-old Baronessa Coco when he responds to her advertisement for an “adjutant,” becoming her “man Thursday” and travel companion with a crazy mess of “other duties as assigned.”
Thanks to Penguin Random House for sending this book to me for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Coco names her adjutant Giovedì (Thursday), and his real name remains unknown to the reader until the final pages. He tries to unravel the secrets surrounding her decrepit villa full of art treasures while creating a comprehensive catalog of them for reasons unknown. At first he is declared unsuitable, and the Baronessa wants him gone on the first train, but then she contrives for him to stay much longer than he intended, by one wacky strategem after another.
Amid a motley cast of characters and intrusive wildlife, as he traverses Italy in various vehicles (including a “Mitsu bitchy”), Giovedì tries wonderful food, gets into a bizarre romantic entanglement, learns essential life lessons, abandons his moral compass and adopts a different one, and encounters chuckle-worthy problems–generally solved by fiat on a whim by his employer or one of her oddball friends.
The themes of VILLA COCO include the chances that will not come again–and the choices you must make for yourself alone, even if some choices are not your idea to begin with.
Reading in context:
You can put the Baronessa firmly in the category of Aging Disgracefully (my blog of 8/8/2023). She wouldn’t care if you did.
Readers can compare VILLA COCO to any humorous novel in which a young man travels and becomes embroiled in the schemes of an older person. For example:
AUNTIE MAME by Patrick Dennis (1955)–New York City
Similar because of Mame’s flamboyance and fashion.
THE MAGUS by John Fowles (1965)–Greece
Similar because of weird art everywhere and increasing control by the older character over the main character, who is a young, educated Englishman; a much darker tale than any others mentioned in this blog post.
FRENCH EXIT by Patrick Dewitt (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2018)–Paris
Similar because of Coco’s declining fortunes and the urgency of doing something to reverse them.
What I’m reading and listening to right now:
THE UNICORN HUNTERS by Katherine Arden (Del Ray/Penguin Random House) June 2, 2026. Listening to the amazing series THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION by Beth Brower (Rhysdon Press), read by the amazing Genevieve Gaunt. If your library has Hoopla, look for this 8 book series on audio. There is to be a 9th book and I’m thrilled!
#VillaCoco #AndrewSeanGreer #Italy #art #SurprisingSeniors #AgingDisgracefully #humor #travel #food #AuntieMame #PatrickDennis #TheMagus #JohnFowles #FrenchExit #PatrickDewitt