From the Bookshelf of Bookmarks Subscribers …

A cynic might assume that with Rome and Tuscany overrun with tourists (and memoirs), Naples is the next logical hot spot. But there's nothing logical about Naples, and this highly personal story finds its author on solid (if slightly volcanic) ground. Critics praise the evocation of place, the lively characterizations, and above all, "the exquisite precision of Mr. Hofstadter's prose" (Wall Street Journal). If he glosses over some of Naples's problems (heavy unemployment, drugs, and the Neapolit

A cynic might assume that with Rome and Tuscany overrun with tourists (and memoirs), Naples is the next logical hot spot. But there's nothing logical about Naples, and this highly personal story finds its author on solid (if slightly volcanic) ground. Critics praise the evocation of place, the lively characterizations, and above all, "the exquisite precision of Mr. Hofstadter's prose" (Wall Street Journal). If he glosses over some of Naples's problems (heavy unemployment, drugs, and the Neapolitan mafia, the camorra), he does so with the myopia of a lover__focusing on the city's beauty at the expense of some of its nagging vices.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.