Chewing Gum in Holy Water is a book I have wanted to get my hands on for a while. Italy is a place I would like to one day visit but for the time being I love to read about it and be transported there through the power of words.
Mario Valentini was born in the Abruzzo region, a land of mountains and ruins. Much history has been made on this soil and Chewing Gum in Holy Water is a memoir of Mario’s childhood, a personal history. At a young age Mario is sent to live with his uncle who is a priest and from there we follow Mario as he grows, learns life lessons and partakes in some hilarious adventures.
One of my most favourite stories to read was Mario impersonating his uncle in the confessional. I was reading this on the bus and had to laugh out loud a couple of times. My goodness what the young ones can get up to and how wonderful Mario will always have these memories. Times weren’t exactly easy, having to live with his uncle instead of his mother and family, but Mario should take great comfort in these memories as they are priceless, and the love and guidance Mario was given by his uncle is something which no doubt still makes his heart grow warm and should always be remembered with gratefulness and fondness.
Hard to describe but I am going to use the four letter N word we reviewers are advised not to use – nice. Some say it’s not descriptive enough but nice is how I felt whilst reading this book and nice is how I feel while remembering my reading experience and creating this review. It conjures up nice thoughts, nice feelings, it really is a nice story and mostly the people who played a part in Mario’s past were nice. So there you have it, I said it, it was a nice read.
To round up this review I want to say thank you to Mario for sharing a part of his life with us and for taking us into the world of what sounds like a really beautiful place.
I received Chewing Gum in Holy Water from Jess at Allen & Unwin and so I say thank you, Jess, for this book and the other great books you have provided me with over the past months.
To read the blurb for Chewing Gum in Holy Water click here
