Delightful, deliciously observed and laugh-out-loud funny 'rights of passage' novel set in the Italian holiday resort of Portofino in the 1960s.
'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 Calvin's family seem incapable of 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 bible in her suitcase because you never know when the Russians might invade and pack you off to Siberia. Calvin's dad says everything is part of God's Plan. Well, this summer, Calvin has a few plans of his own . . . plans that involve such exuberant 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.
