Tartufo

De: Kira Jane Buxton

Narrado por: Caroline Hewitt

From the author of Hollow Kingdom, a fantastically funny story featuring a cast of colorful characters in a dying Italian village and a giant truffle that changes their fate forever in this “deliciously absurd tale....I savored every page of this book.” (Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures)

After nearly losing the election to a geriatric donkey, newly installed Mayor Delizia Miccuci can’t help but feel like the sun has finally set on the rural Italian village of Lazzarini Boscarino. Tourists only stop by to ask for directions, Nonna Amara’s cherished ristorante is long shuttered, and the town hall is disgustingly overrun with glis glis poo—even Postman Duccio has been disgraced. All that’s left is Bar Celebrità, a rustic establishment where weary locals gather to quibble over decades-long disputes, submit their poor stomachs to bartender Giuseppina’s volcanic espresso, and wonder what will become of the place where together they’ve spent their entire lives.

Little do the villagers know that local truffle hunter Giovanni Scarpazza has just happened upon something that could change everything. A truffle—un tartufo, that is—sits beneath the soil with the power to either be the greatest gift or the foulest curse the village has ever seen.

Written in the same enchanting style and raucous humor that defines Hollow Kingdom and Feral Creatures, Tartufo is a reflection on the interconnectedness of life in all its manifestations—and how holding on to harmony in the face of hardship can grow something beautiful and rare beneath the surface.

©2025 Kira Jane Buxton (P)2025 Grand Central Publishing

Delightful!

It was poignant and funny. I loved the accents and the narration. The characters were developed well. I also enjoyed learning about truffles.

Fun description of an Italian village

Lively story about a truffle found in an Italian village. Complex story and a bit hard to keep track of its characters.

Lovable characters and cute story

Fun story filled with unique characters, human and animal. Kept thinking it was all over several times before the end.

Colorful community

It was lovely to spend time in a little town where I got to see the world through the eyes of such a delightful cast of characters and even a cat

A terrific, touching, festival of a story.

Beautifully written, there is as much color and twists and turns as the Tuscan countryside. It is a triumph of life and love -and quirkiness. Deftly and sparklingly conveyed by the reader who truly gave it extra doses of life and spirit.
A lavish, entertaining vacation in rural Italy.

Hyperbolic comedy of adjectives & adverbs

First, allow me to say that the early part of the final chapter is redeeming. The previous chapter or two - one might say, “the climax” - is predictable. The first two chapters are close to being a complete bore with strings of hyperbolic adjectives and adverbs baroquely smothering other forms of speech that I shall call sentences, or maybe even good storytelling.

But overall, buried in a soil overburdened with organic material of verbosity, at times, and therefore perfect for the growth of mushrooms and other fungi who live secretly beneath the surface lies the comedy of “Tartufo.”

Is it worth it? I don’t know. I finished it and I’m glad I did, but I almost wish I had charted the characters along the way to keep them distinct. Also, I listened to the audiobook in stretches while on the road, so I may be unfair. Eventually, the characters fully reveal themselves as unique players in this Italian comedy, as does the white truffle and the village in which they are all found.

My own village is not much different. It’s worthy of 3 stars, but cut away the flowery gossip and it may just be a 4 or 5.