This is a rather strange book. I really enjoyed the first 90% or so...a very satirical look at consumerism, admixed with a nice dose of conformity, and a dollop of Fascism...all written in a very amusing style from the perspective of an intelligent young girl watching it all happen in her neighborhood.

It lost me a bit in the final 10%. The book's arc is a gentle curve from light-hearted and funny toward somber and funny. However, just before the end, that gentle curve became a screechingly hard turn toward a dark story from which all humor disappeared. I found it jolting and it lessened my enjoyment of the book.

I suspect this is just personal taste rather than a flaw in the writing. I've had this reaction before, often in a certain style of European novel, and I've come to the conclusion that it's just a literary manner I haven't learned to appreciate...kind of like liver or sweet potatoes. If you read the blurb and it sounds interesting, give it a try. Benni and Shugaar certainly had me smiling through most of it. ( )

This eccentric book follows the protagonist, an even more eccentric teen-age girl, into her investigation of a mysterious, sinister family that has moved next door. The new family, comprised of members echoing from the depths of the Uncanny Valley, are chic and wealthy. They tempt Margherita's family away from their simple, pleasant life in favor of new technology and material things. This is an odd book, and it's difficult to label it with any conventional genre. That's why I adore it. ( )

Margherita a14 year old child is the narrator of this lighthearted satire. She has a slightly eccentric family which changes very quickly under the influence of their new neighbours, who look like a very successful and ideal family. Of course appearances are deceptive and we discover that they are not really nice and hide some very dangerous secrets. Although the author writes critically about the consumerist society and the hypocrisy of appearances, the novel reads sometimes as a children story, which I found off putting. It is an entertaining story, but it has not inspired me to read anything else by this author. It reminded me of the Simpson family too much, it seemed all a bit too well known. ( )

[close] You know how sometimes when you want to love a book so much and you just don't? Well I definitely didn't have a problem like that with this book. I LOVED it!

Margherita (dubbed Margherita Dolce Vita by her grandpa, is a 14-year-old girl living with her family in Italy. Her father Fausto is "tall and skinny, and he is meteoropathic, meaning his moods change with the weather". Her mother is Emma, looks "like a used teabag" and "is good as gold, but she has an addiction" which is watching soap operas while smoking imaginary cigarettes. Her eldest brother, Giacinto, is "like a really stupid version of me (Margherita)" and a soccer hooligan. Her younger brother Erminio or Heraclitus "is a ball-busting likable little terrorist genius" who also can converse with their grandfather via ESP...or so they both say. Grandfather's name is Socrates has "done it all" and thinks there are so many toxins in the world that to counteract this, he slowly poisons himself throughout the day...example being eating out of date yogurts and water with bleach. And Sleepy, their lovable dog with hysterical narcolepsy.

All is well until the day the Cube is built next to their house. The Cube is a modern mansion and the wealthy neighbors start to integrate themselves into this little family's life. Emma stops cooking and starts doing botox treatments and new hairstyles. Fausto tries implants to hide his balding spot and starts working with the neighbor in their mysterious import/export business. Giacinto falls in love with the spoiled daughter and even converts to another soccer team (the horrors!) because of her. And Erminio is drugged complacent by gifts of video games.

Only Margherita finds it all to be strange and starts to investigate because the happy family she loves is slowly deteriorating. And what type of business are the neighbors really into and why isn't she allowed into her father's shed anymore? Oh, and she develops a crush on their odd son who is a type of rebel and crazy institutionalized person all rolled up into one.

I have to say the writing is hilarious, poignant, rich, and beautiful. Even though it's narrated by a 14-year-old, I wouldn't call this a young adult novel. And the ENDING!!!

Oh! And totally forgot to mention. This is deeply satirical about consumerism and what it's doing to people. I loved that part but it might not be for everyone but I absolutely loved Margherita. ( )

I would generally be very wary of any novel written in the voice of a 14-year-old girl that is actually penned by a middle-aged man, but this a very amusing satire written by middle-aged Italian, and best-selling author in Italy, Stefano Benni.