Ciao America! by Beppe Severgnini

Ciao America! An Italian Discovers the U.S. by Beppe Severgnini

According to its cover, this book is "a delightful look at America through the eyes of a fiercely funny guest -- one of Italy's favorite authors who spent a year in Washington, D.C." It captured my attention because I myself was once a "guest" in the U.S. Perhaps Signore Severgnini's experiences bear some resemblance to mine. Years ago, while still living in San Francisco, I'd read Bill Bryson's I'm a Stranger Here Myself, which described his returning to America after twenty years away in England. I found it a hilarious read, even though it was mystifying to me why I should find much in common with Mr. Bryson. After all, I was not returning home to America; rather the opposite. Nevertheless, the way he looked at the U.S. from a quasi-outsider's point of view resonated with my own feelings.

Signore Severgnini is very funny in his own right. My guess is that he's even funnier in his native tongue. Unfortunately, I can't read Italian, so I have to settle for a translated version, which always leaves me with a sense of having been cheated somehow. In fact, considering that Signore Severgnini lived in England before crossing the Pond, I'm sure he could have written his book in English. Presumably, he didn't because his main target audience is in Italy.

The various stories are believable, and the little comments interesting. The overall tone is good-natured. One year is an awfully short time to really get to know a country though, especially one as large and diverse as the United States. Too often, I find Signore Severgnini drawing conclusions based on too small a sample space. Oh well, that's the way it goes with this genre. Even if one were to extend one's stay to, say, ten years, would one know everything? Even a native-born American only knows what his little world allows him to know about his own country and fellow countrymen.

My personal American Experience was filled with some interesting discoveries, too. Here is one small example. Somewhere along my stay in California, I noticed that I could name all of the U.S. Supreme Court justices. I never consciously tried to memorize the names, but American news items focus so much on the Supreme Court that one would have to bury one's head in the sand to not learn something. It's a unique country that can effortlessly draw a non-political visitor into its web.