“While my first book about Italy, titled Italy, My Love Story, records my initial state - young and enthusiastic about the country - the second one is like a handbook about the culture and lifestyle of Italians,” Ngọc said during the book release, held last Saturday in Hà Nội.
“‘Thousand days in Italy’ is the length of my term of work in Italy and ‘thousand days of love’ is the period during which I had the chance to observe people and their way of life,” Ngọc said.
The book features a collection of his writings over the past three years, some of which have been published in magazines.
The first part – Live Like Italians Do – features the culture of Italy, while the second part – Love Like Italians Do – is about the love story of a street puppet artist in Navona Square of Rome, whose name is Marcel Gorgone, and a Vietnamese woman, as well as the love stories of others. The last part features the author’s trip to other areas of Italy.
“I can’t explain my special love for Italy. It’s like first love. To me, Italy is not only a place where my family and I lived for seven years and where I worked, but also where I realised my dream to visit lands that I had only seen in books, films and cards when I was small,” Ngọc said.
“When I read this book, fond memories of Italy come flooding back ,” journalist Minh Trí, who also spent some time in Italy, said.
Anh Ngọc’s unique perspective captured in this book will evoke special emotions for readers, Trí said.
