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Title: Secrets of the Italian Gardener

Author: Andrew Crofts

Narrator: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-03-15

Publisher: ANDREW CROFTS

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense

Publisher's Summary:

Mo, the wealthy dictator of a volatile Middle Eastern country, enlists a ghostwriter to tell his story to the world and enshrine him in history as a glorious ruler. Inside Mo's besieged palace, the ghost forms an unlikely friendship with a wise and seemingly innocent Italian gardener who slowly reveals that the regime isn't all it appears to be. As a violent rebellion threatens all their lives, the ghost struggles to cope with a personal secret too painful to bear.

Secrets of the Italian Gardener takes the listener on a heart-pounding journey through the bloody downfall of a doomed tyrant in the company of a young couple struggling to cope with the greatest private tragedy imaginable.

Members Reviews:

A Quick Inspirational Read

I came upon "The Secrets of the Italian Gardener" because it was being touted as one of those publishing success stories which began life on wattpad, was turned down by all the major publishing houses and is now being made into a movie.

The story is told through the eyes of the ghost-writer who has been called to write a biography of a wealthy middle-eastern dictator simply called "Mo". It intertwines his own personal crisis of conflict between needing money & his conscience, with the tale of the unrest looming outside the palace gates. Inside the palace, he meets an elderly Italian gardener Lou, who seems to radiate wisdom and peace. As conversations with the gardener go deeper, he begins to see his own life differently, as well as the tumultous world he is embroiled in.

On his blog Andrew Crofts says: "I have spent much of my ghostwriting career amongst the dictators, politicians, arms dealers and billionaires who hold the reins of power and control the wealth of the world, passing time in their lavish palaces and heavily guarded compounds in the wildest parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East as well as in tax havens like Monaco, Geneva, Bermuda and the Caribbean."

Not as spiritually insightful as Ruth Ozeki's "A Tale For The Time Being" nor as beautifully written as Tan Twan Eng's "Garden of The Evening Mists", the book nevertheless manages to capture a raw, real story.

In the voice of ghost-writer, it offers a deceptively simple portrait of a moment in time - a complex time when goodness and evil in international politics are not so clear. What I enjoyed was peeking into the other side of the breaking news we watch on CNN - what happens inside the palaces during movements like the Arab Spring.

Overall, if you are looking for a quick, easy read with an inspirational bent, this is a good choice

A clever and well-written story

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from SECRETS OF THE ITALIAN GARDENER by Andrew Crofts, but it wasn't this deeply insightful, often disturbing, short novel that would leave me uneasy and uncomfortable throughout.

We follow the actions of the ghostwriter, who always remains nameless in this tale, as they try to piece together the life of a powerful dictator.