Do I Bark Like a Dog? By Micheal Volpe

 

Sometimes I read memoirs to learn more about people, other times I read them just for the fun of it. Every time I learn something new not just about the person but about the world they inhabit and this book taught me loads. This book was gifted to me by renard press in exchange for an honest review.

Michael Volpe is the founder of Opera Holland Park and honestly that's all I knew about him going in. Oh and that he'd written a book! If read plenty of memoirs and honestly I sat down and read steeling myself for a ride. And a ride I got but a gentle one.

What i didn't expect from this book was how angry I would get with the government. Which i admit is silly given how bad the UK government is these days but Volpe's points really resonated with me especially the ones about British Exceptionalism.

Some of what he feels for Italy I understand from that of my own family background of coming from Scotland. That feeling of being torn between two places and deciding which one you'd belong to if you had to choose. He'd choose Italy, me I'm not sure. Maybe I'll work it out.

Volpe's family much like all families is full of weird and wacky characters and honestly I enjoyed the parts most for his characterisation of his mother. Who by the end you feel that you have got to know quite well.

Overall I loved this memoir it's a look at a different culture and how it shaped Volpe's life in such an intrinsic way. A fantastic and memorable exploration of culture and the ways we try to connect to it.