‘Sad, funny, wise and unblinkingly honest, this is truly wonderful.’

– Daily Mail

‘Uh-oh, here comes another one of those colourful curmudgeons who drop pearls of senior wisdom on their way to a new lease on life. Cesare certainly fits the stereotype, but he’s funny, interesting and grumpy enough to stay on the winning side of the formula.’

– New York Times Book Review

‘Immensely charming... Uplifting and very much on the side of life.’

– Mail on Sunday

‘Marone’s characters, irreverent and absurd, embark on adventures they had ceased to allow themselves to imagine in this darkly comedic take on ageing.’

– World Literature Today

‘An impressive literary feat…a charming tale of opportunities taken and missed.’

– Reading Magazine

‘Lorenzo Marone is the new voice that literature needs.’

– Corriere della Sera

‘Unforgettable...comical and cynical while remaining tender and dramatic.’

– Corriere della Sera

‘The Temptation to be Happy is that very rare thing - a book that can make you both laugh and cry... Marone's undoubted skill [is] demonstrated in some beautiful lyrical passages.'

– TripFiction

‘Poignant...[with] moments of touching eccentricity.’

– bookoxygen

‘A wonderful novel about ageing – ironic and light-footed.’

– Italien Magazin

‘Packed with dark humour, the writer's embodiment of a near-octogenarian is an impressive feat.’

– Northern Echo

‘A charming tale.’

– Daily Telegraph

‘A toast to real happiness!’

– La Stampa

‘A book that touches the heart...wonderfully honest, ingenious, quick and tragic.’

– Siegener Zeitung

‘This novel owes its success largely to Lorenzo Marone’s wonderful character Cesare Annunziata, and to the funny and paradoxical fact that this is an excellent coming-of-age novel whose protagonist is over seventy years old.’

– Il Mattino

‘Comic, ironic, sarcastic descriptions that will make you smile but will also make you take a deep look at life in old age.’

– Wochenspiegel