3.5 stars

The town of Lazzarini Boscarino in the Tuscany region of Italy is having a hard time. The younger generation has moved away for jobs; deceased Mayor Benigno stole all the village money, leaving Lazzarini Boscarino bankrupt; the ristorante and the pasticceria have shuttered their doors; tourists bypass Lazzarini Boscarino to visit the nearby town of Borghese; and beloved Nonna Amara's house, garden, cucina, and pizza oven were leveled by a huge landslide.

The hub of Lazzarini Boscarino is now the Bar Celebrità, where the locals (and their dogs) gather. Visitors eat, drink, gossip, argue, and sip bartender Giuseppina's toxic coffee. Giuseppina claims her bitter brew is the fuel of the village; the elixir of life; the reason everyone in town lives into their late nineties. In fact, bartender Giuseppina is a force of nature, a 53-year-old blonde bombshell who wants to see Lazzarini Boscarino thrive. To that end, when tourist buses pass by, Giuseppina rushes out of the Bar Celebrità to flash her bountiful breasts at the wide-eyed sightseers, her answer to holding up a 'save us' sign.

Giuseppina's bosom hasn't worked yet, but something else might. This comic novel, bursting with lyrical descriptions, tells the story of a discovery that could rescue Lazzarini Boscarino from poverty. Truffle hunter Giovanni Scarpazza is foraging in the forest with his faithful Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, Aria and Fagiola, when Aria indicates a spot. Giovanni digs and digs, and unearths a HUGE white truffle that has the color of a potato and the appearance of a mummified brain.

Every white truffle is expensive, the record paid for the most coveted of them all was by a Hong Kong businessman who shelled out $330,000 for a monster that tipped the scales at just over three pounds. Giovanni's treasure, which ignites the senses of aficionados - and to others smells as if a rugby team had spent lockdown in their locker room, kneading aged Roquefort with their feet and then straining it through soiled jocktraps - weighs six pounds, fourteen ounces!

The newly elected mayor of Lazzarini Boscarino, Delizia Micucci - who barely won the election over Maurizio the donkey - hopes Giovanni's truffle will be the town's salvation. Delizia plans to auction off the gargantuan truffle, and preparations for the event come to involve the patrons of Bar Celebrità; social media; a pregnant cat called Al Pacino; a gate-crashing goat; a rival truffle hunter; an odious thief; an adventurous bee; a cluster of reporters; Sotheby's Auction House; a Michelin-star chef from Borghese; and more.

Things don't go smoothly, and there's a good deal of action and adventure.

At the heart of the story though, are the people of Lazzarini Boscarino, who are dealing with old grudges; lingering grief; financial wrongs; fractious relationships; continuing worries; and other troubles. As things play out, the people's affection for each other - and their love for Lazzarini Boscarino - brings them together.

To provide a feel for the author's lyrical writing, I'll include a short excerpt from the novel. This is a description of the wind and a hidden treasure:

"[The breeze is] hurtling toward chestnut trees spaced like the pews of a great duomo. The wind now weaves between golden leaves. Whispering quick consonants between the branches, borrowing an autumnal aura. Sweet sighs of ripe chestnuts and shed leaves. And here - where the wind steals woodland scents - hides a curiosity. Cloistered by soil, moss, stone, and leaf litter, a thing unseen - a thing quite mysterious - lies in waiting."

The entire narrative contains passages like this, which are beautiful, but (for me) this scenic writing was a little overdone.

The novel has a large cast of memorable characters, whom the author helpfully describes at the beginning of the book. For instance:

✿ Vittoria: Eleven-year-old aspiring cook. Nonna Amara's beloved granddaughter.

✿ Carlotta DeLuca: Village nonagenarian with a spicy history and love for a good caper.

✿ Duccio Berardinelli: Disgraced village postman who has a silver ponytail and a perennial scowl.

✿ Mamma Fortuna: A fortune teller from Pietrasanta who puts the Chanel in psychic channeling.

✿ Ugo Lombardi: A larger-than-life village hunter who's full of braggadocio and boar-hunting stories, rifle always at the ready.

And there are many more characters.

I found the book fun and entertaining, and recommend it to readers who like humorous, heartening books.

For folks who want to know more about truffle hunting, I'd recommend Truffle Hound: On the Trail of the World’s Most Seductive Fungus, with Dreamers, Schemers, and Some Extraordinary Dogs by Rowan Jacobsen

Thanks to Netgalley, Kira Jane Buxeon, and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book.

Tartufo was a super interesting read. I loved the character study and the writing felt propulsive. I'd read more from the author.

Tartufo is a pretty fun romp through a rural Italian village — a village that is down on its luck and in need of some serious revitalization if it is going to survive.

Kira Jane Buxton writes books that feel light without sacrifice the heart of a story. I know when I’m in her books that bad things might happen to the characters, but that there will be enough bright spots and humor to balance it all out. I especially love that she included chapters in this book from untraditional POVs every now and then: the village cat, a truffle hunting dog, a random insect. I really think Buxton’s voice shines best when she’s in the mind of an animal.

However, the human characters in Tartufo are extremely vibrant as well. My main critique is that there are just…a lot of people to keep up with, and perhaps a slightly narrower focus would have helped with pacing. Along with that, there felt like maybe one too many threads were happening; I think a subplot or two could have been cut in order to better serve the story overall.

Like I said, this is a fun book. I highly recommend it if you’re going on an Italian vacation anytime soon because Buxton really does bring this small Italian village to life.

The story of an Italian community trying to bring life back to their once vibrant village. Filled with many zany characters and crazy situations this novel is perfect for someone who is looking for a funny, lighthearted read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy of this book.

I've literally just returned from a trip in Tuscany where I had my wedding. So it's fair to say it was the perfect time to read Tartufo which is set is a Tuscan dying village where all the young people have moved away to more metropolitan areas of Italy. Tartufo is about the villagers of this small and forgotten town, and what happens when the local truffle hunter finds the world's largest Alba white truffle.

This was a charming read with a lot of heart. The villagers are wacky and reminded me of the Stars Hollow townies in Gilmore Girls. The narration jumps around to different villagers' POV as the story unfolds. I especially liked Giovanni, the truffle hunter, and his interactions with his dogs. I do think the book could've benefited from being a little longer to allow certain storylines to come to a more organic ending. There are aspects of the plot, which by the end, felt a little rushed. However, I enjoyed my time with Tartufo and would recommend it if you like stories that focus on a wide cast of characters.

I rated Tartufo 4 out of 5 stars.

This is a hard book to describe. It's funny, has eccentric characters (including a donkey), a large white truffle, chefs, food, suspenseful high-stakes auction and a dying Italian village. But it all works and I learned a lot about truffles!!

Tartufo tells the story of a small Tuscan village in Italy facing financial hardship. When one of the villagers discovers a record-breaking truffle, it raises the question: could this be the key to saving the struggling community? While it can be challenging to keep track of the many characters, the novel clearly reflects the author’s deep love for food, animals, nature, and humanity.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy.

"Tartufo" is light drama, mystery with a hint of "foodie"—a perfect fir for me.

The small Italian town, Lazzarini Boscarino, desperately needs a windfall. Often getting passed over by tourists who are headed to the more popular neighboring village of Borghese, the little town is a dying community of old people set in their ways and businesses hardly seeing the light of day. Bar Celebrita hardly sees a new face, and Nonna Amara, whose house and restaurant were destroyed by a freak avalnche, do not have the funds to rebuild. A medieval castle is in disrepair and a 20-something-year-old donkey very nearly became mayor. The public coffers are empty.

When an unexpected humongous white truffle puts the little town in the international spotlight, newly elected Mayor Delizia needs to grab the bull by its horns and uses this opportunity to raise the badly needed funds. The rural folks may find the glare a little too bright. Will all the money and fame be worth it to save the town, or will it ruin its very soul?

Told through the nose, readers will be inundated with vivid descriptions of many, many smells like with a dog sniffing for truffles, engulfed in damp woodsy smells or Umberto's memories of estranged wife Giuseppina's "heady poison of her perfume." The truffle symbolizes how something wonderful can bring a town together, but it can also be the cause for its destruction. The lead-up to the the auction is quite suspenseful and each of the town's quirky characters will have a different reaction to it—making this simple enough story a good case for character study.

Umberto, a Michelin chef, is the very farce of the pretentiousness as the chef of some high-end, avant-garde cooking. Yes, there are some that are really good (and really expensive!) restaurants, but the character of Umberto takes it up a notch. Leaving his wife and hometown, he must realize that, perhaps, like the truffle, it's good to be "grounded, rooted, ... [It exemplifies] the power of community and vibrant connection.." He needs to step up for a community that needs him, even if it means apologizing, which he describes as smelling "pickled and briny, that sometimes sewage stink of the sea."

Like a truffle, the beginning of the story took a while to unfold but once, it gets going, it gets going. It's a fun read to take to the beach this summer.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy.
This sounded perfect on paper and I was excited, but I am sad to say it did not work for me personally. I wanted to love it more but the writing was hard for me to sync into it and the plot was moving too slow.
Loved the settings and how authentic the writing is, it's the structure that just did not work for my brain.

This was so much fun and a great heartwarming read! I loved the unique characters and the way they made such a vibrant tapestry of their community! The truffle related drama was always interesting and hilarious. I was so looking forward to this one and it didn’t disappoint!

The writing and descriptions in this book were so lovely, and the characters were bright, funny, and completely loveable. I wanted to eat this up and adore every minute of it, but the story seemed to drag with the lack of stakes or a plot until way into the second half. I would suggest this book for readers of up-lit who also moonlight as foodies.

I expected this to be more laugh-out-loud funny, but it's the kind of funny where I'm still remembering conversations and picturing incidents and chuckling later. Small town politics can be hilarious, but there was also a lot of feeling here. There was a competition that felt really important but in the end, it was the relationships that counted. It's hard when the world is moving on and leaving your small town behind, but this was realistic and hopeful.

Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton is a riotous, sharp-toothed delight—equal parts absurd comedy, literary satire, and heartfelt examination of art, ego, and the human (and not-so-human) condition. Buxton has a singular voice, and in Tartufo, she unleashes it with gleeful precision. The titular character—a pompous, scene-stealing dog—narrates with Shakespearean flair and a ridiculous amount of charm, skewering the world of theater and literature while accidentally revealing deep truths about love, loss, and legacy.

Buxton’s wit is razor-sharp, and her prose is bursting with clever wordplay, theatrical absurdities, and lovingly crafted chaos. Beneath the humor, though, is a surprisingly tender core. She explores the fragility of artistic ambition and the desperation to be remembered, even if it’s through the unlikeliest of narrators. The pacing is energetic, the satire lands beautifully, and somehow, amid the hilarity, Buxton manages to tug at the heartstrings without ever veering into sentimentality.

I'm a sucker for a tale set in Italy, and I enjoyed many aspects of this book. If you're in the mood for something light and set in a quirky Italian town, this may be for you. I stumbled at times over the language and the pacing was slow in spots, but I enjoyed the escape, and thank Netgalley and the publishing company for this Advanced Readers Copy.

This book was so bogged down by flowery language, over the top descriptions, and near constant similes that it was almost unreadable. Mix all of that with a staggering amount of characters and Hallmark movie humor and it all gets to be way too much. While I had to force myself to finish it I seem to be in the minority based on other reviews I’ve seen so maybe it just caught me at the wrong time.

A fu sort of slapstick comedy set in a dying Italian village. The writing was love and evocative and the characters fun and the plot silly but not a lot of substance to grab onto.

A great balance between the literary and the fluffy - it was a charming book with well-realized characters and a well-told story. Very charming and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in food, Europe, or good stories.

The Village of Lazzarini Boscarino is an absolute delight—charming, humorous, and beautifully written. With a quirky cast (including a donkey nearly elected mayor and a cat named Al Pacino), decadent food, and a heartwarming small-town atmosphere, it’s a joy to read.

This is EXACTLY the book I needed to read in 2025. Cozy escapist setting, quirky characters, witty and charming as hell, and it made me cry. A small town in rural Tuscany seems to be on its way out; its population is aging, its money is dwindling, and tourists don't visit anymore. So when a local finds the largest truffle in history, it's exactly what the town needs. But are they ready for that kind of spotlight to be shined on their local drama? I haven't stopped thinking about Tartufo since I finished it. I already want to read it again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the complimentary ebook. I hate to say that this was a disappointment for me, but it was not what I was expecting from Kira Jane Buxton. It was all fluff, overly long (and overly florid) descriptive prose, and no real bite. The characters were caricatures, and it all just felt silly. Quixotic books are NOT my jam, though. So if you like cozy, flowery, you know what you’re getting into at every turn and recognize the archetypes of comfort reads, this might be a great pick! It was absolutely not what I was expecting or endeavoring to read.😁