This is the review I gave for reading the audiobook version of this. Tartufo is a beautifully written novel about one of the many Tuscan mountain towns that is facing expensive, serious challenges as their way of life no longer appeals to the young citizens who have left and the ability to generate income is minimal as the population ages. And then, a lonely truffle hunter finds what may be the largest white truffle in ever found in the world. The novel has a slapstick feel quite often and I think that's why I put it down a lot because slapstick makes me nervous. The ways the truffle is in constant danger and the incredible cast of characters including the mayor, who is taking all steps she can to save the town. She barely won the office when she ran against an old donkey. There are family feuds, numerous dreams, a wacko priest outcasts, goats, a favorite cat, a former villager who took advantage of all he learned in the town to become a world famous chef. There are old decaying buildings full of history and old decaying people: same.

I found the novel slow at times but kept picking up my phone and listening some more to Carolyn Hewitt's exceptional narration complete with accents and voices that always pleased. Overall, the novel is something of a morality tale of the best kind. Of learning what was good all along even if there had never been a truffle. Of gaining sophistication and maintaining and improving relationships through the shared experience. Think of it: Truffles deteriorate in a very short time, so the need to move quickly and what it takes to make it happen is a mix of genius, reputation, luck and cooperation. I probably would rate this 3.5 stars but up to 4. I think this was personal and had to do with things that are less my thing than it might be for others. I would definitely recommend it and it did make my think of my trip to Tuscany many years ago with pleasure.

This is a review of the audiobook..

A warm hug of a novel, I completely and totally fell in love with the village and all of its inhabitants. I could read six more novels if Buxton turned into a series, and I can't wait to go to Tuscany one day - not only did she give voice to her characters, she gave a soul to the area and its nature. Just as brilliant as her first two books!

In a small Italian village, but not the one you are thinking of, there is a restaurant. It’s not the one you are thinking of. This one is closed, that one is one town over. There is also a Truffle expert, but not the one you are thinking of. The other Truffle experts live in the next town over. There is a mayor who was once a veterinarian, who almost lost the mayoral race to a donkey. Once a child running barefoot through the village, she was also the mayor’s daughter. There is a grandmother who is everybody’s grandmother, who teaches her granddaughter how to cook, took in local couple Giovanni and Paolo when family rejected them, oh and her house was almost taken out by an avalanche. That’s not forgetting the local truffle hunter, the disgraced postmaster and the volatile, somewhat, landlady of the last remaining bar in town.

In Tartufo Kira Jane Buxton paints a picture of small town Italian life that is a tapestry of the absurd and the wonderful, the insane and the beautiful. Full of endearing characters and sumptuous descriptions, we are drawn into the life of the village of Lazzarini Boscarino, and where others may only stop here for directions to the next town over, I may never want to leave.

Having fallen on hard times, the town is hoping for a miracle. When that miracle comes, it is in the form of the world’s largest truffle. As truffle mania grips the village, the surrounding towns, and the restaurant world, literally across the world, we journey with each denizen of the village, current and former, through the trials and tribulations of what it is to decline and rally again and again. What it is to truly be a community.

Part of the charm and greatness of this book is how the story unfolds, spoilers would indeed spoil it. So I will speak of the mushrooms instead of the unfolding storylines. Mushrooms have long held a fascination for me, since before The Last of Us I have been charmed by foraging for fungi, and wistfully dreaming of magical toadstools. Put a mushroom on something and I will decorate my house with it, or wear it. One of the things I love about mushrooms is the vast world that lies under the surface of the dirt. It speaks to my soul in a way that reminds me of the interconnectedness of the people around me, the life around me. Buxton is a mushroom lover after my heart, who puts words to things I have felt.

Along with fungi, Buxton enjoys writing about animals, and while Tartufo focuses on people, she uses their animals to great effect. Her first novels, Hollow Kingdom and Feral Creatures, focused on a crow at the beginning of the end of the world. Her offbeat sense of humor is just as present in the village residents of Tartufo as it was in the creatures of her first books. She uses wonderful descriptions of the animals in her books, but she also describes their relationships with the world they live in, and what they are thinking. I still have not read her first two books, though they appeal to me in so many ways, mostly because as a rule I don’t like books told from the perspective of animals. But having read Tartufo, and the beautiful and engaging thoughts of Giovannis’ dog, I am determined finally to read her earlier works. She has won me over with her words.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. It felt comforting, like coming home on a warm Spring day, but also deep, like how a really good conversation over a glass of wine feels. I cannot stress this enough; it is the perfect piece of escapism for a world gone mad. With extensive scene setting and character introduction, the first half of the book does move at a slower pace, but once the Truffle is uncovered it quickly becomes a page turning race to the conclusion of the story. You will find yourself laughing and weeping along with the characters, and will take them with you even when you leave their pages behind. I find myself like the redoubtable Giuseppina wanting “everyone to fall for the charm of Lazzarini Boscarino. For the magic and beauty in the simplicity of small village life.”

GeekMom received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Kira Jane Buxton’s Tartufo is a hilarious and unexpectedly heartwarming novel that reads like a love letter to eccentric small-town communities, truffle hunting, and the absolute chaos that ensues when a village stumbles upon something that just might change their fate.

Tartufo delivers plenty of laugh-out-loud moments alongside surprisingly tender reflections on community, resilience, and the strange magic of nature. If you love books that mix humor, heart, and a little bit of chaos, this one is well worth the read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton!

This book was a good time! This is a cast of hilarious characters that have you cheering them on! Funny circumstances could be seen as ridiculous but it totally works here!

Included in BookTrib Chill Quill monthly round-up: https://booktrib.com/2025/01/29/the-chill-quill-witches-hauntings-and-dark-thrills/

Lazzarini Boscarino. A small Italian town on the brink of death because all of the young people move away, leaving only a precious few. Struggling to keep the town alive, the new mayor searches for a way to keep things going. When the largest ever white truffle is rooted out nearby, this tiny town is about to be bombarded by the worldwide media, celebrity chefs, and thieves. Will Lazzarini Boscarino survive? You'll have to read this to find out!

I have followed Kira Jane Buxton since her first book Hollow Kingdom. Her offbeat sense of humor is always present-she's hilarious. But what I like most about her work is its connected-ness. We are all connected to the world. We do not exist as islands, the things we do as individuals and as a people have ripple effects throughout. This concept is at the heart of Hollow Kingdom and its sequel. That concept is not the heart of this story, but it is here. Perhaps in the form of a bee, flying from room to room in search of tasty treats and overhearing the human conversations as she buzzes by. Perhaps in the form of a street cat named Al Pacino as she flows through the tiny streets of town, pregnant once again, and privy to many small town secrets. Perhaps in just the intoxicating scent of a white truffle as it floats through the air, pheromones inciting romance...and other things.

The cast of characters here was positively delightful and I especially admired Guisepinna, the fiery town bartender and rather obnoxious beauty. The recently widowed Giovanni just wanted to be left alone with his truffle hunting dogs because that's all he had left. The entire town was charming as hell and this reader couldn't help but fall in love with this tiny corner of Tuscany.

Full of laughs, nature's beauty, terrific Italian dishes, and fiery Italian tempers, Tartufo was utterly delightful. Beautifully written with a love of humanity and nature, I think this is going to be one that I read over and over again.

My highest recommendation!

*ARC from publisher

There's a lot going on in this lively tale about a giant truffle invigorating the denizens of a down-on-its-luck Italian village. There's a large cast of characters--many zany and memorable--and a steady, if uneven, narrative. I enjoyed it.

The residents of Lazzarini Boscarino don't know what to do anymore. No tourists visit their sleepy enclave--unless the GPS leads them there by accident on this way to Borghese, the thriving down near them which includes a Michelin-starred restaurant run by Umberto. The local bar is run down and the villagers are uninspired and just going through their daily motions. Yet, when a local truffle-hunting dog discovers a big white truffle, the town must protect it from nefarious forces so they can cash in and reinvigorate their town.

Small-town hijinks ensue and many of them are funny. I still found that the extensive description and quirky cast of characters, at times, took away from the emotional component of the book. Still, if you're a fan of whimsical comedic tales and the endurance of the human spirit, check out this one. You might enjoy it!

Charming and comical story that takes place in a Tuscan village who has seen better days. This book is full of a great mixture of characters who are both flawed and redeeming. There is a truffle hunter among the townfolks who stumbles upon a giant truffle with the help of his hunting dogs. We learn about this type of foraging as well as the value of truffles!

The town has a new mayor who is looking for a way to turn her town around. It seems that the giant truffle will be the answer to their needs but is it? The truffle puts the town in the spotlight but will it be enough to turn their fortunes?

We are told the story from many points of view and each has their own unique story and contribution to the town's history and rebirth. Of course, there is a lot of great food and celebration mixed into the book. This story left me smiling and wanting to visit Tuscany. I appreciated that it did not romanticize the area and we were able to meet some every day people. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

What a fun and hilarious novel! Tartufo tells the story of a small Italian village turned upside down by the discovery of the world's biggest truffle. Soon everyone is coming out of the woodwork and hilarity ensues. I loved the cast of characters and how distinct and funny they were, how they all worked with each other while also somehow working against each other in the way that people who love each other can do. I laughed out loud several times and thought this book was just zany and a perfect read for these stressed-out times. Need a bit of an escape? This book has got what you need.

Tartufo is a contemporary fiction novel about a small Italian village that discovers a valuable white truffle that could bring riches to the community.

Lazzarini Boscarino is a tiny rural village with an aging population, a new mayor who barely beat out her opponent (a donkey), and zero tourism. But when the local truffle hunter and his beloved dogs find an extremely valuable truffle, there’s finally something that could put Lazzarini Boscarino on the map. First, though, they need to pull off an auction in their abandoned medieval castle which will hopefully attract the highest bidders from around the world.

This is a fun and wholesome comedy about a tight-knit community that looks out for one another. There are plenty of hilarious moments starring big personalities (both human and animal), and I learned a lot about truffles and the people who covet them.

Loved.

I began the e-arc for TARTUFO while sitting on a train zipping through the Tuscan countryside, so you could say I was predisposed to like this book. But it wasn't a guarantee: Sometimes heartwarming stories are too sweet, or have plots that are too convenient. Sometimes books that begin with a touch of abstraction take it further and lose me along the way. Sometimes a book is perfectly enjoyable but ultimately forgettable (and there's nothing wrong with that!).

But this is a book I felt in my marrow. I loved the way Kira Jane Buxton brought these characters and this town to life. I loved not knowing where the plot would go, but feeling taken by the hand along the way. I loved the descriptions of food, and the landscape. I loved how this book made me long for a fictional place, while also making me want to find a way to get back to Tuscany this year.

Tartufo is a charming story of a Tuscan village's quest to sell a gigantic truffle to fund the repair of a beloved Nonna's home. It took me about a second to get into, around the 15% mark. The prose is very descriptive, often from the point of view of an animal or a fungal spore, and that did take getting used to. The characters are captivating, and I adored them early. The humor of this could be subtle at times, and then there were outright fart jokes. These characters are somehow both caricatures and simultaneously believable in their absurdity. A universally beloved donkey almost winning the election to be mayor just makes sense, as much so as the actual mayor regretting her decision to run in the first place. This is a feel-good, cozy story of love, truffles, and small town revival. I wholeheartedly recommend this one.
I both read the ebook and listened to the audiobook. There are a lot of Italian words sprinkled throughout the text. I read Italian a lot better than I understand it when spoken, so I enjoyed the ebook more at no fault of the narrator.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Hachette Audio for this delightful ARC!!!!

I absolutely adored this book — no surprise there, since Buxton wrote some of my favorites of all time (Hollow Kingdom and Feral Creatures). Though this book is entirely different! I think that’s why it took me a second to get into, but I quickly fell in love with the tiny Italian village and its quirky and hilarious inhabitants. The writing is luxurious, and it will make you need a delicious meal as well as a Tuscan vacation. Fun, heartwarming, and exactly what I wanted.

WHO WHAT WHERE: This dying village of Lazzarini Boscarino in the Tuscan mountains, where the role of mayor almost went to a 22 year old donkey- named Maurizio, is in need of saving- the unlikely hero: A giant truffle!

MY THOUGHTS: This was one of the first 'humor' books I read and boy was it a fun time! The eccentric village swept me away to their varying concerns centered around a missing local- Sofia, Nonna Amara's house suffered a landslide, and the forewarnings of Giuseppina's psychic. The prediction including a fortune to come to the town, but not without a death... or two...

This animated village was a hoot to bounce between the POVs of most of them, even the bees and a spider! Especially the very nosy bumblebee watching some drama unfold with the townspeople! The truffle hunter- Giovanni and his dogs are also important perspectives in this one (I'm not a dog person, and had a hard time reading those but that doesn't change my opinion on the book!) I really enjoyed the authors use of Italian in this book- she nailed the use of different phrases especially in writing a funny book! Usually books will just stick to "buona sera/ grazie" but she really had a great natural flow between the two languages! (This is another personal note as I still have my reading goal of finishing a book in Italian lol)

I won't give any spoilers- but the last 6 or so chapters of this book picked up so well, anticipate some twists and turns that you won't see coming! It gets pretty juicy!

Overall a great fun read! Definitely check this one out!

Thank you to #NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the gifted e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to love this one - the cover is gorgeous, the description sounds like so much fun, etc. etc., but the writing style just wasn't working for me. I had a hard time getting engaged, and I think, in part, the audio version + cast of characters at the beginning made it hard to figure out what was happening.

This is a beautifully written novel. The language had me hooked on the first page. The plot is a bit slow to start, and I trudged through the first few pages. Though I appreciated getting to know the setting and characters, the premise of the book - a truffle hunter and his dogs find the largest truffle ever - needed to make a much earlier appearance. Once the action started, I loved this book.

Highly recommended for light, quality reading.

What a charming, unexpected cast of characters! This book absolutely delighted me and felt like a warm hug.

Clever, charming, and (mercifully) far less absurdist than I was expecting.

I really did not love Hollow Kingdom but decided to give Buxton’s work another try after seeing the premise for this one, and I’m so glad I did. This is just an infinitely better book, especially if (like me) you really hate nonsense fiction.

This is, to begin, actually very funny. It’s clever and a bit of a spoof without veering into full absurdism, and it’s also a very sweet story about friendship and companionship and how they don’t always show up in the forms we expect.

Despite all being a touch ridiculous save for our protagonist (the story’s straight man to his supporting cast’s comedic roles), the characters are fairly well developed and likable rather than irritating, as comic fools can unfortunately sometimes be.

My lone complaint is that this book is significantly too long for the style and type of story. I actually think all comic novels need to be short, but that’s especially true of anything that touches on farce.