Rococo

This is the story of one man and his artistic vision in a place in desperate need of an aesthetic absolute, or, at the very least, a good deal on flocked wallpaper. A strapping, handsome painter energizes the women in the town, galvanizes the faithful, and restores hope where there was none. nNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - One small Italian American town in America gets the makeover it never expected in this eccentric, unpredictable, entertaining (The Boston Globe) novel from the author of the beloved Big Stone Gap series n nAn artfully designed tale [with] characters so lively they bounce off the page [and] wit so subtle that even the best jokes seem effortless.--People nBartolomeo di Crespi is the acclaimed interior decorator--not to mention the most eligible bachelor--in Our Lady of Fatima, New Jersey. From the dazzling shores of the Garden State to the legendary fabric houses of New York City, from the prickly purveyors of fine art in London to the Mediterranean coast of Italy, Bartolomeo is on a mission to bring talent, sophistication, and his aesthetic vision to his hometown. So when the renovation of the local church is scheduled, he assumes there is only one man to oversee the job. n nRecruiting an artist and a stained-glass artisan to help with the project--two handsome men who create romantic mayhem among Bartolomeo's sister, his erstwhile fiancée, and all the other lovelorn ladies of OLOF--Bartolomeo struggles to create art while remaining the steadfast linchpin of the volatile di Crespi clan. Together, Bartolomeo and his team will do more than blow the dust off the old Fatima frescoes--they will turn the town upside down, challenge the faithful, and restore hope where there once was none.n