This book started well, telling us the story of Luigi Ferraro and his friend Leonardo as they lived their simple lives in the village of Tuscan in Tuscany prior to the second world war. They were dedicated cyclists, enjoying long rides in the countryside together and when they were called up for National Service were lucky enough to be chosen for the bicycle brigade. So far so good....

After the Nazi occupation of Italy and their joyful lives deteriorated so did the book. They deserted during a raid by the Germans and escaped to join the partisans fighting in the hills. The story of their escapades and miraculous survival became very far-fetched . After the war when Leonardo decides to return to their village, Luigi decides to set off on his bicycle to go to Australia !!!!, and it became even more so. I really did not want to finish the book but curiosity got the better of me.

He sets off with his Jewish friend Jacob, who even more miraculously had survived the war end now wants to go to the Holy Land. Money and good fortune seems to fall into place everywhere they go and their trip is completely without setbacks. Jacob decides to stay in Israel but Luigi sets off on his own via ship To Sydney via Ceylon.

The only sadness he has is that his "first love" Nuncia whom he met in the partisans and who was captured by the Nazis cannot be found and appears to have been killed as no trace of her can be found, so he has resigned himself to a single life.

Life in Australia involves lots of cycling up the east coast of NSW and many helpful people along the way although he loses touch with his family at home and his friend Jacob due to his itinerant lifestyle. Then "lo and behold" as the pages of the book are rapidly running out and he has decided to book his passage back to Italy, he goes into to the city and stumbles upon a shop run by Jacob, who is now a very successful businessman. Jacob takes him home to meet his wife and family and then.....just when you think things are all too perfect, he finds out that they have found Nuncia, who did survive imprisonment and starvation and has also migrated to Australia with her father... I just can't go on....it's all too much from then on.

Happy endings are all very nice but this story was just too unbelievable to be enjoyable. ( )

Some genuinely poor writing style can not completely undermine this charming story. Murray's style is plain and straightforward but lacks basic Elements of Style, although he is obviously a gifted storyteller. ( )