I bought this book on impulse while on holiday, primarily because I was intrigued by the title's erudite reference to Venetian Baroque composer Barbara Strozzi. The 49p price tag helped as well. I have to confess I had never heard of Russell Hoban before and, blissfully unaware that he was a critically acclaimed author, I approached the novel without any specific expectations. It turned out to be an enjoyable, if flawed, rom-com romp.

Phil Ockerman is an author who has just been through a divorce and whose latest novel has fallen flat with critics and readers. To boost his morale he decides to start taking tango lessons in Clerkenwell. For reasons which are at best vague and at worst unconvincing, he believes that this will bring him in touch with the spirit of Strozzi, a composer with whom he is (for equally vague and unconvincing reasons) quite obsessed. Sure enough, at his first lesson Phil befriends Bertha Strunk, a young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Strozzi. Bertha however comes with her own baggage - including a violent ex-husband and an older lover who had once tried to rape her. Will love blossom in this unlikely scenario?

Frankly, the plot is unconvincing and the dual first-person narration (alternating between Phil and Bertha/Barbara) does not quite work, since the narrative voices are too similar. Yet the book is strangely gripping and worth reading at least for the quirky humour. ( )

I bought this book on impulse while on holiday, primarily because I was intrigued by the title's erudite reference to Venetian Baroque composer Barbara Strozzi. The 49p price tag helped as well. I have to confess I had never heard of Russell Hoban before and, blissfully unaware that he was a critically acclaimed author, I approached the novel without any specific expectations. It turned out to be an enjoyable, if flawed, rom-com romp.

Phil Ockerman is an author who has just been through a divorce and whose latest novel has fallen flat with critics and readers. To boost his morale he decides to start taking tango lessons in Clerkenwell. For reasons which are at best vague and at worst unconvincing, he believes that this will bring him in touch with the spirit of Strozzi, a composer with whom he is (for equally vague and unconvincing reasons) quite obsessed. Sure enough, at his first lesson Phil befriends Bertha Strunk, a young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Strozzi. Bertha however comes with her own baggage - including a violent ex-husband and an older lover who had once tried to rape her. Will love blossom in this unlikely scenario?

Frankly, the plot is unconvincing and the dual first-person narration (alternating between Phil and Bertha/Barbara) does not quite work, since the narrative voices are too similar. Yet the book is strangely gripping and worth reading at least for the quirky humour. ( )

Not sure how to review this, really, given that a lot of the things that irritated me about it were cleared up by the ending, but I wouldn't want to give the ending away of course.

It's an odd book, original for sure, and one where Tchaikovsky and Domino's Pizza can be happily namechecked on the same page. Mostly it read like Nick Hornby with a dash of Oscar Wilde, except that whoever was adding the Oscar Wilde forgot to say 'when'.

I'm glad I read it, there were parts that were entertaining and parts that were highly informative, and the author writes extremely well. it was interesting, but to say I thoroughly enjoyed it would probably be going a bit too far. ( )

This was my first visit to Hobanville - why it's taken me so long I don't know, but I'm keen to go again really soon. Underlying My Tango with Barbara Strozzi is a traditional boy meets girl romance, cleverly told by the two would-be lovers' voices alternating chapter by chapter, but on top are layers of quirkiness. Just the thing for me then!

Phil is a novelist and newly single. His wife left him because his writing was boring. Bertha Strunk, a painter of glass eyes, is newly separated and is flatsharing with a friend who worships Cliff Richard. Phil has just developed a little obsession with a 17th century Venetian musician and composer Barbara Strozzi when he saw her portrait in a museum, (I wiki'd her and she's real). Phil's astrologist predicts interesting conjunctions in his chart, so he ventures out to a tango class in Clerkenwell. Here he meets Bertha who has an uncanny likeness to Barbara, and thus begins a rather unconventional courtship!

This novel is at once tremendous fun, terribly erudite yet geeky (in a nice way), and you always know exactly where you are geographically! It also has an edge, there's an undercurrent of violence, that will keep you reading breathlessly to see what this couple's fate will be. At just 162 pages, it can be read in one sitting. A witty, original and eccentric novel and I long for more. ( )

A light, entertaining, imaginative romp via music, art, eye painting, tango - an odd couple meet and play out their tune. ( )