Andrew Sean Greer’s Villa Coco (2026) is a comic literary novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less. The story follows a young American archivist who, seeking to escape his chaotic romantic past and “take life seriously” (5), accepts a job cataloging the art collection of an eccentric, elderly baronessa at a rustic Tuscan estate. Expecting an orderly intellectual pursuit, he is instead plunged into a world of whimsical schemes, bizarre household crises, and long-held secrets. The narrator’s rigid, methodical worldview is challenged at every turn by the villa’s inhabitants, forcing him to confront the limitations of his own plans and desires.

Like Greer’s celebrated novels Less and Less Is Lost, Villa Coco blends humor with themes of self-discovery and queer identity. The novel examines the idea of Embracing Whimsy Over Order, suggesting that a life of caprice and spontaneity is more fulfilling than one governed by rigid logic. It also explores The Subjective Value of Objects, arguing that true worth is found in personal stories rather than market price, and analyzes The Cost of Dispassionate Choices, revealing the deep regret that can follow a life lived too cautiously. Greer is the recipient of numerous literary honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the California Book Award.

This guide refers to the 2026 Doubleday hardcover edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of illness, cursing, animal death, and death.

Plot Summary

The narrator, a 21-year-old American archivist named Geoffrey seeking to escape a chaotic romantic past and “take life seriously” (6), accepts a job in Tuscany, Italy, to catalog the collection of a woman known only as the Baronessa. A cryptic telegram instructs him to come to the San Drogo train station and to bring gin for a princess and fish oil for someone named Faina. He is met by a wiry Lebanese man named Ghazel, who misunderstands Geoffrey’s name and calls him Giovedì, the Italian word for Thursday. They drive to Villa Coco, a rustic and chaotic country house, where Geoffrey (who is now called Giovedì by everyone at the villa) meets Estelle, an Italian Algerian neighbor, who informs him the rooms are not yet ready for his work. 

He then meets the Baronessa herself—Lisabetta, or Coco—an imperious, eccentric woman in her nineties. Disappointed that he is neither British nor blond, she tries to send him home, but a train strike forces her to let him stay. His initiation into the villa’s world is a series of bizarre trials: A septic tank overflows, leading to the arrival of the Baronessa’s friend, Principessa “Pippa” Maria Augusta, aboard the septic truck; he endures an absurd dinner where Pippa pretends not to understand his American accent; and he is tasked with hunting a marten, the “faina” from the telegram. After he violates a house superstition by placing a hat on a daybed, the Baronessa insists that the death curse can only be lifted if he touches the testicles of a nearby man. The timely arrival of Oscar, a charming, elderly British art dealer and old friend of Coco’s, provides a temporary sense of reason in the house.

The narrator, now referred to in the narrative as Giovedì, fills his days with odd jobs, from pruning roses to building a bamboo trap for the marten with the incomprehensible Ghazel, all while attempting to learn Italian from the Sri Lankan cook, Nimali. The cataloging project is constantly delayed, and mysteries accumulate around the Baronessa and her guests. Oscar makes secret visits, carrying brown-paper-wrapped packages, and warns Giovedì not to leave the villa, no matter how frustrating it becomes. An American acquaintance and rival of Coco’s from her youth on Capri, Furman Childress, makes a brief appearance, alluding to Giovedì’s role as an “expert” in a larger scheme. 

The sense of a hidden plot deepens when the Baronessa’s handsome, shy cousin, Giacomo-Giacomo, arrives. Giovedì feels an immediate attraction, though he learns Giacomo is married. The Baronessa orchestrates a trip to the city of Ferrara, ostensibly for business, and instructs the two young men to accompany her with a mysterious, awkwardly shaped cardboard package. She sends them off together on their own to see some mosaics, but the trip goes awry when their car, the “Mitsu-bitchy,” breaks down, stranding Giovedì and Giacomo in the small fishing town of Comacchio, and they spend the night together. Giacomo reveals his marriage is one of convenience to a friend who is a lesbian but asks Giovedì to keep their affair a secret from the Baronessa.

Upon their return, Giovedì is finally allowed to begin his catalog, but he soon notices that objects—a drawing, the Baronessa’s valuable pearls—are disappearing from the villa. Giacomo returns to help with the annual olive harvest, and the Baronessa slyly encourages their romance by sending them to Estelle’s house, where a potent homemade wine called “Number One” dissolves their inhibitions. Oscar also returns, looking frail, and at a luncheon, he advises Giovedì, “Do not be lazy in love” (157). 

A few weeks later, Giacomo invites Giovedì to Florence (Firenze) for the weekend to meet his wife, Laurine, and he reveals a plan for himself and Giovedì to live together in a flat in Milan after the narrator’s job ends at Christmas. The Baronessa forbids the trip, but Giovedì, furious at her control, borrows Estelle’s three-wheeled Ape truck and goes anyway. In Florence, he is shocked to discover that Laurine is pregnant. The evening is a disaster, and just as Giacomo tries to explain their complicated modern family arrangement, Giovedì receives a frantic call from Ghazel, which leads him to believe the Baronessa has fallen.

He rushes back to Villa Coco, only to find the Baronessa perfectly fine. It is Oscar who has collapsed and is in the hospital in Genova (Genoa). Over a speakerphone, Oscar sounds cheerful, but Coco reveals the truth: He has terminal leukemia, a fact they have kept from him so he could enjoy his final days without fear or painful treatments. The narrator’s anger at this deception breaks the Baronessa’s composure, revealing her deep grief and terror. 

A storm prevents them from traveling to Genova, and the next day, they receive the news that Oscar has died. The narrator realizes the story of Villa Coco was never about him; it was a final, elaborate performance of love for a dying friend. At Oscar’s memorial, Giovedì is confronted by Furman Childress, who claims that the Baronessa was a thief on Capri who stole a diamond, bought her title, and framed him for the crime. Giovedì then understands that Oscar was a forger, and the packages he occasionally brought to the villa contained meticulously crafted copies of the villa’s treasures. During the memorial, as Oscar’s final letter is read, Giovedì acts on his own caprice: He steals the urn of Oscar’s ashes, hiding it in the Baronessa’s purse.

Thrilled by Giovedì’s transformation, the Baronessa reveals her grand plan. They travel to Venice, and there, she meets with the grandson of a Ukrainian toothpaste magnate to whom she lost her beloved boat, the Caprice, in a card game decades ago; she is buying it back. 

The narrator learns the full extent of the scheme from Princess Pippa: The Baronessa has sold Villa Coco and all its contents to Furman Childress. The narrator’s notarized catalog was the official record of sale. However, inspired by Pippa, she sold Furman a house full of Oscar’s forgeries, keeping the money from the real art to fund a final adventure. 

On Christmas Eve morning, Giovedì accompanies her to the Venetian lagoon to meet the Caprice. Estelle is already on board, having decided to join the voyage. The Baronessa’s luggage—and, by a convenient “mistake,” the narrator’s—is already stowed. As the police approach to question their illegal berthing, the Baronessa asks the narrator to stay. She calls him by his real name, Geoffrey, for the first time. Realizing he has been a pawn in a grand, loving, and hilarious caper, and that all his other plans have dissolved, Geoffrey chooses adventure over the predictable life awaiting him. As the skipper casts off, they sail into the sunrise for one last “caprice.”