Romeo & Romy

No job, no boyfriend, no prospects – it’s not with a rosy outlook on life that Romy arrives in her native village in the proverbial middle of nowhere.
Being a failed actress, and surrounded by quirky pensioners, she devises a bold plan: she is going to transform the barn behind her house into an Elizabethan theatre. And stage Romeo and Juliet in it. With a motley crew of old-age pensioners as the cast.

Romy could be a great actress. But then again: no one is watching her, because she is the prompter. But not for long! But then, during the premier of Romeo and Juliet, she receives the news that her beloved grandmother has passed and causes the performance to fail catastrophically. And is, of course, fired. As is Ben, her Romeo, whose only exploit, as far as acting goes, is starring in a commercial for washing powder.

Left with nothing to keep her in the big city, Romy returns to the small village in the middle of nowhere in which she spent her childhood in order to accept her inheritance. When Romy arrives, she lowers the average age by about 50 years: only the elderly are left in the village and they have decided to die as quickly as they can, for there are only three spaces left on the village’s graveyard. And it’s first come, first served. Which makes everyone’s sole purpose in life to become as inventive and as sneaky as they can in order to snatch up one of the coveted spots. But Romy forms a bold plan: in order to save herself and the people that have always been like family to her, she decides to build an Elizabethan theatre. In the decrepit barn behind her new house. With the help of everybody – willing or not. They have no money, no experience, but one star: Ben. A failed Romeo he may be, but he’s a washing powder celebrity nonetheless, and he is going to be the director of their first play: Romeo and Juliet…

Soon the project takes shape and suddenly doesn’t seem completely unrealistic. Everybody gets behind Romy and her plan with all they have and make her passion their own. And so, instead of mourning at numerous funerals, Romy, Ben and the village celebrate their victories – and even a real-life wedding.

In the year of the 400th birthday of William Shakespeare, Andreas Izquierdo brings you a charmingly colloquial version of some of the Bard’s most famous words and in an unexpected setting love blooms across all ages and despite some dire circumstances.

»Conclusion: an entertaining novel full of profound humour.« Marlon Lisken-Pruss, RP Online

»With Andreas Izquierdo’s books, you hold the perfect reading pleasure in your hand.« Susann Fleischer, literaturmarkt.info

»This affectionate book […] truly moved me. Quite emotional and sad passages alternate with funny and whimsical situations. […] The dialogues are brilliant, the characters keep, despite all quirkiness, their dignity and you grow fond of them; the story is deeply moving.« Buchblinzler Blog