Blink If You Love Me is the tale of an American man, D, married to a Portuguese licorice sculptor, Eva, and living with her family in Porto, Portugal. Told as a series of journal entries, D narrates the trials of overcoming the language barriers, the embarrassment and confusions that arise around cultural differences such as the etiquette surrounding spitting, and how to eat sardines. Marriage to the temperamental Eva is not smooth but the pair overcomes the speed bumps of appropriate nicknames, where and when one should discuss bowel movements, and suspicions of Stockholm Syndrome despite the difficulties they cause.

David Moscovich’s Blink If You Love Me is both funny and insightful as D navigates the Portuguese language and culture while surrounded by Eva’s loving and outspoken family. C, the cleaning lady, makes several notable appearances in regards to laundry, the first being in the opening entry, The Case of the Panty Kisser. D’s catalog of woes and often humorous mishaps include the difficulties of being the unpaid chauffeur, the accidentally lewd pronunciation of a variety of Portuguese words and phrases, and the challenge of replacing his broken glasses. By turns both eloquent and bitingly sarcastic, Moscovich’s prose sparkles with wit and descriptive metaphors. All the characters except Eva and Grandma are referred to simply by their initials, but this doesn’t cause much confusion in Blink If You Love Me. It’s easy to connect to D through his journal entries, but also impossible to ignore the tender, loving agitation he feels for Eva.

Blink If You Love Me by David Moscovich is contemporary, light comedy fiction that follows the main character, simply known as “D”, as he dives head first as a new resident in the coastal European country of Portugal. D is a newly married man in an old world culture, as dependant on his wife Eva as he navigates Porto and his Portuguese in-laws as she is dependant on him as her personal driver. The result is a collection of D's issues regarding language, customs, relationships and family, and simply trying to stay alive when fish bones are out to get him.

Blink If You Love Me is written as a series of journal entries, and D's (mis)adventures are provided in a bite-sized format, which allows for each scene to be delivered as something akin to flash fiction. Where David Moscovich shines as a writer is in the protagonist D's relatability, and in creating a second coming of age for a man who is essentially having to start over from scratch in a country where very little resembles what he knows. Eva is sexy, charming and (to us, at least) foreign, whereas D is bumbling and authentic. This is one of those books that just make you smile and feel really good in between some genuinely laugh out loud moments. it's an opportunity for any reader to be an armchair tourist in one of the oldest, most gorgeous countries on the planet. Highly recommended for lovers of contemporary, literary, travel, and comedic fiction.

I would second the notions in these reviews that this is a laugh out loud contemporary comedy and a fascinating travelogue for Portugal. The characters are what kept me reading this novel, and the absurd situations would translate perfectly into something on Netflix. I would be curious to see this with an actor like Ben Stiller cast as the protagonist "D". Super recommended.

Really enjoyed this. Recommended for those who like romantic comedies with happy endings!

Fun stories! I have read this book more than once and shared it with many others, starting with the first story about the cleaning lady's dirty little secret.