A serene portrait of slow-paced country life—and an arcane world of simple pleasures.
American-born Maggio (Mattanza, 2000) embarks on a journey to her rustic Sicilian roots.
Invited into the cozy homes of Sicilian cousins during the 1990s, the author provides an intimate glimpse of an Old World lifestyle in which respectful women never leave home without fashionable shoes and male escorts––noting instances when the escorts carried the women over puddles to protect the ladies’ footwear. Maggio’s lyrical prose evokes sumptuous cuisine (her favorite panino is “peccorino cheese, pickled peppers, capers, and tomato on fragrant yellow bread, chewy as steak and smeared with olive oil”) and breathtaking scenery, including the Madonie Mountains south of Cefalù. Thoughtful character sketches render intriguing personalities like the author’s Spartan cousin Nella, who was locally famous for frugality and her tidy home. Although an enthusiast for rural simplicity in such small towns as Locati, Viagrande, and Castiglione, Maggio points out modern-day Sicily’s horrors as well, showing how both peasants and police tremble under the reign of the Mafia. She reports natural disasters, including a volcanic eruption of Mount Etna, though it’s beautified with a flowery description: “Tiny veins of red molten rock growing through cracks in the crust. Then I heard the crinkling of tissue paper, then porcelain shattering into shards. It was the flow inching forward, shedding its crust.” She delves into annals, recounting the legend of St. Agatha’s martyrdom before detailing her own participation in the elaborate festival during which the saint’s reliquary laden with precious objects is carried through the streets of Catania. Maggio also illuminates Sicily’s diversity, using her dinners with people of Greek, Arabic, and Norman descent to segue into brief histories of the different civilizations that have dominated the island at various times. All these narrative strands are woven together in a compelling meditation on Sicilian culture.
A serene portrait of slow-paced country life—and an arcane world of simple pleasures.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7382-0342-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Perseus
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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