Lewis, Norman. In Sicily. Thomas Dunne Books, 2000.
Reason read: there is an almond blossom festival that takes place every March in Sicily.
Norman Lewis fell in love with Sicily and its environs in the mid 1950s. In Sicily is a remembrance of that long-gone era. The mafia does not have the grip it once had, but Lewis has his memories and heartbreaks tied up in the violence and terror of wartime yesteryear. He married a mob daughter, after all. Sicily is a place of long-held corruption; of falling down palaces and open-air lovemaking and Lewis does not miss a single detail. In Sicily is an open love letter, full of crime, mythology, superstition, and passion.
As an aside, Lewis reported that Italians have a difficult time pronouncing the letter H. I can attest to that. My friend, born and raised in Rome, cannot pronounce my name.
Another aside. I am in love with the Dancing Satyr of Mazara. It’s now on my bucket list.
Quote to respect, “There are many lessons to be learned, the first being that as a black he had become invisible” (p 125).
Author fact: Lewis wrote a bunch of interesting books. I am reading a total of five of them for the Challenge.
Book trivia: the dedication is surprising. I have not seen one of its kind before.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the simple chapter called “Sicily” (p 209).
~*LunaSea*~ 