Hi Diddly Dee, an Actor's Life for Me

"Those who agree with us may not be right, but we admire their astuteness."
Cullen Hightower

Book 22 Journey to the South by Annie Hawes This is Annie Hawes' third book about her life in Italy.  The first two, Extra Virgin and Ripe for the Picking, focused on her move to Liguria, in the north of Italy, and subsequent settling in and finding her feet.  This, however, takes a slight departure from that format, as she travels with her partner Ciccio's mother Francesca, sister Marisa and nephew Alberto to Calabria, in the south, where Francesca and her husband Salvatore originally came from. True to form, the book is amusingly and disingenously written.  Italy has many different dialects and going out of region can result in having to speak almost a completely different language.  Combine this with a mad aunt; a maze of a house with no corridors, three kitchens and a stream running through the scullery; the southern Italians' love of chilli with everything; and the seemingly ever-present threat of the Mafia, and you have the recipe for plenty of culture confusion and anecdotal stories.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.

11.9.05 17:41   Permalink

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(12.9.05 13:40) Being *obsessed* with olives and olive oil, I've been meaning to pick up Extra Virgin for a while..... Amendment: in fact, I've just gone and bought it off Amazon (£0.01 for the book, £2.75 P&P)!

(12.9.05 14:31) Enjoy, Mike - I think it's the best of the three, but have unfortunately misplaced it. Or rather, I have a clear memory of my father asking if he could borrow it and then never having it returned. He denies all knowledge, of course - I shall have to go on a raid of his bookshelves next time I go home!

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