Delicious [Paperback]

Nicky Pellegrino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2006

Italy, 1964. Maria Domenica is the eldest daughter of Pepina and Erminio Carrozza, a farming family from the tiny southern village of San Giulio. At sixteen, Maria's life is limited to the confines of her mother's rural kitchen - where she bakes bread every morning, the way the Carrozza women always have - and the Caffe Angeli, a place of friendship, strong espresso and famous ricotta sfolgliatelle. Her parents have high hopes for their beautiful first-born, but she has other plans. Maria runs away to Rome but, one year later, she returns to San Giulio in disgrace - eight months pregnant with the identity of the father a mystery. Hastily, shamefully, she is married off to a neighbour's son. But she soon escapes again, this time to England, where she searches once more for a new life for herself and her daughter, Chiara. Many years later, it is Chiara, not Maria, who finds herself drawn back to San Giulio - to the dusty little piazza, to the enticing aromas of the Caffe Angeli and to her long-lost family. But she soon discovers that the simple Italian life she seeks is not as simple as it seems - particularly where the past is concerned. DELICIOUS is an irresistible saga - written with all the freshness and warmth of a Carrozza family recipe - about the enduring love affair between Italy and England, about three very different generations of Italian women, and an old kitchen in Campania that binds them all together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Full-bodied as a rich Italian red, it's a page-turner combining the missed chances of Captain Corelli's Mandolin with the foodie pleasures of Chocolat. A warming read for a winter's night." EVE magazine, Feb 05 "Pellegrino takes us from 1960s Italy and Liverpool to 21st-century London, as Maria's story becomes Chiara's against a backdrop of family ties, food and secrets." GOOD BOOK GUIDE, 1 Feb "If you like your stories on the sensuous side, this debut novel is for you." GLAMOUR, February 05 "Pellegrino's twin themes of food and love combine to make this Maeve Binchy-style book a good holiday read." WESTERN DAILY PRESS, 29 Jan "A tale of love, families, their foibles -- and food." WOMAN, 14 Feb

About the Author

Born in 1964, Nicky Pellegrino is of Italian origin and is married to a New Zealander. She has worked on women's magazines and recently ghost-wrote a bestselling autobiography of Angela d'Audney, a well-known New Zealand broadcaster.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Group, (April 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752867873
• ISBN-13: 978-0752867878
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,477,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious, Indeed!, June 10, 2007

By 

Madge Walls (Wilsonville, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Delicious (Paperback)

"Delicious" is indeed the best description for this charming novel by Nicky Pellegrino of Auckland, New Zealand. Tuck in and be prepared to be swept away to a small town in Italy near Naples where family and conformity are everything, and lovingly prepared food trumps all. You'll fall in love with a young daughter of the town who decides to escape the ties that bind and sally forth into the world. Unheard of! Disaster strikes, but with a strength she could not have imagined she makes a new life for herself in a way and in a place she would never have dreamed of. Her very English daughter is left to complete the circle of tragedy and triumph in a way that will have you cheering and laughing and crying with every steamed artichoke, every bite of spaghetti con vongole, and every aromatic whiff of espresso. The characters are real and compelling. Pellegrino writes with assurance and grace and keeps the story moving, with surprises that keep it fresh to the end. If you loved Karla Clarks' "Between Courses," you'll love "Delicious" too. What a delight to find this treasure of a first novel!

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful book, February 11, 2012

By 

mrsmedusa - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Delicious (Kindle Edition)

Once again, a charming book from this talented author. Love the Italian descriptions, the characters and the story. A light, entertaining read.