Customer Reviews

A House in Sicily

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Having just read this book, I longed for it to have been written by her uncle Don Roberto, as the Sicilian people fondly called him. I don't believe Ms. Phelps has such a fond nickname for herself by the Sicilians, because her book clearly shows her disdain for these people. I was born in Sicily and am married to an English man, so I looked forward to this book, I was so appalled at Ms. Phelps' Anglocentric and haughty descriptions of the Sicilian people. She never learned anything from them, and remained a little provincial woman, even though her guests were wordly, and she travelled a bit when she was younger. Surely in her fifty years there she saw a beautiful woman who was sicilian with dark skin and dark eyes, I certainly never heard her once say so in her book, the only beauties were fair skinned and fair haired. It is a pity, that the outside world will learn so little of the true Sicilians from this book, how very generous and giving they really are, which Ms. Phelps mentions every so often, they gave her everthing, what did she ever give them I wonder?

Sincerely,

Antonina LiCastri-Boocock

I really enjoyed this book. It was a wonderful book, very easy to read. I just read it over the weekend. If what you are looking is a guide to Sicily this isn't it, but if you want to know something about that region and their way of life during the years the author writes about, this is your book.

I am always amaze when people like the author make complete changes in their lives, and start a new life somewhere other than their country of birth. I enjoy reading about her experience, and I want to find out more about Casa Cuseni. What I love about real life books is that the people that live in this crazy and beautiful world are 100 % better that any fictional character. The people that Ms Phelps talks about are wonderful characters that any fiction writer would love to have in their books. I have travel in Italy, but I was never interested in visiting Sicily. After reading this book, I want to go there.

Initially it didn't register why this book is distinctive in the expatriot relocation genre. However, about of a third of the into it one realizes that it is intuitively obvious. First, this isn't a popular culture ethnography designed to provide charming anecdotes. A "House in Sicily" is a memoir, and is distinctive as speaking in the voice of an earlier generation. It reflects values, priorities, and a code of behavior which clearly reflect an more formal, and more genteel time (even though a number of the anecdotes are from the sixties). The book challenges assumptions later generations might have about this era, because the writer, and those with whom she associated clearly had a progressive and opened minded perspective, despite a seemingly rigid sense of social proprieties.

This book isn't a biography; the writer establishes how this house in Sicily became her responsibility, and how events lead that responsibility to change her life. That being the first half, the remainder of the book consists of selected vignettes from her life describing some of the colorful and eccentric figures who, through word of mouth (among a cerebral set) were encouraged to visit her.

The writer speaks in a characteristically restrained, understated English manner. While she remains proudly, unrelentingly English she is very admiring of Sicilian culture which she represents as a distinctly different, yet dignified and admirable.

A quick, enjoyable read; I found myself surprised that it progressed so quickly and found myself wishing for more.

In the last ten years there has been a stream of "living on the Continent" books: Brits in Spain, Americans in south of France, everyone in Tuscany. Some were charming, some self pitying, and some "Gee, how exotic it all is! Lucky me!" Well that's not what this is about.

It is really the memoir of a house, an inherited house developed in a somewhat great ( not quite grand) style, written by the heir at the end of a long and interesting intellectual life. The various fameous and not so fameous, the hangers on and the local villagers enter into it all and are portrayed along with pictures of the grounds and some of the convivial rooms in what must be described as a family album in the middle of the book.

A word of warning. This is a quirky book, sometimes a bit annoying: reminiscent of an elderly aunt telling the assembled family stories about childhood adventures with great-grandfather as the sun sets. Not for everyone such charm.

This is a charming tale of a part of Sicily as seen through the eyes of a woman in love with its land and people. Daphne Phelps is as warm-hearted and generous as the Sicilian men and women she writes about. Although her perspective at first is that of an outsider, she enlarges her view eventually to give us a number of interesting stories about both the Sicilians and the foreign visitors who arrive and quickly fall in love with Sicily. Phelps's modest and reticent nature sometimes prevents her from telling us all that she hints about in her stories, especially when she relates her friendship with the Mafia Don Ciccio. Was there more romance here than she lets on? There are a dozen tales in her book that she could have dwelt upon at length, but she give us enough fascinating details to stir our imagination. If you love or want to fall in love with Sicily and its open-hearted men and women, read this book.

I am a Sicilian American of 2nd generation. My father was born in Sicily and my mother's parents are both Sicilian. My entire family went to Sicily last July (2001) and we found Ms. Phelps book to be entertaining, respectful and delightful. In response to the critique by Antonina LiCastri-Boocock who is Sicilian: "Please leave the machismo at home." Ms. Phelps was very respectful of both the people and place of Sicily. My entire family is reading this book and has enjoyed it all the same. This book is a five star read. It is refreshing to see a dignified outside look at Sicily from an English perspective. (If Ms. Phelps supposedly had so much disdain for Sicily, why did she stay so long?) Antonina could not give insight other than from a Sicilian male perspective. I am very traditional, but I give credit where credit is do. If you are American, you will not like this book but love it. If you are Sicilian, I bet you will probably love all the more. The Sicilian people are a loving, lovely people and I believe that all of the characters that Ms. Phelps wrote about would be more than honored by her writings.

Salvatore

The colorful characters and the the descriptions of the beautiful town, Taormina are well done. It is a lovely little trip to Sicily.

I picked up this book in preparation for a trip to Sicily. I wanted to learn something about the Sicilian landscape and people.

Ms. Phelps presents an extremely xenophobic view of the Sicilian people. I grew tired of her descriptions of her Sicilian neighbors as being illiterate peasants. Her statement that she must always remember to never marry an Italian enraged me! (And I am not even Italian.)

Ms. Phelps spends a great deal of time discussing friends, many of whom are quite famous. Her "amusing anecdotes" seem to consist soley of comments on their vices (sexual, drunkeness, etc.) Yet, she herself is presented as almost a Saint.

Saint Daphne does share tales of herself: Daphne refusing the advances of Italian peasants, Daphne giving to charity, Daphne single-handedly reviving the economy and culture of the entire city of Taormina. (The Sicilians really seemed to have nothing at all to do with it - in the World According to Ms. Phelps.)

Ms. Phelps does give wonderful descriptions of the Sicilian landscape. If you read solely for these passages, you will get something out of this book. However, as a whole, the book stands out as a prejudiced account of English Superiority. The White Man's Burden lives on!

This was a very good read. It took abt 50 pages for me to get "into it". Once past that point this was a fast and enjoyable read!The author learned the "ways" of life in Sicily.Her stories and visitors are interesting.

Phelps' style doesn't seem quite right for a book about Sicily/Italy. It's a little to sparse and long winded for my taste, and I found myself forcing myself to finish the book.