Mezza Italiana by Zoe Boccabella

  



SUMMARY:

Growing up in Brisbane in the 1970s and 80s, Zoë Boccabella knew if you wanted to fit in, you did not bottle tomatoes, have plastic on the hallway carpet, or a glory box of Italian linens. Though she tried to be like 'everyone else', refusing to learn Italian and even dyeing her dark hair blonde, Zoë couldn't shake the unsettling sense of feeling 'half-and-half' - half Australian, ‘mezza italiana’ - unable to fit fully into either culture, or merge the two. Years later, she travels to her family's ancestral village of Fossa in Abruzzo and discovers a captivating place of medieval castles, mystics, serpent charmers and witches. As Zoë stays in the house that has belonged to her family for centuries, the village casts its spell. She begins to realise the significance of her Italian heritage and discovers old family traditions which become a treasured part of her life.

MY REVIEW:

The book starts with a harrowing description of the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009 as it hit Fossa. Then we return to Brisbane to learn about Zoe’s childhood and how her early life was tainted by the racial prejudice she encountered at school. She was taunted her to the point that she rejected her Italian roots and insisted on calling her grandmother ‘nana’ instead of ‘nonna.’

 

The story flows effortlessly through personal stories, family histories and recipes of traditional food.  There are historical accounts of the region and poignant references to Abruzzo life, past and present. 

 

Why I recommend this book

Highly recommended. Not just as an enjoyable read of a young girl’s early life in Australia  and subsequent travels abroad but because this is a true account of a life changing journey where she discovers something more than just heritage. As the author puts it, ‘finding your place in the world’. After years of rejecting everything Italian, Zoe finally visits the ancestral home.

“Abruzzo is beautiful. I feel a connection with the place. It made me feel closer to my family, my culture, my ancestry.”

 

 



 AUTHOR BIO:

Zoe is a freelance writer, researcher and media adviser

 

 

BOOK BLURB:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers. Available on Amazon

 

 

Location: 64033 Bisenti, Province of Teramo, Italy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Madonna by Kate Bristow

Image
    Saving Madonna by Kate Bristow   SUMMARY: Inspired by real events, an unforgettable story of love, courage and sacrifice to save a country’s heritage. Italy 1943. As the Allies bomb Milan, Elena Marchetti reluctantly gives up her coveted job as an art curator in the city to return to her family farm near Urbino. She takes up a new role assisting Pasquale Rotondi, the Superintendent of Arts in the region, in protecting works of art from all over Italy that have been hidden in the relative safety of the countryside. At a family celebration, Elena reunites with Luca, a close childhood friend. A shattering event instigated by the occupying Germans deepens their relationship, and they start planning a life together. When rumours surface that Italy’s art is being stolen by the German occupiers, Pasquale hatches an audacious plan to rescue the priceless paintings in his possession. Elena and Luca are forced to make an impossible decision: will they embark on a dangerous miss
Read more

Abruzzo Intrigue by Bluette Matthey

Image
    Abruzzo Intrigue By Bluette Matthey SUMMARY Hardy Durkin, owner of Durkin Tours brings a group of American middle-aged hikers to Abruzzo for a ten-day tour where they experience the unique culture, food and history of the region. Some of the characters are who they seem to be, but some are not. One member of the group, a grieving widow, plans to steal a precious religious relic from a church in Lanciano. The book is a collision of values and traditions while hiking through the often-overlooked beauty of ancient Abruzzo.   MY REVIEW: This book is a fusion of an Agatha Christie detective novel with a unique travel guide. A murder or two, a robbery, drama and colourful suspects. Even Guiseppe, the minibus driver behaves in a furtive way. It is quite a complex plot, twisting and turning to heighten the intrigue. The backdrop is the ‘green heart’ of Europe, the region of Abruzzo so there are many references to many places which the reader would find familiar. We are told t
Read more

The Girl Who Escaped By Angela Petch

Image
    The Girl Who Escaped By Angela Petch Description Italy, 1940. The girl sobs and rages as her father tells her the terrible news. “Italy is entering the war alongside Germany. Jews are to be arrested and sent to camps. We have to be ready.” As fascists march across the cobbled piazzas and past the towered buildings of her beloved home city, twenty-year-old  Devora ’s worst fears come true. Along with her Jewish parents and twin little brothers they are torn away from everything they love and sent to an internment camp huddled in the mountains. Her father promises this war will not last long… When they are offered a miraculous chance of escape by her childhood friend  Luigi , who risks everything to smuggle vital information into the camp, the family clambers under barbed wire and races for the border. But Devora is forced to make a devastating choice between saving a stranger’s life and joining her parents. As shots fire in the moonless night,  the family is separated. Haunted by th
Read more