Sunflower Publishing Book Reviews

    Lorenzo’s Vest  by Graham Hofmann SUMMARY Lorenzo's Vest offers an entertaining understanding of Italy and Italians as observed through the eyes of a straniero. (foreigner) It gives the reader, in just a few pages, a real insight into the Italy of the past, its history, its politics and its struggle to become a modern nation; questioning those who still suggest that true Italian nationhood has yet to be achieved. This insight extends to painting a vivid picture of life in Italy today, the exquisite joys to be absorbed, alongside the frustrations of experiencing life in the Green Heart of Italy, a truly wonderful part of the country. Graham takes you by the hand as you join him on his journey as a Brit into the everyday world of Umbria. The journey vividly shows his day-to-day life as a part-time visitor, immersion into the local community, his experiences and the colourful characters that become friends on the way.   MY REVIEW: I enjoyed this book. ...

                                                              The Tuscan Secret By Angela Petch SUMMARY: ll Mulino. An old crumbling mill, by a winding river, nestled in the Tuscan mountains. An empty home that holds memories of homemade pasta and Nonna’s stories by the fire, and later: the Nazi invasion, and a family torn apart by a heartbreaking betrayal. Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalizing promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within.  The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted ...

    A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietrantonio ( translated by Anne Goldstein)   SUMMARY: Set against the stark, beautiful landscape of Abruzzo in central Italy, this is a compelling story about mothers and daughters, about responsibility, siblings, and caregiving. Without warning or explanation, an unnamed 13-year-old girl is sent away from the family she has always thought of as hers to live with her birth family: a large, chaotic assortment of individuals whom she has never met and who seem anything but welcoming. Thus begins a new life, one of struggle, tension, and conflict, especially between the young girl and her mother. But in her relationship with Adriana and Vincenzo, two of her newly acquired siblings, she will find the strength to start again and to build a new and enduring sense of self.     MY REVIEW: This is a complex portrait of Italy that you do not see in the guidebooks. It is a powerful story and digs deep into the meaning...

                                 The Fashion Lovers Guide to Milan By Rachael Martin SUMMARY Milan is the European fashion capital with one of the world's most unique luxury fashion districts where the leaders of some of the most exclusive fashion houses are still living and working today. It's the Italian city whose skyline has changed more than any, and whose fashion industry has extended to encompass the worlds of design, restaurants, bars, exhibition spaces, hotels and more. Whether you're looking for designer labels within the city's luxury fashion district, prefer to browse the city's boutiques or pick up some quality vintage at the city's vintage shops and markets, this is the guide that will tell you where to go. Split into geographical sections along with relevant maps, cultural highlights and suggestions for where to eat and drink, it places Milan as the city of fashion within the contex...

  Two Women in Rome By Elizabeth Buchan SUMMARY: Lottie Archer arrives in Rome excited to begin her new job as an archivist. When she discovers a valuable fifteenth-century painting, she is drawn to find out more about the woman who left it behind, Nina Lawrence. Nina seems to have led a rewarding and useful life, restoring Italian gardens to their full glory following the destruction of World War Two. So why did no one attend her funeral in 1978? In exploring Nina's past, Lottie unravels a tragic love story beset by the political turmoil of post-war Italy. And as she edges closer to understanding Nina, she begins to confront the losses in her own life. MY REVIEW: T his is a powerful read and I almost feel that the understated and minimal title ‘Two Women in Rome’ belies a weighty and intricate storyline about Lottie and Nina. Two stories run in conjunction and are self-perpetuating. The more Lottie reads from Nina’s private journal, the more we discover about the lives of each...

    Preserving Italy   Domenica Marchetti SUMMARY: A wonderful collection of over 150 recipes for conserves, pickles, infusions, sauces, which capture the flavours of Italy. It is beautifully presented with a personal note to introduce each recipe, suggestions for how to use what you preserve, comprehensive instructions and illustrated with excellent photographs. The book also includes recipes for making cheese, curing meats, infusing liqueurs and some confectionary. Domenica grew up in an Italian family. Her mother is a native of Chieti, Abruzzo. Consequently, she and her sister were shaping gnocchi and ravioli by the time they could see over the kitchen counter. Her father’s parents were from Molise and Lazio. They spent their summers travelling all around Italy when she was growing up.   MY REVIEW: I love all recipe books but this one has an honest and simple authenticity, written not just from a love of food but to uncover and preserve recipes whi...

    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 ea...