REVIEWS Books Galore

I A Georgia peach
With his debut novel, Whispering Tides, author GUIDO MATTIONI sets the action in Savannah, Ga., a place the author has visited annually since the 1990s. Main character and Milan native Alberto Landi finds himself transported there after losing his wife of 23 years. With the help of many dear friends colorful human characters as well as wise animals he begins to rebuild his life. But in true Savannah fashion, Landis dreams of redemption run smack up against unexpected obstacles that drive the books narrative. A native of Udine, Italy, and a Milan resident, Mattioni is a former fulltime journalist who still contributes to Italian national dailies and magazines. He also has produced this novel in an Italian version, Ascoltavo Le Maree. (amazon.com)

I Traces of Rome
Although the Roman Empire was eventually vanquished, it has never vanished. In The Roman Provence Guide, author EDWIN MULLINS shares his knowledge of known sites and hidden traces of the empire within the presentday and historical boundaries of Caesars Province of Rome. In Provence particularly, Julius Caesars grandiose plans live on in countless ruined aqueducts, monuments, triumphal arches, roads, temples, amphitheaters, baths, ramparts, and other astonishing feats of engineering and architecture. Part-historical account, part-travelers companion, The Roman Provence Guide puts in context Romes 600-year rule of ancient Provence, which also included regions of the Pyrenees, Alps and Rhne Valley. It also includes maps, site photos, a list of museums and visitor centers, and a further reading list. (amazon.com)

I Soul food
Performer ANTOINETTE SILICATO combines her two loves singing and Sicilian food in Soulful Sicilian Cooking. Each recipe is associated with a song the author learned during her three-year stay on the island to find her roots. I enjoyed everything about Sicily, the beautiful seas, their relaxed lifestyle, and how everyone walks in their communities both day and night, she says. Its a real social society with people taking the time to stop and talk to one another. Sicily is magically romantic in a wonderfully mysterious way, and it completely consumes and embraces me with its charms. Published by Legas, the collection contains 61 recipes from family and friends in and around Taormina, plus four recipes from local restaurants. (www.antoinettesilicato.com)

I Family strife
In the novel In the Twilight of the Moon, DOMINIC SPANO follows three brothers in Toronto who struggle to find a workable middle ground as they vie for an emotionally distant fathers approval. Their only sense of stability comes from their wise Uncle Frankie, who consistently reflects their Calabrian family values back to them. Spano takes on tough themes, from family dysfunction to dementia in elderly parents, as his turbulent coming-ofage story takes shape. Add to that the collision between traditional Calabrian culture and urban Anglo society, and youve got the makings of a gritty novel that ultimately unveils a core of redemption: As the family patriarchs become infirm with age, the brothers must come to terms with it. (amazon.com)

I Justice denied
For 16 years, Chuck Panici successfully ran Chicago Heights as its mayor, creating an electoral army that made him among the most powerful politicians in Illinois. But that all came crashing down in 1993, when he was convicted with two co-defendants of federal corruption charges. He spent much of the next decade in federal prison, but was the conviction legitimate? MICHAEL VOLPE explores that question in Prosecutors Gone Wild: The Inside Story of the Trial of Chuck Panici, John Gliottoni and Louise Marshall. Volpe says his book proves once and for all that Panici, Gliottoni and Marshall were all innocent and victims of a system that was determined to convict them, no matter how weak the evidence was. (amazon.com)

I Smokin-hot tale
Leave it to a fireman to write a debut novel about an Italian-American firefighter whose escapades get him tangled up with two al Qaeda operatives. In Soft Target, author MARK YOST (whose last name was Anglicized from Nobile) sets the action in Highwood, a traditionally Italian-American enclave. Hero-protagonist Nick Mattera comes home after surviving four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Marine Corps bomb squad technician. Nick becomes a young hotshot at his fire department, until he runs into Abdullah and Jhalil. The two al Qaeda terrorists come to Chicago with one goal: kill Jewish Americans and open up a whole new front in the War on Terror. Soft Target is the first in a planned four-book series. (amazon.com)

FRA NOI

January 2013

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