On Persephone's Island: A Sicilian Journal

Simeti feels the isolation of being an expatriate and outsider, although she claims to welcome this perspective when faced with frustration and disgust at the pervading political corruption and corrosive effects of the Mafia on everyday life. Despite her natural diffidence, she shares personal insights that makeOn Persephone's Island as compelling as her prose. Simeti intersperses rich helpings of Sicilian history and culture with mundane events and insight into what motivates the peasants essential to the survival of the family farm. And she makes pessimistic observations about the complexity of changing times in a society where the persistent reliance on feudal relationships and agriculture is finally crumbling.

An academic manqué, Simeti researches and ruminates on the mythological underpinnings of the many holidays and festivals that punctuate the rhythm of Sicilian life. She focuses particularly on the Greek goddesses Persephone and Demeter, who held Sicily under their protection. She eventually discovers a correlation between her own situation and the story of Persephone, who alternately inhabited the worlds of light and darkness.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn about the real Sicily.


Beautifully descriptive portrayal of Sicily   June 22, 2000
35 out of 36 found this review helpful

This is one of the loveliest books I've read in a longtime...so much so that I ended up travelling to Sicily, dog-eared bookin tow, to taste the pasta reale (marzipan) and arancini di riso (rice croquettes), stay at Villa Igiea in Palermo, visit the temple of Segesta, and meet the warm, friendly Sicilian people. This is a book to be savored. It is full of humor and tenderness. It is about living in Sicily, it is about Sicilian food and culture, and it is for folks who wish they could travel there and never will, as well as for those who vow that now, they really must see this phenomenal Italian island.


I loved this book.   September 29, 1999
LDAN920@AOL.COM Lucia D'Angelo (Philadelphia, PA)
29 out of 30 found this review helpful

Mary Simeti and I are star-crossed. We both had the exact experience with some notable difference. She married an Alcamese and stayed in Sicily. I married an Alcamese and brought him to America. I believe she made the wiser choice as her book clearly demonstrated to me that while an American can become a Sicilian, a Sicilian can never become a true American. I was impressed by her use of language and how she managed to masterfully depict Sicily. It is obvious that she has been seduced by the Sicilian way of life but still clings to her American origins. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person and she is as lovely as her book would convey. This is not just a book about Sicily--it is an intelligent, scholarly work from a writer mesmorized by a mysterious but wondrous culture. Although I had a special interest in this book, anyone who enjoys poetry and history disguised as prose will adore this book.


Leaves No Stone Unturned!   September 29, 2000
jumpy1 (New York, NY)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

She tells a very detailed story of Sicilian life, history, etc. I am enjoying every minute. It really takes me away from the NY subway, where I read it. It gets plodding at times but then she quickly gets interesting again - a pitfall of trying to tell it all in one book. You'll really feel like you've been there.


A delightful read   October 24, 1999
Thomas W. Salamone (Port Clinton, Ohio)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

Picked this book because of its previous rating and read it prior to visiting Sicily. I found the book a delightful read and Simeti's images to accurately describe the Sicily we saw four weeks after finishing the book. She describes well a beautiful and complex island as enjoyable to visit as her book is to read.