4 out of 5 stars
The publisher provided a copy of this, free of charge, in return for an honest review.
In the Spring of 2023, Ros Belford was back in Salina. A tiny island just off the coast of Sicily. It had been a while since she had been there, but the memories of that time came flooding back fully, when she stood outside the house she lived in with her daughters. The thought of breaking in as she had to do when she had forgotten her key, crosses her mind. She would love to see what the inside is like now and to bring back more memories. She doesn’t. But she does find a stone her daughters had painted of the volcano they could see from the house. She picks that up and walks away
Her earlier memories were from 2004 when her circumstances changed; splitting up from the father of her girls and a paid opportunity to update a guidebook meant that she could take them to Italy, a place she loves so much. The first trip was to Sicily and then on to Favignana. Their arrival in Sicily is an assault on the senses; the noise and the smells, the hot air blowing their hair from the open car window as it hurtles down the motorway to Trapani to catch the hydrofoil to Favignana. They arrive and just need to find somewhere to live.
She finds a room in Villa Antonella. It will do for the short term, but she needs to rent somewhere as the budget will not stretch to a hotel room for the duration. They settle into life on the island and start to get to know people.
Belford finds a suitable and affordable place to rent and moves in one evening after hurriedly buying bedding. Within a few days, it feels like home with toys and clothes strewn about the house. Life begins to feel normal once again, developing routines that fit their life there. They stay for the summer and then another opportunity to update a guidebook for Sicily comes up. When they are on the way over there, her daughter asks what those specs in the distance are. It turns out that they are the Aeolian islands and the memory of a conversation with a food critic surfaces, they loved the island of Salina.
She knew they had found their next place to live.
They travel the island on the bus, watching the raptors hanging in the air, noting the colours in the landscape as they pass. In the distance is the island of Stromboli with smoke rising from its active conical volcano. The bus driver tells them they may be able to see the lava at night.
She meets Emma, an English lady who had moved to the island to marry someone. It is the start of a long friendship. It feels, as the bus driver said, that the island has found them. As they get to know the locals, someone recommends a property to rent. It is a bit of a mess, but the view from the terrace is what sells it to her. Belford knows they will be happy there.
I really liked this book about the tiny islands of Sicily. It brought back happy memories of a holiday we had on the island in 2019. Belford’s writing is evocative, painting a picture of the landscape and the rich tapestry of life on this island. I liked the addition of two essays by her daughters at the end of the book too. They appreciated what their mother had done for them in their formative years and how living there had shaped their own lives for the good. I thought this was well worth reading.
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How interesting and lovely that there’s a bit from the daughters at the end – a bit like the introduction to The Fat of the Land which I just read.
It was a really nice touch. I haven’t read The Fat of The Land yet!