A House in Sicily

Rating:
Summary: A House in Sicily
Review: A friend gave me the book as I was planning to vacation in Sicily...what a delight! The Sicilians come alive in Daphne Phelps wonderful book and I quite literally could not put it down. Each chapter chronicles another person, many of them famous, but I found the stories of the Sicilians the most enjoyable. This remarkable Englishwoman moved to Sicily more than 50 years ago and her life is to be marveled at. I have recommended the book to so many friends and we have formed an unofficial "Daphne Phelps Fan Club"...if only she would keep writing!

Rating:
Summary: Not complete
Review: A fun book to read.Unfortunately for me I wish I learned more about the Sicilian character.

I found Ms. LiCastri-Babcock review right on target.

Ms. Phelps was not very generous in describing obvious romatic interludes. After all she was in Sicily.

Rating:
Summary: "50 years in Sicily and I'm still English!"
Review: Another "Stranger in a Strange Land" story of the Mayles variety. This time our narrator is an Englishwoman who inherits a house in Sicily and turns it into a guest house in order to make ends meet. With guests like Bertrand Russell, Henry Faulkner, and Roald Dahl this could have been interesting. Instead it's more stories of "how quaint these people are," even the local mafia chief! Lacking depth and detail, this book substitutes cute stories of the people and their way of life. Even the stories that were humorous are retold rather archly and with a disaffected attitude.

Rating:
Summary: "50 years in Sicily and I'm still English!"
Review: Another "Stranger in a Strange Land" story of the Mayles variety. This time our narrator is an Englishwoman who inherits a house in Sicily and turns it into a guest house in order to make ends meet. With guests like Bertrand Russell, Henry Faulkner, and Roald Dahl this could have been interesting. Instead it's more stories of "how quaint these people are," even the local mafia chief! Lacking depth and detail, this book substitutes cute stories of the people and their way of life. Even the stories that were humorous are retold rather archly and with a disaffected attitude.

Rating:
Summary: A House in Sicily
Review: Antonina LiCastri-Boocock would like to respond to Salvatore, who in his review of A House in Sicily, refers to my review from a male perpective, and to leave the Machismo at home.
Please note that I am a woman and my perspective was from a
Sicilian woman, not that of a man.

Thank you,

Antonina LiCastri-Boocock

Rating:
Summary: Different edition?
Review: Appalled by the uniformly tepid reader reviews, I paid particular attention to Ms. Phelps's mention of attractive Sicicilian women and found several, also very positive expositions of local character, scenery, and social mores. The tradition in travel writing is abundant with examples of "scoring off the natives" -- how about Theroux, Morris, Morton, James, and on and on? Considering her socio-economic background, why should this not be expressed unless we are all supposed to start from an assumption of political correctness that disregards reality and humor?

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Having just read this book, I longed for it to have been written by her uncle Don Roberto, as the Sicilian people fondly called him. I don't believe Ms. Phelps has such a fond nickname for herself by the Sicilians, because her book clearly shows her disdain for these people. I was born in Sicily and am married to an English man, so I looked forward to this book, I was so appalled at Ms. Phelps' Anglocentric and haughty descriptions of the Sicilian people. She never learned anything from them, and remained a little provincial woman, even though her guests were wordly, and she travelled a bit when she was younger. Surely in her fifty years there she saw a beautiful woman who was sicilian with dark skin and dark eyes, I certainly never heard her once say so in her book, the only beauties were fair skinned and fair haired. It is a pity, that the outside world will learn so little of the true Sicilians from this book, how very generous and giving they really are, which Ms. Phelps mentions every so often, they gave her everthing, what did she ever give them I wonder?

Sincerely,

Antonina LiCastri-Boocock

Rating:
Summary: A reader from East Tennessee
Review: Hey guys why beat up on poor Daphne. I give it 5 stars because she was truthful about how she saw things and people. It wasn't that bad, just a look at Sicilian life from a different generation. Her take on the characters around her was very interesting.

Rating:
Summary: A Best Read-From An American Sicilian
Review: I am a Sicilian American of 2nd generation. My father was born in Sicily and my mother's parents are both Sicilian. My entire family went to Sicily last July (2001) and we found Ms. Phelps book to be entertaining, respectful and delightful. In response to the critique by Antonina LiCastri-Boocock who is Sicilian: "Please leave the machismo at home." Ms. Phelps was very respectful of both the people and place of Sicily. My entire family is reading this book and has enjoyed it all the same. This book is a five star read. It is refreshing to see a dignified outside look at Sicily from an English perspective. (If Ms. Phelps supposedly had so much disdain for Sicily, why did she stay so long?) Antonina could not give insight other than from a Sicilian male perspective. I am very traditional, but I give credit where credit is do. If you are American, you will not like this book but love it. If you are Sicilian, I bet you will probably love all the more. The Sicilian people are a loving, lovely people and I believe that all of the characters that Ms. Phelps wrote about would be more than honored by her writings.

Salvatore

Rating:
Summary: This book needs help!
Review: I picked up this book in preparation for a trip to Sicily. I wanted to learn something about the Sicilian landscape and people.

Ms. Phelps presents an extremely xenophobic view of the Sicilian people. I grew tired of her descriptions of her Sicilian neighbors as being illiterate peasants. Her statement that she must always remember to never marry an Italian enraged me! (And I am not even Italian.)

Ms. Phelps spends a great deal of time discussing friends, many of whom are quite famous. Her "amusing anecdotes" seem to consist soley of comments on their vices (sexual, drunkeness, etc.) Yet, she herself is presented as almost a Saint.

Saint Daphne does share tales of herself: Daphne refusing the advances of Italian peasants, Daphne giving to charity, Daphne single-handedly reviving the economy and culture of the entire city of Taormina. (The Sicilians really seemed to have nothing at all to do with it - in the World According to Ms. Phelps.)

Ms. Phelps does give wonderful descriptions of the Sicilian landscape. If you read solely for these passages, you will get something out of this book. However, as a whole, the book stands out as a prejudiced account of English Superiority. The White Man's Burden lives on!