{"product_id":"seeking-sicily-a-cultural-journey-through-myth-and-reality-in-the-heart-of-the-mediterranean-9780312597054","title":"Seeking Sicily: A Cultural Journey Through Myth and Reality in the Heart of the Mediterranean","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Keahey's exploration of this misunderstood island offers a much-needed look at a much-maligned land.\"--Paul Paolicelli, author of Under the Southern Sun\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSicily is the Mediterranean's largest and most mysterious island. Its people, for three thousand years under the thumb of one invader after another, hold tightly onto a culture so unique that they remain emotionally and culturally distinct, viewing themselves first as Sicilians, not Italians. Many of these islanders, carrying considerable DNA from Arab and Muslim ancestors who ruled for 250 years and integrated vast numbers of settlers from the continent just ninety miles to the south, say proudly that Sicily is located north of Africa, \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e south of Italy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eSeeking Sicily \u003c\/i\u003eexplores what lies behind the soul of the island's inhabitants. It touches on history, archaeology, food, the Mafia, and politics and looks to nineteenth- and twentieth-century Sicilian authors to plumb the islanders' so-called \u003ci\u003eSicilitudine\u003c\/i\u003e. This \"culture apart\" is best exemplified by the writings of one of Sicily's greatest writers, Leonardo Sciascia. \u003ci\u003eSeeking Sicily\u003c\/i\u003e also looks to contemporary Sicilians who have never shaken off the influences of their forbearers, who believed in the ancient gods and goddesses. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAuthor John Keahey is not content to let images from the island's overly touristed villages carry the story. Starting in Palermo, he journeyed to such places as Arab-founded Scopello on the west coast, the Greek ruins of Selinunte on the southwest, and Sciascia's ancestral village of Racalmuto in the south, where he experienced unique, local festivals. He spent Easter Week in Enna at the island's center, witnessing surreal processions that date back to Spanish rule. And he learned about Sicilian cuisine in Spanish Baroque Noto and Greek Siracusa in the southeast, and met elderly, retired fishermen in the tiny east-coast fishing village of Aci Trezza, home of the mythical Cyclops and immortalized by Luchino Visconti's mid-1940s film masterpiece, \u003ci\u003eLa terra trema\u003c\/i\u003e. He walked near the summit of Etna, Europe's largest and most active volcano, studied the mountain's role in creating this island, and looked out over the expanse of the Ionian Sea, marveling at the three millennia of myths and history that forged Sicily into what it is today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John Keahey\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Thomas Dunne Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/08\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.70w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780312597054\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/08\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2011 pg. 20\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2011 pg. 98\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJOHN KEAHEY is a veteran newspaper journalist who, since 1989, has been a reporter and news editor for The Salt Lake Tribune. He has a history degree from the University of Utah and spends as much time as possible in Italy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"John Keahey \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47449695518877,"sku":"9780312597054","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_3a65549d-245b-43bb-b4ca-4f3069ac7b03.jpg?v=1764248807","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/seeking-sicily-a-cultural-journey-through-myth-and-reality-in-the-heart-of-the-mediterranean-9780312597054","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}