Intertwining Lives

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza is an enthralling dual timeline novel that I just could not put down.

The action is set in present day and from 1908-1925. We begin in America and travel to Sicily in present day and backwards through the years as a character searches for the truth as to what happened to her Great Grandmother. Stories have traveled down the years. But what is the truth? We all need to know where we come from.

This is a book about the roles of women. In both time periods, men like to think they are in charge as they bully those around them… but the women have a tough inner core, and prove to be resourceful.

As we, and a character in present day, uncover the Great Grandmother’s story, we find a woman ahead of her times. She is very intelligent and has been held back by the conventions of the time. Women, with knowledge about medicinal herbs, were often seen as witches and shunned. They were, in fact, healers and often proved to be life-savers to those who came to them for help.

Jo Piazza brings the Sicilian landscape to life with her words. It is a hot, sultry landscape with a delicious cuisine. There is a vibrancy not found in New York. All of the reader’s senses are assaulted in a good way.

There is the theme of sacrificial love. We witness the lengths a mother will go to, for the good of her children.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Sicilian Inheritance. It was the perfect read on a grey spring day as it brought colour into my life.

I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

JULIA WILSON