Synopses & Reviews
In this sparkling book, Theresa Maggio takes us on a journey in search of Sicily's most remote and least explored mountain towns. Using her grandparent's ancestral village of Santa Margherita Belice as her base camp, she pores over old maps to plot her adventure, selecting as her targets the smallest dots with the most appealing names. Whether she's writing about the unique pleasures of Sicilian street food, the damage wrought by molten lava, the ancient traditions of Sicilian bagpipers, or the religious processions that consume entire villages for days on end, Maggio succeeds in transporting readers to a wholly unfamiliar world, where almonds flower in February and the water tastes of stone. A beautifully wrought meditation on time and place, The Stone Boudoir will be cherished by all who love fine travel writing.
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"Pristine prose unsullied by prettiness or sentimentality....this memoir offers an austerely voluptuous pleasure for anyone seeking the heart of Sicily." Booklist, starred review
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"While her fascination with the bedrock of Sicilian communities is evident, it's her quick understanding of the residents' humanity that brings the landscapes to life in this engaging travel memoir." Publishers Weekly
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"Deliciously descriptive." Boston Globe
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"Maggio's lyrical prose evokes sumptuous cuisine...and breathtaking scenery....Thoughtful character sketches render intriguing personalities....All these narrative strands are woven together in a compelling meditation on Sicilian culture." Kirkus Reviews
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"Maggio is a compelling writer eho can render even the simplest moments into sheer poetry....The Stone Boudoir is delightful." LA Times
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"A luminous portrait of a time and a place, interspersed with a wonderful cast of characters." Chicago Tribune
About the Author
Theresa Maggio grew up in the New Jersey Meadowlands, the granddaughter of Sicilian immigrants, and has worked as a freelance travel and science writer since the early 1990s. The author of Mattanza, which was names one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2000 by the L.A. Times and the Chritian Science Monitor, her work has appeared frequently in the New York Times, as well as The Financial Times, London Daily Telegraph, the New York Daily News, and Miami Herald, among other publications.