#bookreview – The Italian Thing by Patricia Salamone

What Amazon says

Join me in my hilarious recount of how I explored my heritage during a more-than-memorable trip to Sicily. I detail our adventures and misadventures as my husband and I visited our relatives in Naro. I share how we got to know the locals, their customs and lifestyle, and how everyone seemed to think that “everything will be fine” no matter what troubles they were in. During those weeks, we went through culture shock despite the fact that we are both Italian. In the end, it was “the Italian thing” in all of us that made ours an unforgettable trip!

My review

“Everything will be fine”, they all said, and of course it was. A light hearted and most amusing account of an Italian America couple’s holiday to Naro, Italy. Patricia and Mike travel from Florida in the USA to experience life with Mike’s relatives. They are Italian so it will be a doddle, they think. This book is a heart warming account of how very different life proves to be on the other side of the pond and how this couple come to realise that being an Italian in Italy is a little different from being an American of Italian extraction. They are welcomed, in what I came to think of as “true Italian style”, by their extended family as they all gathered for one fantastic meal after another to celebrate their American relatives visit to the continent. Mike and Patricia learn how to take a hand shower in the bath and how to mop up the bathroom from top to bottom afterwards, are introduced to the delicious joys of homemade bread, still warm from the oven and Patricia gets an opportunity to show off her own cooking skills when she make a tomato based sauce for a family event. Patricia also learns to drive like a real Italian and only scrapes the car once during the entire holiday. In addition to the delightful people, Patricia and Mike are introduced to the delights of Italian pastries, delicious food served on plastic plates and a toilet facility with no door. I read this book with my son, Michael, aged eleven, while my older son, Gregory, aged fourteen, listened. Michael was completely taken with the story and chose this book as the subject of his second term book review for school. He has been walking around ever since we read it telling me that everything, from not brushing his teeth to gobbling all the left overs is “the Italian thing!”. A truly worthwhile read for everyone and anyone who enjoys life and a jolly good laugh.

Reviews on Amazon

Five star review by Jay Dawes:

I have always wanted to visit Italy, such a timeless and beautiful country with so many interesting places to visit.

Reading “The Italian Thing” will be like going there and seeing the country through someone else’s eyes, I thought, expecting to find a country I was already familiar with. I was looking forward to the trip of a lifetime and the book did not disappoint. It was well written, full of all the wonderful scenery and architecture I have come to expect of the country.

However “The Italian Thing” isn’t about the country, not really, it is about the people and family. About the lives they live and the glorious food they eat.
“Everything will be fine” is the Italians hilarious answer to everything, and is the key to understanding their very different way of life.

I loved the touches of humour, the very descriptive narrative, and the loving but feisty relationship between Pat and Mike. Who were out of their depth, and up to their eyes in food of every delicious description. How they came home weighing less than before is remarkable!

Purchase The Italian Thing

You can buy this fantastic book here:

Follow Patricia Salamone

Blog: The Writers Desk https://the-italian-thing.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pattisalamone