{"product_id":"9780345497666","title":"That Summer in Sicily: A Love Story","description":"\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Contributor(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003ede Blasi, Marlena\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBallantine Books\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e5\/19\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003ePaperback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNEW\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “At villa Donnafugata, long ago is never very far  away,” writes bestselling author Marlena de Blasi of the magnificent if somewhat  ruined castle in the mountains of Sicily that she finds, accidentally, one summer  while traveling with her husband, Fernando. There de Blasi is befriended by Tosca,  the patroness of the villa, an elegant and beautiful woman-of-a-certain-age who recounts  her lifelong love story with the last prince of Sicily descended from the French  nobles of Anjou.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sicily is a land of contrasts: grandeur and poverty, beauty and  sufferance, illusion and candor. In a luminous and tantalizing voice, \u003ci\u003eThat Summer  in Sicily\u003c\/i\u003e re-creates Tosca’s life, from her impoverished childhood to her fairy-tale  adoption and initiation into the glittering life of the prince’s palace, to the dawning  and recognition of mutual love. But when Prince Leo attempts to better the lives  of his peasants, his defiance of the local Mafia’s grim will to maintain the historical  imbalance between the haves and the have-nots costs him dearly.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The present-day  narrative finds Tosca sharing her considerable inherited wealth with a harmonious  society composed of many of the women–now widowed–who once worked the prince’s land  alongside their husbands. How the Sicilian widows go about their tasks, care for  one another, and celebrate the rituals of a humble, well-lived life is the heart  of this book.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Showcasing the same writerly gifts that made bestsellers of\u003ci\u003e A Thousand  Days in Venice\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Thousand Days in Tuscany\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThat Summer in Sicily\u003c\/i\u003e, and de Blasi’ s marvelous storytelling, remind us that in order to live a rich life, one must embrace  both life’s sorrow and its beauty. Here is an epic drama that takes readers from  Sicily’s remote mountains to chaotic post-war Palermo, from the intricacies of forbidden  love to the havoc wreaked by Sicily’s eternally bewildering culture.","brand":"Ballantine Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43352092967167,"sku":"9780345497666","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0452\/0886\/2873\/files\/9780345497666_s600x595.jpg?v=1780335798","url":"https:\/\/massivebookshop.com\/products\/9780345497666","provider":"MASSIVE BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}