BLOG: FAR FETCHED OR SPOT ON?
Reader reviews of HEAD OVER HEEL and SIESTA ITALIANA continue to arrive, many from Italian ex-pats with similar opinions of 'home'.
Peter from Milan wrote:
Ciao Crris! You perfectly described Italy and its inhabitants. How accurate, how sensitive and how funny! Everything is so true in it. I'm still reading the book, still enjoying it and I hope it would not finish. Good luck to you and your wife Daniela. I look forward to read more about you and your adventures in Italy. It's a great country and worth to live in it! Ciao e auguri, Peter
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Andrea Abate from Italy wrote:
Dear Chris, I am reading the German version of your book "Siesta italiana" and I find it very amusing and interesting. Your description of people and situations is so realistic that I identify myself with you. That's strange for a person that actually comes from Salento! I was born in Galatina, a few kilometers from Andrano, but I now live in Germany. What about an Italian translation of your book? It would be a pity if (Southern) Italians missed a clear portrait of themselves, made by a careful and smart observer! They could learn a lot by looking at their "external" image. I send you best regards, Andrea
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Bernadette Duerr from Zurich wrote:
I love your book very much. It was such a pleasure to read. I enjoyed every page and laughed a lot. But why is the book not translated in Italian? Since we bought a house in the Salento I know what you are talking about. I gave your book to my neighbour in the Salento who speaks German. She had to go to hospital and met some of the characters from your book. They were pleased and amused and of course they all want to read it. I hope to see you one day at the beach. Greetings from Switzerland, Bernadette.
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Regula Aebi from Switzerland wrote:
Dear Chris, it is Sunday evening and I have just finished reading your book in German. I felt so familiar with lots of small remarks and situations you describe, the love and hate one feels while living in Italy, that I could not stop reading. I am untipically Swiss, therefore I did not clean my house for the weekend. I neglected everything for the book. There is still a smile on my face and, with a lot of memories and a kind of longing for Italy, I will go to bed soon. The book is brilliant. I wish you and Daniela all the best. Swiss Greetings, Regula
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Francesca from Australia wrote:
Just wanted to congratulate you on being the first person to capture southern Italy in such a magnificent and amusing way. My husband, who's as Aussie as Vegemite, gave it to me on Christmas day and I couldn't put it down! Sydney to Hobart and cricket on Boxing Day were forgotten as soon as I started reading. Buon anno, Francesca.
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Rosalba Demarte from Australia wrote:
I've just finished reading your book and I loved every word. I usually read very fast but your book was so wonderful I slowed down because I wanted to savour it. Is there going to be a sequel? I read The White Masai by Corinne Hofmann and she said that she received so many emails from her readers begging her to write a sequel that she had no choice but write TWO more. I hope you'll do the same. I feel like I know you and Daniela very well because I have lots of things in common with both of you and I'd love to know what happened after your wedding. Ciao, Rosalba
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Thomas Decker from Germany wrote:
Congratulations on your book! I am married to an Italian woman who also comes from Puglia. I find your observations on Italy and the Italians very true and right to the point. When I got your book as a present I was expecting another story full of cliches but was surprised how much more substantial your observations are. Congratulations and best regards, Thomas.
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Andrea Wolf from Austria wrote:
Dear Crris, I just finished your book and wanted to tell you how I incredibly enjoyed every single chapter, every little story and the fascinating characters. I was really disappointed when it finished!! Thank you so much for this wonderful book and please do not stop writing stories. All the best for your culturally-split future, Andrea.
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Georg Droste from Germany wrote:
Ciao Chris, when you described Daniela's father arriving at the wedding I had tears in my eyes. Thank you so much!! Not only in this part of the book I have felt your love for the Salento's people. I'm German and my wife is from Ortelle. 'Sicuramente' you passed it going to Poggiardo, Maglie ... So we can say that everything you wrote is true. At Christmas we will make it 'pieno' at Signor Api's. Un bacione, Georg ed Enza.
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Melinda Roberts from Australia wrote:
I have literally just finished reading your book. It was passed on to me by my mother to whom it was given by her sister who bought it after her first trip back to Italy after nearly 50 years. My aunt left Italy when she was 4 and my mother was 8. They came from Calabria. My Father came out when he was 21 and he is from the south of Italy also. I have had the honour of having visited 3 times already. Once with my Australian husband Steeeve, as they say in Italy or Stefano, never grasping his real name, Stephen. I loved your story and the way you described Italy. On my third visit I found myself quite frustrated and wondered why. But thanks to your book its quite clear now. Great for a holiday but not a lifetime. Thankfully my parents feel the same. Thanks for a great journey through southern Italy, really a place like no other and I look forward to reading more of your books. Regards, Melinda
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Mario Agostino from Italy wrote:
Hi Crris! Siesta Italiana - what a wonderful book! I read it within a couple of days. A lot of situations you described sounded very familiar to me. I'm from Italy and live in Switzerland (actually my parents emigrated from Calabria in 1959) and more than that: my aunt, my uncle and my cousins live in Perth, Australia and I visited them 3 times. What a wonderful country! Cheers, Mario
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Maria Borgia from Melbourne wrote:
I have just finished reading your book, where I laughed and cried. Being first generation Australian born to parents from the south of Italy, also married to an Aussie, I don't know if I should congratulate you or perhaps not for your no-holds-bared description of the birth place of my parents, from the toe of the boot. It made me proud and sad at the same time. I can't believe people have to live like that, to think Italians can be so mean and callous to their countrymen. My father, who passed away in 1997, loved his 63-acre farm on the outskirts of Colac, 200 kms south west of Melbourne. He had found his paradise after leaving Calabria, vowing never to return. Thank you for your book, it was honest albeit frightening at times, not to mention very funny. I could relate to many of your experiences, also facing diffuculties growing up as a minority and the feeling of not being Australian at home and not considered Italian in Italy. But, just like you, I can pick the best out of both my worlds, which adds richness to my life if not frustration at times. Many thanks, Maria Borgia
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Nicole Watzke from Berlin wrote:
I just finished reading your book "Siesta Italiana". Such books you feel really sorry when you arrive at the last page! Thank you for making me laughing a lot. I myself (I am German) lived in Italy for 5 years, first in Milan and then in Rome. I came back to Germany at the beginning of the year, obviously missing Italy and trying to get used to the life in Germany - not easy. Wouldn't you like to write a second book continuing after the marriage and about your new life in England? (I imagine it is not easy to live in London after years of sunny weather). Compliments for the fantastic book! Lots of greetings from Berlin, Nicole
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Noelle Truscott from Australia wrote:
Have just finished Head Over Heel and loved it. I have read many books on Italy and must say that this book was the best - a really great insight into Italian life. My husband and I travelled Sicily and Southern Italy so we could identify so much with the beautiful but rugged land. Will pass this one on to my friends to enjoy. Regards, Noelle
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Corinne Prete from Switzerland wrote:
I bought your book in Switzerland before we went to Italy for our annual vacation. I didn't know that Andrano is so close to Parabita, where my husband is from! So I was reading your book while I had in front of me the Ionian Sea and on one side Gallipoli. And I couldn't stop reading because it was so funny. Finally someone has written exactly what I lived in the past, my same thoughts. The first time my husband took me to southern Italy I saw the same things you did. In Parabita the fruit seller passes after the mattress seller! Thank you for this funny book. Is there an Italian edition? Corinne
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Diana from Germany wrote:
I would like to thank you for this wonderful book which is much more than a simple love story. Since 22 years I know what it means being in love with an Italian. I often laughed during reading, almost cried but most of all I got the feeling you wrote all this describing my Italian family. For sure I will reread and enjoy it again. Mi hai fatto un grande piacere. Ciao, Diana
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