Annie Hawes writes well about her life in Italy and is both fun and interesting. She views the life of her Italian relatives with love and on occasion incredulity. Her books do not show a life that is impossibly romantic or a constant trail around cultural and foodie establishments. She writes about people and their stories and life and is all the more enjoyable for this. She takes me straight to the warmth and beauty of southern Italy. Being able to speak Italian and now being part of a family she is able to both know what would baffle an English audience and explain some of those inexplicable things or tell her reader what is going on so that you can make your own mind up. For those of us who love Italy and want to understand the culture, this is fantastic. ( )

I married a man from Calabria. Though we live in the USA, so many things in this book were so similar to my experiences with his family that reading the book was like talking with someone who understood their quirks and idiosyncrasies. It was a lighthearted look at the culture and people of southern Italy. ( )

Mielenkiintoista oli lukea "paikallisnäkemyksen" värittämää kuvausta köyhästä Etelä-Italiasta, Calabrian maakunnasta, jossa itsekin on ollut. Tarinana kuitenkin melko tasapaksua ja pinnallista rapsutusta. ( )

Not as good as the first two, but still enjoyable. I did like the inclusion of Calabrian history tidbits, since I knew nothing about it. ( )