- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Bantam; illustrated edition edition (1 Sep 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553814656
- ISBN-13: 978-0553814651
- Product Dimensions: 1.9 x 13.3 x 19.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
330,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #53 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Europe > Italy > Cities & Regions > Sicily
- #76 in Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Mary I
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More About the Author
Product Description
New York Times
'The poignant story of a Sicilian woman…an astonishing account'
Independent
'An autobiography you can taste...Her grim, if intriguing story has a happy ending' (The Ten Best Autobiographies)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I don't agree with the previous review, I found the story fascinating. The recipes are to die for....I had to make the amaretti 3 times this Christmas just to have enough for Xmas lunch because as soon as they came out of the oven they were eaten. You don't have to be a student of 'sugarcraft' at all, the recipes are simple, anybody who can use a wooden spoon and a mixing bowl can cope. I have since bought another copy of the book for a friend.
10 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is neither a detailed insight into a vanished way of life, nor a particularly useful resource for recipes. I may be biased because I took it on holiday and was expecting to be entertained, and found myself wondering why the biographer hadn't asked Maria's contemporaries what they remembered of the Convent and what her siblings' memories of that time were, what the villagers knew of the Convent and its inhabitants, all manner of questions were unanswered. In all, I felt the biographer just wasn't up to her job, the images weren't convincing and the recipe section could have been much better, perhaps more effort would tempt the reader to try the recipes for themselves. I don't think this is a book for a casual reader, but students of sugarcraft might borrow a copy from the library.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating history, definitive flavor
13 April 1998
Format:Hardcover
I believe this is one of the most underrated cookbooks in terms of awards (Child, Beard, etc.) and public attention. I LOVED the story, and I feel like I was allowed to have something very personal, special and unique in the recipes which are exquisite. Had I not known a wonderful Italian lady (Carmel Anthony) and tasted her special cookies, however, I may not have known enough to get this book. You'll love it!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Remarks from a Sicilian Girl
17 Sep 2001
Format:Hardcover
I have just returned from Sicily where I visited Maria's shop and saw the convent where her childhood was spent. I wish I would have read the book before my visit. The smell of almond pastries led me right up the narrow street and to the pastries and candies in her shop, and they are marvelous. The convent is just a short walk up the street from her shop, in the square. The recipes she shares in the book are uncomplicated and simply delicious. Her story is not embellished. There is no polished prose. It is as she saw it and lived it and has told it with her unique Sicilian expression. I enjoyed reading it and I will continue to enjoy her recipes.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Bitter Almonds...Sweet Read
6 Jan 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
To sit in Maria Grammatico's world-famous pastry shop in stunningly beautiful Erice, on the top of a mountain in northwest Sicily, having a caffe and eating her delicious Genovesi, is to be a little nearer to heaven...figuratively, if not literally. Her feistiness and strength of character mitigated a rather difficult early life and made Maria into the success she is today. This brief, but delightful, autobiography (aided by Mary Taylor Simeti, a wonderful author in her own right), along with her terrific and not particularly difficult recipes, forms a sweet read.
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