- Hardcover: 326 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber (Mar 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571199321
- ISBN-13: 978-0571199327
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,100,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
The Book Magazine
‘essential reading’
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
In 1995 Giulio Andreotti, seven-time prime minister of Italy, went on trial both for murder and for his association with the Sicilian mafia. "Midnight in Sicily" chronicles the development of the extraordinary events surrounding this scandal, exposing the sordid connection between Italy's politicians and organized crime.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read Peter Robb's capolavoro while on holiday in Sicily. My first two nights were in Palermo, where I noticed that once the shops close no one dares the time-honoured tradition of the evening passeggiata. And a day later, I read why, in Peter Robb's prose. You hear a footstep round a corner, a door shuts somewhere, but nowhere do you see the people. They vanish as night falls. What you sense in Sicily but can't explain, Peter Robb puts into words. It is better than any guidebook and the nearest you'll come to getting under the skin of the place. The book is a strange juxtaposition of topics. He can take you from a three-page history of caponata, quoting the Italian Mrs Beeton, Alda Busi, and Elizabeth David, to a harrowing account of Mafiosi murders, and all within the turn of a page. Yet none of this seems strange. I went from seeing women begging on the street with week-old babies in their arms to the jet-set Milanese within four hours - from Palermo to the Aeolian Islands in summer holiday mood. The book is both passion and sadness. The elements of life worth experiencing - in prose, even if you never have the chance to set foot in Sicily to experience them in the flesh.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'd just read Lampedusa's dazzling 'The Leopard' when I spotted this by chance in a bookshop and got hooked while flicking through.
I really enjoyed it. As other reviewers have noted, 'Midnight in Sicily' combines all sorts of aspects of Sicilian life and history, from the development of the fork to domestic violence. It gives a lot of jaw-dropping, eye-opening information about the mafia, and about how Cosa Nostra's influence had spread to politics and the Vatican before its existence was even acknowledged.
The book deals mainly with the period of time between the 40's and the 80's, and I thought it was a pity that it didn't run up to the present day - although this would probably be impossible.
Robb's heart seems to belong chiefly to Naples, and I found the chapters on Neapolitan life perhaps the most interesting.
I very much liked Robb's writing voice. The author clearly had a wide and detailed knowledge of his subject(s), but he never lectured, and managed the very difficult trick of balancing his own experiences and observances with an objective perspective. He was informed, discursive, conversational, intelligent without being stuck-up. And some of his descriptive writing is amazing.
If I were to make any criticisms, it would be that there was just a bit too much detail for my liking, some of it repetitive; and also that although the book's main subject by a country mile is the mafia, the way the book is marketed does not reflect this.
Highly recommended.
(F, 31)
I really enjoyed it. As other reviewers have noted, 'Midnight in Sicily' combines all sorts of aspects of Sicilian life and history, from the development of the fork to domestic violence. It gives a lot of jaw-dropping, eye-opening information about the mafia, and about how Cosa Nostra's influence had spread to politics and the Vatican before its existence was even acknowledged.
The book deals mainly with the period of time between the 40's and the 80's, and I thought it was a pity that it didn't run up to the present day - although this would probably be impossible.
Robb's heart seems to belong chiefly to Naples, and I found the chapters on Neapolitan life perhaps the most interesting.
I very much liked Robb's writing voice. The author clearly had a wide and detailed knowledge of his subject(s), but he never lectured, and managed the very difficult trick of balancing his own experiences and observances with an objective perspective. He was informed, discursive, conversational, intelligent without being stuck-up. And some of his descriptive writing is amazing.
If I were to make any criticisms, it would be that there was just a bit too much detail for my liking, some of it repetitive; and also that although the book's main subject by a country mile is the mafia, the way the book is marketed does not reflect this.
Highly recommended.
(F, 31)
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have been living in Sicily for many years and I can vouch for the accuracy of this account. It is all so true, I wish I could have written it myself. But I would never have had the courage. Thank you, Peter Robb, for having put together the pieces of the mosaic for us; the result is a chilling picture indeed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
NOT WHAT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE!
I was very disappointed with this book - it is neither one thing or the other - all over the place with food mixed in with the Mafia amongst other things - nothing seemed to reach... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Mrs. Judith Lugg
A Mixed Bag
Somewhere in this messy book there are two or three good books trying to get out. But they never quite make it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by T. Isitt
midnight in sicily
The contents of this title are largely taken up with recounting a series of murders by the Mafia in Sicily, to such an extent that the subtitle should be re-ordered to read "The... Read more
Published 7 months ago by quisisana
Apocalyptic vision of Sicily deserving consideration and doubt
Robb's book divides its characters into Black hats and White hats. This makes for exciting narrative and strong characterisation but it also leads to broad brush strokes. Read more
Published 9 months ago by John Harpur
Book. Quick delivery, unbeatable price.
Midnight in Sicily is a fascinating insight into the darker side of Italy . It is partly political, partly cultural and sociological. Read more
Published on 28 April 2010 by Mrs. C. Franklin
Somewhat Deeper than the Cover-blurb Sounds
The title is a bit misleading as the book is really about the south of Italy in general, particularly Naples and certain parts of Sicily, the infamous corruption that cripples the... Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2009 by D. Collier
Mafia History
The author of this book masterfully paints a realistic and hard hitting profile of The Mafia and all of its control of both Italian and World wide organised crime. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2009 by J THOMPSON
superb writing
This is a great book. The general focus of the narrative is the evolution of the links between the Sicilian mafia and high politicians in Italy post WW2, and their culmination in... Read more
Published on 6 Jun 2009 by rjw
Excellent, with reservations
This is an excellent book, but although there's some original stuff, it's really more a synthesis of the works of others than anything else. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2008 by R. S. Levy
Too much mafia, not enough art, food and literature.
I read Peter Robb's 'Death in Brazil', which follows on from this book. I guess Peter didn't feel very safe in Italy after completing his book, and in time honoured fashion fled... Read more
Published on 5 Jun 2007 by D. Bowtell
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