Midnight Feast (Midnight in Sicily - Peter Robb)

Name: nlingwood

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Product:	Midnight in Sicily - Peter Robb
Date:	24/01/01 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Informative, intelligent, vividly written

Disadvantages: Price

Food, Travel, History, Politics and Crime are brought together in this feast of a book. Peter Robb, an Australian, tells of his visits to the unique island of Sicily. As an observer, he introduces you to its cuisine, tangled history, and the shadow of corruption.

The charm of this book is that is does so many things, blending facets of life. The origins of pasta, and the significance of seafood, are as vital as a long heritage of foreign rule and intimidation. Sicily is a place of synthesis where Europe meets Africa, America and Asia. Robb uses the evidence obtained - often at a fatal price - by brave prosecutors to show how, in criminal affairs, the island became the centre for a network that stretched across the world.

The beauties and culture of the island contrast the dark side. Unsentimentally, the violence and poverty that led to murder and mass emigration are told alongside crumbling grandeur and exquisite dishes. He intelligently explains how the modern corruption is a development of ancient traditions. Writing in 1995, he describes the career and eventual prosecution of lifelong politician Giulio Andreotti. That trial, which helped unearth allegations of deep-rooted conspiracy, only ended in 1999 with a not guilty verdict. You might find the case here more convincing.

Midnight in Sicily is an engrossing read that thoroughly explains a culture and situation. It brings to life a notorious and exotic region in the same way that Gabriel Garcia Marquez does for Colombia. Like one of the dishes described, or Sicily itself, Robb combines sweet, savoury and sour themes. Personal courage and resilience, or artistic wonders, survive amid the darkness and relieve its effect.

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