A House in Sicily

New York: Carroll & Graf, 2000. Trade paperback,. Laura Faber. New York: Carroll & Graf:, 2000. Trade paperback, 270 pp. Cover artwork by: Laura Faber Dig this: In 1974, Daphne Phelps arrived in Taormina, Sicily to check-out and sell the house she inherited from her uncle. The beautiful home, build with golden stone, was on a hillside overlooking olive groves and the Ionian Sea. It was gorgeous and magnificent. That'd be kind of like winning the lottery. She fell in love with the house and decided to keep it. She made some modest alterations and turned the place into a pensione (a sort of glorified bed and breakfast). Word spread. Her guests included Tennessee Williams, Bertrand Russell, Henry Faulkner, Roald Dahl and many other famous writers and thinkers. This is a memoir. Here's a life and time and place that transcends our humdrum world. Sicily and Greece. . . I know I'd love it there. Wine, olives, crystal waters, sunshine. . . that's the place for me. Can't quite swing the airfare, nor can I afford to take the time off from work. Reading this ditty might be as close as I'll ever get.