Monthly Archives: January 2017

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In search of a book in Naples, Italy

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A look back: this piece was first published on 12 February 2016. I can still feel the sunshine of that walk, and the satisfaction of being able to ask for help in simple Italian. The embarrassing part is that, a year on, the book I took such trouble to hunt down is still not finished … plus I’ve discovered my weary dictionary isn’t big enough for Enzo Striano.

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Books and Naples, Italy are old friends Books and Napoli are old friends

Step in amongst the books in this ancient city and it’s hard to avoid the big names on almost every corner. My search for just one novel was busy enough.

Start on the Lungomare and there’s the castle known, thanks to Virgil, as the Castel dell’Ovo (Castle of the Egg).

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Naples, Italy: the loss of Pino Daniele

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This piece is an updated version of an article first published last year to mark the anniversary of the death of the singer Pino Daniele who was born and raised in Naples, Italy. Tomorrow will be the second anniversary of his death … I don’t think Naples will ever forget him.

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Pino Daniele - singer, adored by Naples, died suddenly January 2015 Pino Daniele

Waves of emotion can hit you from any distance – one washed right over me this time two years ago. I was thousands of miles away from the event that caused the outpouring of emotion … but I knew that it mattered.

The ‘event’ was the sudden death of the singer Pino Daniele on January 4th 2015, and the city whose heart split open was Napoli. Facebook wept with tributes. I could feel the pain from wherever I sat.

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Book Review: The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante

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This post, a review of the last of Elena Ferrante’s novels about Naples, Italy, was first published on 16 January 2016. I read all four books in this series while I lived on the outskirts of Naples. Thanks to Ferrante I was shown inside the city, inside what links us all.

thephraser's avatarThe Phraser

The last of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels The last of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels

This is a story about the dark places, and the fires, inside all of us.  It’s not new, it’s as old as Naples, but it’s told with the energy of possibility and through the eyes of women.

The Story of the Lost Child is the last book in a series of four – the Neapolitan novels.

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