Top Shelf: The Sicilian Inheritance

Inspired by her own family’s history, Jo Piazza's The Sicilian Inheritance is a captivating, emotional and suspenseful story that alternates points of view between present-day American Sara and her Sicilian great-grandmother, Serafina, in the early 1900s.

After her beloved great Aunt Rosie dies, Sara learns of an inheritance of land her great aunt left her in Sicily. Sara travels to the island to learn about the land and spread her great aunt’s ashes. While there, Sara embarks on an incredible journey where she discovers her ancestors’ story, particularly about her great-grandmother’s life and death.

Sara’s adventure reconnects her to her Sicilian roots and her ancestors’ immigration to America all while she still mourns her Aunt Rosie’s death. Sara also grapples with the tumultuous process of claiming the valuable plot of land, which proves to be challenging and dangerous. Sara meets many interesting, charming and deceiving people on her journey, and eventually learns of the details surrounding Serafina’s murder and how the land became her family’s.

Jo Piazza does an incredible job of writing dynamic, interesting, dark and humorous characters as well as beautiful imagery of Sicily’s landscape, art, culture and delicious food. I truly enjoyed this book as it touched on the strength of female friendships and community across generations. A bonus is the author’s notes at the end where Piazza recounts how researching her own Sicilian great-grandmother’s death inspired this fictional story.

I highly recommend The Sicilian Inheritance!

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