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Against the sweeping backdrop of western Sicily, in a riveting seven-year quest, Frank Viviano pieces together his own harrowing ancestral history of betrayal and redemption. His take is haunted, from its violent opening to its stunning climax, by an ancient Sicilian proverb, Lu sangu lava lu sangu, "Blood washes blood": the torrent of unforgiving vengeance that flows from an unforgivable offense.
Viviano's great-great grandfather was a legendary bandit who traveled the countryside of Sicily by night in the robes of a friar and was known as "the Monk." His brutal murder has remained shrouded in mystery for four generations. Until now.
Populated by an extraordinary cast of nineteenth-century Robin Hood brigands and twentieth-century underworld bosses, here is a true-life Godfather, in which past and present finally merge into a single story with a shattering climax that ultimately changes the way the author views his immigrant family's complex legacy -- and himself.
List of contents
ContentsPrologue
PART I
ONE: A Stranger in the Village
TWO: The System
THREE: Mike
FOUR: An Old Man's Riddle
FIVE: Ano in the Desert
PART II
SIX: A Map
SEVEN: The Red Sash
EIGHT: The Monk
NINE: The Saint and the Beast
TEN: A Burglary at Paternella
ELEVEN: Dark Franky
TWELVE: The Frenchman's Palace
THIRTEEN:
RisorgimentoFOURTEEN: A Parable
FIFTEEN: Death on a Country Lane
PART III
SIXTEEN: The Bandit Kingdom
SEVENTEEN: Fable of the Chickpea
EIGHTEEN: Antonina Randazzo
NINETEEN: Festival of Bachelors
TWENTY: A Parallel Universe
PART IV
TWENTY-ONE: Family Portrait
TWENTY-TWO: "Mafia"
TWENTY-THREE: Domenico Valenti
TWENTY-FOUR: A Secret Life
TWENTY-FIVE: Blood Washes Blood
TWENTY-SIX: Quattro Vanelle
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the author
Frank Viviano
Summary
Against the sweeping backdrop of western Sicily, in a riveting seven-year quest, Frank Viviano pieces together his own harrowing ancestral history of betrayal and redemption. His take is haunted, from its violent opening to its stunning climax, by an ancient Sicilian proverb, Lu sangu lava lu sangu, "Blood washes blood": the torrent of unforgiving vengeance that flows from an unforgivable offense.
Viviano's great-great grandfather was a legendary bandit who traveled the countryside of Sicily by night in the robes of a friar and was known as "the Monk." His brutal murder has remained shrouded in mystery for four generations. Until now.
Populated by an extraordinary cast of nineteenth-century Robin Hood brigands and twentieth-century underworld bosses, here is a true-life Godfather, in which past and present finally merge into a single story with a shattering climax that ultimately changes the way the author views his immigrant family's complex legacy -- and himself.
Additional text
Variety An Italian Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
