Siciliana

A Novel

By: Carlo Treviso

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

A family torn apart by conflict.

An uprising of deadly magnitude.

A nation altered forever.

Inspired by actual events, Siciliana is the harrowing tale of a young woman’s courage in the face of unthinkable turmoil.

In 1282 AD, the Kingdom of Sicily is under the rule of a tyrannical French king and subject to his brutal Angevin army. Daily acts of violence and persecution are commonplace in a once-prosperous realm.

For twenty-year-old Aetna Vespiri, daughter of a revered Sicilian knight, survival has become second nature. As a child, she witnessed the destruction of her family’s vineyard by Angevin soldiers and spent the next decade learning the tenets of stiletto-blade combat.

Years later in Palermo, as the evening bells toll for Vespers, Aetna fends off a nefarious sergeant and sparks an uprising against the Angevin occupation. Now, standing at the forefront of an accelerating people’s rebellion, Aetna finds herself fighting not only for a nation she believes in but also for the meaning of family. In her darkest hour, this dauntless Sicilian woman steps out of obscurity and into the pages of history.

The legend of Siciliana is born.

Set amid bustling Arab markets and brooding Norman fortresses, Siciliana will envelop listeners in the sights, sounds, and dangers lurking around every corner of medieval Sicily.

©2022 Carlo Treviso (P)2022 Carlo Treviso

Just wow!!

Amazing to read about the Vespiri siciliani and to read old Sicilian words and sayings. This book definitely hit home.

Medusa Lives Forever

Sicily comes to life in this story. It’s so satisfying; so full of passion and love for the land and it’s people. Sicily is the land of heroes and anti-heroes. A worthy read! A lesson in grit.

Sicilian Read

Excellent book especially for anyone interested in Sicilian history! As a Sicilian-American it is a pleasure to read a book centered on our massive history!

Exciting story, great narration

I really enjoyed this book. It was action packed and exciting. I know some of it was historically based and I found myself hoping that Siciliana was a real person. Fun listen. The narrator was excellent.

Fun, exciting tale but narration is awful.

The story is generally well written, but at times is a bit over the top with trite references that get repeated over and over. It is largely historically accurate and the author certainly did a lot of research and should be commended.

The story itself could easily be made into an entertaining movie and has all of the Hollywood elements you could expect.

The big disappointing factor however is the narration. The narrator is from Michigan but apparently decided to narrate the story in a fake accent that sounds at times like eastern European or Russian. And, worse, she mispronounces many of the Sicilian/Italian words. It was even a little offensive for me, as the grandson of Sicilian immigrants, because my grandparents never sounded like that when they spoke English. it just seemed like a bad caricature. She even "stays in character" at the end of the book to read the acknowledgements, which was really condescending.

I would definitely recommend the book, but skip the audio book of you know what an Italian-American accent sounds like.

Invest in some voice actors to narrate!

I'm struggling to get through the story, which might be a very good story, but having a one woman show is not my cup of tea! This is something I really dislike, when an audio book is narrated by one person to do all the voices. It makes me picture myself in a circle at storytime when I was five years old! The narrator is doing her best, but if you don't like this format, don't buy this book. That being said, I am interested in the story, but doubt I will finish the book. Disappointed!