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Marisa Parker
a book bubble about
Goodbye to Italia
Biographies & Memoirs
Author Insight
Winter – Happy or Sad?
Winter wonderlands, especially at Christmas time, evoke a romantic charm that even a cynic might be trapped into … even if just momentarily. Even a barren wasteland with a dusting of pure, bluey-white snow takes on a surreal richness and innocence that is breathtaking. However, it also of course brings with it the cold and numbness that, if one is poor or homeless, can be a seemingly unending agony. During World War II, those winter months in Northern Italy would have been another burden to bear. Children were sent out to scrabble for any bits of wood to use for a warming fire, if you had matches or some form of lighter to start them, to heat up water for a cup of tea and a quick bodily clean!
Book Excerpt
Goodbye to Italia
Torino, Italy – 1945
‘Don’t dawdle,’ Nonna says to me as I pick up a pillowcase and make my way out the door. ‘It will get dark quickly.’
‘Alright, Nonna.’ I stride out along the pavement, making my way to the Piazza, where apparently, I will be able to find some wood to burn; there is a sharp, fresh smell in the air that signifies snow. Thankfully, it didn’t snow for my eleventh birthday the week before. And even if it does happen soon, we will have some wood for la stufa, the stove, once I bring this wood back. I smile at the thought of the impending warmth and the comforting smell of a hot stove. We have not been able to get il coke, anthracite, for a number of weeks so as to make a fire to heat the house or to cook food.
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