MEZZA ITALIANA

Experiencing prejudice while growing up in Brisbane in the 1970s and ‘80s, Boccabella developed a disdain for her Italian heritage, which was disparaged in Australian society. But she later grew to embrace her background. Australian actress Marcella Russo narrates in a gentle tone with relatively passable Italian pronunciation. She describes Boccabella's trips with her husband to her ancestral homeland, in particular the mountainside village of Fossa, in the Abruzzo region, where her family still had a home, which was ultimately affected by the devastating 2009 earthquake. Unfortunately, this memoir sounds uninspired and repetitive as she discusses the struggles of her bicultural youth and day-to-day events in the village of Fossa. Further, the inclusion of recipes does not translate well to audio. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2012]