The Cielo Journal

A great turnout for the bookstore reading

They had to bring in more chairs and still people were standing as I gave my talk and reading about "Sparrow's Revenge" at the Schwartz Bookstore on Downer Ave. last night. It was great to see former students, people from the condo, people from church, old friends, some of whom we hadn't seen in some time. Must have been about fifty people there. And many bought books, both the sequel and "The Cielo." 

Great fun.

So now the promotion for "Sparrow's Revenge" begins

I don 't know if I'll be as aggressive in promoting "Sparrow's Revenge: A Novel of Postwar Tuscany" as I was in spreading the word about "The Cielo: A Novel of Wartime Tuscany." But I'll be doing some things.

Already on Monday I talked to the Guild for Learning in Retirement, a very active program sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. And on Monday afternoon, I taped a segment for "Lake Effect," a popular show on WUWM. I don't know yet when the interview will be aired

Next Tuesday night, Nov. 18, I'll be doing my major reading, at Schwartz' Bookshop on Downer Ave. It's at 7 p.m. There's been a little display of the book, along with my photo, in the store for weeks, and postcards have been sent out. It was great fun when I did this for "The Cielo" and I'm looking forward to this one very much. We plan to have cookies and soft drinks

And www.bookreview.com, which gave the book a very nice review (see below) interviewed me, and it's now posted.  See bookreview.com

"Sparrow's Revenge" gets its first review

I'm very grateful to the folks at Bookreview.com for this very nice review. It's also posted on amazon.com with five (!) stars.

A compelling, well-researched look at the nature of guilt and revenge,October 29, 2008

By	BookReview.com

Set in rural Tuscany in the 1950s, Sparrow's Revenge explores the aftermath of the horrific massacre of 560 Italian civilians in the village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema. The story follows Ezio Maffini, a former partisan turned schoolteacher who has never forgiven himself for failing to prevent the deaths of his loved ones in Sant'Anna. When Ezio learns that the one-eyed Fascist widely believed to be a Nazi collaborator responsible for the atrocity has been spotted in the Tuscan hills, he poses as a reporter in hopes of tracking him down and taking revenge. 

This is not a feel-good book with a dualistic view of good and evil. Sparrow's Revenge is a compelling, well-researched, realistic look at the dangers of turning those who have wronged us into caricatures of absolute evil, and of being blinded (literally and figuratively) by personal heroes we believe are absolutely good. 

While Salsini wrote Sparrow's Revenge as a sequel to his first novel, The Cielo , it stands well on its own. (I haven't read The Cielo yet, but I certainly intend to now!) It's easy to see why Salsini's writing has won so many awards-- his first novel won First Place for Fiction from the Council of Wisconsin Writers and First Place for Fiction from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association. His characters are believable, he pays precise attention to historical and geographic detail, and his pacing and word choice are impeccable. 

I enthusiastically recommend Sparrow's Revenge to anyone with the slightest interest in history, Italy, or human nature-- in short, to everyone.