The Almond Picker
by Simonetta Agnello Hornby
- Used
- as new
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- As New/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0374182345
- ISBN 13
- 9780374182342
- Seller
-
Brooktondale, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
First printing of first US edition. Translation by Alaistair McEwen of "La Mennulara" (Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore, 2002).
Volume, measuring approximately 5.5" x 7.5", is bound in white cloth spine and light cream cloth boards, with stamped light blue lettering to spine. Book is like new. Dust jacket displays light shelfwear. Jacket is preserved in mylar cover. x/315 pages.
"A surprising mystery--and love story--set in rural Sicily. Like many memorable works of fiction, "The Almond Picker" hinges on a question, in this case: who is Maria Rosalia Inzerillo, known as Mennulara, the almond picker? Born into a desperately poor Sicilian farming family, Mennulara went into service when she was only a girl, as a maid for a well-to-do local family; by dint of hard work and intelligence, she became the indispensable administrator of the family's affairs and was said to be rich. Still, she was a mere servant, and now (as the story begins) she is dead.Who was she, really? Simonetta Agnello Hornby's wonderfully entertaining novel about this mysterious woman -- a bestseller in Italy when it was published in 2002 -- has all the suspense of a witty thriller, the emotions of a powerful love story, and the evocative atmosphere of a historical novel. Set in Sicily in the 1960s, a violent, complicated society in the midst of tumultuous change, where young and old, rich and poor, men and women are set against each other, "The Almond Picker" is the story of a woman who negotiated for her freedom as no one else dared. Unusual instructions in Mennulara's will perplex the family she worked for and send the children on a kind of treasure hunt, for each of them wants to secure her fabled riches. She is no longer physically present, but her mysterious importance to them and to the village comes into focus in a series of dramatic encounters and spiky exchanges among the neighbors. Everyone has a very different idea about Mennulara's amazing life. Was she a humble servant who ruled her master, or perhaps a pawn for the Mafia? Was she a seducer and opportunist, a sly blackmailer waiting for a payoff, or the opposite? During the thirty days following her death, the surprising truth is revealed.
Volume, measuring approximately 5.5" x 7.5", is bound in white cloth spine and light cream cloth boards, with stamped light blue lettering to spine. Book is like new. Dust jacket displays light shelfwear. Jacket is preserved in mylar cover. x/315 pages.
"A surprising mystery--and love story--set in rural Sicily. Like many memorable works of fiction, "The Almond Picker" hinges on a question, in this case: who is Maria Rosalia Inzerillo, known as Mennulara, the almond picker? Born into a desperately poor Sicilian farming family, Mennulara went into service when she was only a girl, as a maid for a well-to-do local family; by dint of hard work and intelligence, she became the indispensable administrator of the family's affairs and was said to be rich. Still, she was a mere servant, and now (as the story begins) she is dead.Who was she, really? Simonetta Agnello Hornby's wonderfully entertaining novel about this mysterious woman -- a bestseller in Italy when it was published in 2002 -- has all the suspense of a witty thriller, the emotions of a powerful love story, and the evocative atmosphere of a historical novel. Set in Sicily in the 1960s, a violent, complicated society in the midst of tumultuous change, where young and old, rich and poor, men and women are set against each other, "The Almond Picker" is the story of a woman who negotiated for her freedom as no one else dared. Unusual instructions in Mennulara's will perplex the family she worked for and send the children on a kind of treasure hunt, for each of them wants to secure her fabled riches. She is no longer physically present, but her mysterious importance to them and to the village comes into focus in a series of dramatic encounters and spiky exchanges among the neighbors. Everyone has a very different idea about Mennulara's amazing life. Was she a humble servant who ruled her master, or perhaps a pawn for the Mafia? Was she a seducer and opportunist, a sly blackmailer waiting for a payoff, or the opposite? During the thirty days following her death, the surprising truth is revealed.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Palimpsest Scholarly Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 818
- Title
- The Almond Picker
- Author
- Simonetta Agnello Hornby
- Book Condition
- New
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0374182345
- ISBN 13
- 9780374182342
- Publisher
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Place of Publication
- Gordonsville, Virginia, U.s.a.
- Date Published
- 2005
- Keywords
- Italian Literature
Terms of Sale
Palimpsest Scholarly Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged. Packages are shipped USPS. New York state purchases will also be charged state tax.
About the Seller
Palimpsest Scholarly Books
Biblio member since 2017
Brooktondale, New York
About Palimpsest Scholarly Books
Palimpsest Scholarly Books & Services is a new online bookstore founded and managed by Dr. Raul Delgado-Rodriguez, a Harvard-trained comparatist. It specializes in the buying and selling of scholarly and rare books, as well as providing services for collectors of such books, including the appraisal of private collections. We have titles across a broad range of fields and cultures. We specialize in providing uncommon foreign-language works.
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- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Shelfwear
- Minor wear resulting from a book being place on, and taken from a bookshelf, especially along the bottom edge.
- New
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- Poor
- A book with significant wear and faults. A poor condition book is still a reading copy with the full text still readable. Any...
- SL.
- slight
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...