When I was a teen-ager, I read The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. I did not know it was one of the greatest Italian novels ever written. I knew nothing about Garibaldi, Italian history, the changes that ushered in modern Italy leaving behind traditional Italian culture and customs.

            I read it for the sentences, long beautiful sentences full of life and meaning.

            Now I’m reading Lampedusa by Steven Price, a book about the writing of The Leopard. And once again, the sentences pull me into the story and I can’t put the thing down. Some books open a door to another world. This is what The Leopard did many years ago and this is what Lampedusa does now. 

            Thank you,  Steven Price. Lampedusa is short listed for the Giller Prize.