
Palermo
Roberto Alajmo(Author)
Armchair Traveller (Publisher)
Published on 24. August 2010
Book
Hardback
176 pages
978-1-906598-17-4 (ISBN)
Description
The siren-like qualities of the Sicilian capital are woven layer upon layer, each one revealing a stratum of the city's character. In Palermo, Roberto Alajmo lays out a compelling series of reflections on the city and its many faces; those it shows the world, and those it keeps hidden. Disguised as a tourist's handbook but written by a lifelong resident- with all the experience, affection, disillusion and insider's knowledge that entails - Palermo offers much more than the usual run-of-the-mill recommendations for the traveller. Rather, it shows us not only a city that has been at history's crossroads since recorded time began- if you know where to look, it is an archive of hidden cultural, architectural and culinary jewels- but a lived-in metropolis whose residents, their politics and their secrets, are as subtly revealed as the ineffable presence of the mafia in the cycle of daily life.
Reviews / Votes
'It's just a brilliantly written book.' 'So, yes, I would characterize Alajmo's Palermo as a love letter to his city - a whopping, entertaining dose of tough love, but would a Palermitano have it any other way? I just loved it. Fiver very full espresso cups out of five.' -- Michelle FabioMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Haus Publishing
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
666 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-906598-17-4 (9781906598174)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Persons
ROBERTO ALAJMO is an award-winning writer and journalist. His books have been translated into many languages including French, German, Spanish and Swedish. He was born in Palermo in 1959 where he currently lives and works.
GUIDO WALDMAN, educated in Italy, France and Britain, is a translator by vocation and a publisher's editor by profession. He is currently Editorial Director of The Harvill Press, and was previously editor and rights manager with The Bodley Head.
GUIDO WALDMAN, educated in Italy, France and Britain, is a translator by vocation and a publisher's editor by profession. He is currently Editorial Director of The Harvill Press, and was previously editor and rights manager with The Bodley Head.
Content
1. Welcome to the city // 1
2. Commonplaces // 21
3. Nostalgia for the city // 32
4. Death is not as bad as they make it out to be // 45
5. Faces and expressions // 55
6. To do with eating // 67
7. The sea does not bathe the city // 80
8. The villas, the gardens // 93
9. The practice of auto-exoticism // 107
10. It's do or die // 119
2. Commonplaces // 21
3. Nostalgia for the city // 32
4. Death is not as bad as they make it out to be // 45
5. Faces and expressions // 55
6. To do with eating // 67
7. The sea does not bathe the city // 80
8. The villas, the gardens // 93
9. The practice of auto-exoticism // 107
10. It's do or die // 119