It really is a small world, getting smaller all the time. My current small world story goes like this:

Last year I reviewed a lovely new book about Italian language and culture, Italians Dance & I'm a Wallflower by Linda Falcone. Because of that review, RDR Books in Michigan bought the rights, retitled it Italian, It's All Greek to Me, and sent it out to the American reading public. It's doing well by all reports.

So, last month Linda Falcone wrote a note inviting all 1,000 of her closest friends to a June booksigning in Florence, Italy, to celebrate publication of her next book If They Are Roses, The Italian Way with Words.

She wrote, "Just thought I'd launch you this invite to an aperitivo/signing even though all of you would have to take a train, plane or automobile to actually go. Still, if the world were smaller, I'd love to see you there, but please note: the invitation says 'Don't miss Linda.'

"Don't know who thought THAT up! As far as I'm concerned, you are more than welcome to miss me. Hope all is well, big kiss, Linda."

In Italian, you can sign an invitation "big kiss" and not be considered impertinent. Big kiss is "un bacione" in Italian, but in Italian dictionaries you only find the plural, "bacioni" because, apparently, the Italians give big kisses in batches, not one at a time.

But because Linda Falcone is American by birth, Italian by heritage, she can get away with offering a single big kiss to her friends.

Here's the small world part of this story. After the booksigning in Florence, Linda Falcone wrote me: "A friend of yours came to the booksigning the other night and filmed it (who knows how that turned out) but she was quite kind and it was like having a journalist 'on location.'

My friend is Claudia Durso, a native Italian who spent part of last summer here in the Mendocino/Fort Bragg area. She was shanghaied by the local Italian-language-learners to help us learn Italian. She had a great time, and we've all stayed in touch.

So I wrote Claudia about Linda's booksigning, and she filmed it, and that's the small world part of the story. Claudia speaks and writes very little English, so here's a translation of her report:

"It was an interesting afternoon, lovely people and above all, so much English! ... I didn't understand much of the conversations... For a moment it seemed to me I was in America and it made me a bit sentimental.

"The audience for the most part was American, English and Australian. All far from home and with love for Florence or Italy. I wanted to see Italy through their eyes. With the eyes of those who do not live immersed in every day questions. If I imagine myself removed from the chaos and contradictions (of life here) I could see Italy more properly as a great, beautiful country and could do no less than to love it."

In her lovely letter (which continued for several more paragraphs) Claudia touched on exactly what Falcone describes in her books. Living and working with Italians, writing for an English-language newspaper and addressing herself to visitors, Falcone is uniquely positioned to talk about the inner life of Italians.

If They Are Roses currently is available only by mail from Italy, but it may be published in this country one day. If you can find it now, enjoy. You won't be sorry.

Meanwhile, un bacione, or molti bacioni, whatever.

Aired Sunday June 22, 2008 at 10:55 am and Wednesday June 25, 2008 at 1:00 pm

Orders/Information:

If They Are Roses, The Italian Way with Words by Linda Falcone, illustrations by Leo Cardini. The Florentine Press paperback approximately $25.00 postage paid from:

The Florentine
Via Valentini 10
59100 Prato Italy

Faster way to get in touch is by email: press@theflorentine.net or via the Internet: http://www.theflorentine.net/tfpress/default.asp

Italian, It's All Greek to Me, Everything You Don't Know About Italian Language and Culture by Linda Falcone, illustrations by Leo Cardini. RDR Books paperback $16.95. ISBN 9781571431714.

Email: info@bgruppo.com Website: http://www.bgruppo.com

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