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Ettore Grillo
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A Hidden Sicilian History: Second Edition Paperback – December 26, 2021

by Ettore Grillo (Author)
3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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Is there life after death? A Hidden Sicilian History: Second Edition presents an intriguing and easy-to-read historical novel that starts with the investigation of a mysterious death.

While doing research in the public library in Enna, Sicily, a young man notices an ancient scroll has drifted from a shelf onto the floor. It appears to have slipped from a gap between two volumes about the Spanish Inquisition.

Though he expects it to be related to life in Sicily at the time of Spanish rule, instead the handwritten scroll reports a singular drama that was performed on the stage of the deconsecrated Church of Santa Croce in Enna some time ago.

The young man decides to translate the fascinating lost manuscript from Italian into English and publish it. Historical facts flow freely from the document, as well as its descriptions of traditional feasts and processions, the way to remove hexes and roundworms from children, and life in Enna's public whorehouse. It also touches on other societies bound together by a common thread: the yearning to understand the meaning of life.

The novel's theme becomes a journey into the innermost recesses of the soul.

About The Author:

Ettore Grillo is a retired attorney from Sicily who spends his time writing and traveling. This is his fifth book. His previous books are Travels of the Mind, The Vibrations of Words, November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily, and A Hidden Sicilian History (first edition).

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  1. Print length
    312 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Strategic Book Publishing
  4. Publication date
    December 26, 2021
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1682354067
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1682354063
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Strategic Book Publishing (December 26, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1682354067
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1682354063
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

About the author

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Ettore Grillo

Ettore Grillo

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Biography

Ettore Grillo was born in Enna (Sicily) on December 6, 1946. He completed high school in his hometown and then moved to Pisa where he earned a law degree. Then, he joined the Italian army as a reserve officer. During military service he was a defense attorney in court martial. He often defended Jehovah’s Witnesses who at that time were imprisoned due to their draft dodging. After almost two years, he was discharged from military service and passed the exams to be a lawyer. He was a freelance lawyer in his hometown for thirty-seven years. At the beginning of his career, he also taught law at high school. He was councilman in charge of state education in his hometown. In 2000 he earned a certificate in canon law at Pontificia Univeristas Lateranensis of Rome. In 2009, he retired. He is a devoted traveler and a researcher in the fields of religion, spirituality, psychology and anthropology. He has written four books: Travels of the Mind – The Vibrations of Words – A Hidden Sicilian History – November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily.

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5
16 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Joseph
5.0 out of 5 stars Ettore's Hidden History
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2021
Verified Purchase
Ettore Grilllo knows how to tell a story. In his A Hidden Sicilian History he retells a story of a young Sicilian boy's life, loves, and search for spiritual truths. The retelling is a translation of an unpublished stack of pages he found in the Enna library. Grillo's book is filled with Sicilian memes and customs that have been mostly forgotten but are worth knowing to better understand the Sicilian psyche and its history. Through its character, Vincenzino, he introduces to the reader a number of saints and sages from around the world that all aver that "universal love energy" is the guiding force for the soul. Very worth reading.
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AAP
4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected.
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
I was expecting more historical accounts of Sicily, not an autobiography of Gillo's search for spirituality.

His tales of his travels were interesting, though.
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Kathryn Occhipinti
5.0 out of 5 stars An Historical novel at its best
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2022
"A Hidden Sicilian History" by Ettore Grillo is a well-written novel that flows naturally from the Sicily of the past into the present. I especially enjoyed reading the Preface, called "The Find," which sets up the premise of the book — that a manuscript has been found in the library of Enna (a small town in central Sicily) that contains the autobiography of a young man, Vicenzino, and includes his search to understand the lives deaths of those around him, as well as his journeys to India made to understand the meaning of faith. This was so well written that I was fooled at first, and actually believed that this story was a translation of a manuscript!

Grillo's premise serves as a spring board that allows the reader a glimpse into a way of living in a Sicily of the past, with details that could only be known by a native. The accounts in the young boy's life are told from the vantage point of the author as an adult, of course, ostensibly during a theatrical event. I truly enjoyed reading the descriptions of life in a small town in Sicily, which really came alive through the characters and everyday events. For instance, I learned details of country life when a young Vicenzino was sent to live in the country with his adult cousin who ran a farm. This was a simple life without electricity or air conditioning but rich in its connection to the land and philosophy, with no other diversions at night than stories told under the stars. I was amazed to find that Vicenzino became healthy through early morning exercise during walks while hunting with his cousin and on a simple diet of pasta and cabbage and potatoes for lunch and eggs for dinner — with the addition of an occasional rabbit they caught.

The reader then learns about what it is like to grow up in a Sicily of the past through glimpses into the activities of Vicenzino's relatively well-off family, and even take a journey into a sulfur mine run largely by child labor that provided the family income.

Amid these details, the driving force of the first half of the novel is Vicenzino's desire to learn about his name sake, his cousin Vicenzo, who was deeply mourned by his mother and whose death was shrouded in secrecy. Vicenzino does eventually learn all he wants about his uncle's life, which takes us even further back into an historical Sicily.

The mores of the times feature prominently in the life of Vicenzo as well as Vicenzino and lead us into the second half of the novel, which is a travelogue of Vicenzino's search in India for the meaning of faith. There are few details about India, but many about those individuals of great faith that Vicenzino and his wife seek out and visit. In the midst of this, we learn of a tragic event that occurred during the course of Vicenzino's life that. along with the deaths he experienced as a child, helped drive his many visits to Italy as an adult and further his need to understand if there is an afterlife.

It is true that the theme of faith and the search for the afterlife was introduced in the preface, and descriptions of the Catholic faith permeate the life of Vicenzino and Vicenzo; therefore, I should not have been surprised that much of the second part of the book included Vicenzino's search for a solution to his life questions through faith. But I did not enjoy the second part of the book that was set largely in India as much as the first half set in Sicily, since my interests do not extend to India and the different practices of faith in India. However, I would recommend this section for those who are interested in a discussion of how different peoples view faith and search for meaning in life.

Over all, I found this book an interesting and worthwhile read and would recommend it to those interested in a vivid account of a Sicily of the past.

I was given this book by the author for an honest review.
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5.0 out of 5 stars We have here a piece of Sicilian history, not a history of the island
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2021
A Sicilian History by Ettore Grillo
A good book, like a good wine must offer some degree of complexity. A Hidden Sicilian History by Ettore . Grillo does just that. It is not at all what I expected. It is certainly not a history of the island.

We begin with the story of an old scroll found nestled in a volume of the Inquisition in a library in Enna, Sicily. The finder expects, as I did, that this will be a history of the island, possibly during the time of the Inquisition. As he translates it he finds the scroll instead to be a single fictional memoir of loss, doubt, and longing for truth.

The scroll becomes the vehicle for philosophical pondering about the meaning of life and what may lie beyond. The author of the scroll is an actor, Vincenzo. Through his musings the daily life in the 1930’s and historical events of the town of Enna become alive for the reader. Even small details regarding cures, strict customs and, of course, religious activities are included. Vincenzo becomes quite obsessed with the story of his uncle, also named Vincenzo, and feels a special bond with him, his namesake. He is determined to find information about his uncle’s mysterious death, a death no living relative would discuss. The fact that Vincenzo is introduced as an actor in a church play perhaps has bearing on his insecure identity and his personal spiritual challenges. Additionally, the fact that the scroll was found embedded in pages referring to the Inquisition dramatizes the book’s theme involving the impact of religion in our lives and our attitudes about our after-lives.

As we travel with Vincenzo in his quest for information about the demise of his uncle, we enter many pages of rather graphic sexual situations. This did take me by surprise but is appropriate considering the ultimate revelation of the cause of death.

In his quest for universal truth the author touches on several world religions other than Christianity. This combination of real-life grit and philosophical wanderings into faith results in an interesting and unique and multi-layered read. The author is clearly highly educated and has a way with words that is both succinct and descriptive.
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Top reviews from other countries

deetee
4.0 out of 5 stars A very different read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
Being fascinated with Sicily, I expected to be familiar with at least some of the contents. However, it is I my partially about Enna. Most of the book, a translation of a discovered manuscript, is about the search to discover what can be known about life after death. The author's search takes over the world to holy and revered places. An odd book but enjoyable.
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