The Almond Picker

La stessa Sicilia del Gattopardo, solo qualche anno dopo, e ci sembra persa nei secoli, con la sua rigida divisione in caste, il cui ascensore sociale formato da una miscela di furberia, furto, prevaricazione. La totale mancanza di solidarietà, la maldicenza come modo di vita, la mollezza e l'ignoranza.
Sulla base di questo affresco sapientemente dipinto dalla scrittrice, si muove la Mennulara, bimba selvatica e violata, donna orgogliosa, intelligente e permalosa nella sua ignoranza, capace di annullarsi per amore, fino a farsi carico di persone a lei tanto inferiori, servendoli e facendone la fortuna, senza mai smettere di essere, dentro di sè, quella stessa bambina.
Bellissimo.

I wasn’t wildly enthusiastic about this book. I was intrigued at first, then became confused by the huge cast of characters and was tempted to abandon it – but found my interest reignited when the plot began to resolve into a more coherent whole.

It’s the story of Maria Rosalia Inzerillo, also known as La Mennulara, a nickname she retained from her days as an impoverished almond-picker. In the small town of Roccacolomba there were few options during her childhood: Sicily was still a highly stratified, almost feudal society and education wasn’t available to the children of poor families. She went into service where she was expected to contribute her earnings towards her sister’s dowry. But at the time of the novel’s opening in show more 1963 she has just died aged 55 amid rumours that she is a wealthy woman and the source of her money is a matter of great interest to everybody.

As events unfold, it seems that Mennulara‘s life and death is highly unusual. She leaves detailed, rather bossy instructions for her obituary and funeral, and her employers are quick to take umbrage because she was, to them, only a servant. However they soon change tack when they realise that she has managed her affairs from beyond the grave, the Mafia are loitering and there is either an inheritance or the restitution of stolen money to be had. It is impossible to keep anything private in Roccacolomba, especially not the raging rows that erupt in the wake of Mennulara’s machinations. Everybody knows about what’s going on, and everyone has a different opinion about it.

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Maria Rosalia Inzerillo, otherwise known as Mennulara, is a mystery. Born into poverty in Western Sicily, she grew up picking almonds with her farming family. As soon as she was of age, Mennulara became the maid for the rich and powerful Alfallipe family. Over time, she became an indispensable administrator of all their affairs, financial and even personal. She had a talent for investments and became a shrewd businesswoman. Rumors surrounded Mennulara: her wealth, her position in the Alfallipe family, even her rumored connections with the mafia. In life, Mennulara was described as outspoken, brash, brave, rude, unique, bad tempered, devoted, dignified, diffident, distant, unpleasant, imperious, ugly, beautiful, complex, secretive, a show more tyrant. When she dies at a relatively young age the entire community clamors for answers. Who was this woman? How odd that a seemingly common servant's death would reverberate through the Italian community and no group is more obsessed than the Alfallipe family. Convinced she owes them her inheritance and then-some, they scheme and squabble to find it. The final outcome is brilliant.
Starting on Monday, September 23rd, 1963 The Almond Picker documents a month in time. The accounts are daily (skipping Saturday, September 28th, 1963)until October 1st, 1963 with a final entry on October 23rd of that same year. show less

Sicily, 1963. Maria Rosalia Inzerillo, the almond picker--Mennulara, in Sicilian--has just died. Through a series of short chapters from the points of view of the inhabitants of Roccacolomba, the small village in Sicily where Mennulara lived and served, a complex portrait of the woman emerges. Mennulara is a study in contradictions. Uneducated but well-read. Coarse yet cultured. Reviled, adored, misunderstood, she was a maid who also managed the estates--and ran the lives of--the family she worked for, and has exerted an influence upon a great many of the inhabitants of Roccacolomba and the surrounding countryside.

As the portrait of Mennulara is painted, so is a portrait of Sicily during a time of change. Modern times are encroaching, show more globalization (before the term was even invented) has begun, and small town life will never be the same. But in the end, it is Mennulara whom we finally come to know, and the secret we learn, the key that unlocks the mystery that she was, is simple and sublime.

The Almond Picker is a small, beautifully wrought gem of a novel. Its simple language, with humor and insight, brings to life a time long past and the people who lived in it. show less

Tyckte mycket om boken. Författaren beskriver miljön och atmosfären på Sicilien på ett autentisk och målande sätt.

This is an intricate tale of a poor, "ignorant" servant whose death and dying wishes has everone in her small Sicilian town talking. Slow start, but I was eventually completely captivated by the intrigue. Very Italian story.

"The Almond Picker" was originally written in Italian but has
been translated and is available in English. The novel is set in a small village called Roccacolomba, Sicily in the year 1963. It spans the four weeks following the funeral of Mennulara (which means almond picker), a servant of a wealthy family who started out as a maid and ended up being the administrator of the family estate. She was a dirt-poor peasant girl who went into service at the age of 13 to support
her sick mother and sister. I found the story fascinating because it presented such a realistic, typical picture of a small Sicilian comune. It could have been the village of my relatives. The mystery of Mennulara unfolds as the author introduces the various citizens of show more the town from the local priest, the doctor, the postmaster, the book seller, the old men of the Conversation Club, and recounts their thoughts,
observations and conversations with each other. The reader is invited into the back-biting, the gossip, the old grudges, the prejudices, the petty squabbles and the judgments that fill the lives of people who know everyone else's business...people who watch and notice every nuance and give it meaning. It was interesting to see how feudal society remained even in 1963, with the peasants separate from the wealthy landowners. The town remained divided between Roccacolomba Alta and Roccacolomba Bassa. Every person had his or her own story about Mennulara. Some see
her as a servant who didn't know her place. Others saw her as strong, loyal and resourceful. How she came to be the power in the family is what unfolds as you read to the end. While the mystery is not overly intriguing, the real power of the book is the story of the village...how it is explored and exposed. At the end, I felt like I had just spent an
extended time in this village, sitting in the piazzas, eavesdropping on whispered conversations. show less