Category: Novels

The Godfather

I read this book way back in 1973. I had seen the film in late 1972 and was eager to see how the book by (Mario Puzo) compared, or vise versa. I remember my girlfriend’s mother refused to let her go with me because it was too violent. I was 15 and we lived on a Bradford council estate. I could only surmise that my girlfriend hadn’t told her mother of our exploits and the fights between my group of mates and the local skinheads. 😂 The movie is a superb adaptation of the book, which is a rare thing even in those days. The dialogue in many places is like for like and so fans of the book were not disappointed. Maybe that’s why it has been so popular and timeless?

Move on 50 years and I find myself scampering round the back streets of Savoca, Sicily. If you are not familiar with the place, it is set on a mountainside and is one of the most beautiful villages in Sicily. It is also the location of a scene from the Godfather movie. The Bar Vitelli in Savoca is the bar where Michael informs the owner that he intends to marry his daughter, Apollonia.

The bar is now a popular tourist haunt (isn’t everywhere?) It’s full of memorabilia from the film and you can treat yourself to a ‘peasant’ dish of eggplant and cheese on bruschetta for a mere 18 euros.

It is also where the wedding of Michael and Apollonia was filmed and the famous walk down the hillside to the town. What surprised me most was when I went into Google maps the “Wedding Walk” is actually shown as a route 😂. If you are a Godfather fan and do get the chance to visit Savoca in Sicily I can recommend it. Apart from the Bar Vitelli it’s a beautiful place to explore.

Happy trails, folks x

Alice in Wonderland

I often wonder if Lewis Carrol (AKA Charles Dodgson) had any idea how sustained and popular his book would become at the time of writing. I would guess not, but Alice in Wonderland must be a phenomenon in comparison to the average novel. This Christmas we visited Castle Howard, who had a plan to take us all down a rabbit hole.

The book is said to have been inspired by a ten year old girl called Alice Liddell. Carroll was a friend of the family and spent quite a lot of time with them. He had a stutter which didn’t affect him when he was around children.

You start the Howard’s Alice Adventure on the Grand Staircase, where on the China Landing you find a lush Victorian riverbank. From there you see where Alice would write her invitations for her spectacular Tea Party. As you stroll along you are treated to the childhood home of the author and his ten siblings. He would tell them fantastic stories and often write them down.

I would say it was a good little Christmas adventure, there had been a lot of thought and work put into all the exhibitions. When you think that a book written in 1865 is still bringing joy to people one hundred and fifty five years later it’s quite an achievement.

I wonder if anyone else has seen old books transformed into entertaining exhibitions? If you have please share in the comments. Or, even better write a blog post and we’ll have fun reading it. Happy trails x