Andrea Haverland

L'isola Di Simone: the Island of Simon Andrea Haverland

Revenge fantasies begin to fade when an American divorcee findssanctuary and adventure in Italy. While recovering from her losses sheenjoys the intimacy of small town life, ponders the future from her windowon a lake, and revels in a succession of both comedic and serious lovers. Her memoir is about the islands one finds on a map - others, places whereshe says arrivederci to her former existence and embraces life Italian style:high heels on motorcycles, prosecco toasts atop a castle in Rome, sensualnights which end when the sky grows light - exhilarating momentsprovided by the highly romantic and sometimes volatile Italian male. Yetlike an Italian opera, her story not only celebrates voluptuous charactersand settings: it's also perforated by shocking deaths. On a November night in Rome, a gifted but alarmingly young man appearsand leaves an indelible impression. On his island, he and the writer exploretheir obsession with each other during the year she almost abandons hope,but instead succeeds like the Romans: simply by enduring." when he is an old man - and I no longer walk this planet - hisgrandsons will learn about the American woman he loved, the daringthings we did in order to be together. He'll show them a book called L'Isoladi Simone, and they'll believe that the old man once had the power tochange a lady's mind, to create an island of faith where passion prevailsand the poetry of love is written."