Book Review of Shadows of a Tuscan Moon

I know a lot of literary folk, novelists and readers visit this site, so today I want to share a book review. This review is of "Shadows of a Tuscan Moon" by Sandra Carrington-Smith and Giovanni Logli. I have been following Sandra's work since her first wonderful nonfiction book "Housekeeping for the Soul."

Book Review
I just finished Shadows of a Tuscan Moon, sadly. I say sadly because the author Sandra Carrington-Smith, creates such a real world, filled with mysterious twists and turns, spoken through believable characters, and I did not want the novel to end. To be sure, this is not easy reading. Its story focuses around domestic violence of every kind and its brutal, sometimes fatal consequences.

Carrington-Smith is a masterful storyteller. She is gifted with the ability to imbue her novels with supernatural and magical elements grounded in everyday realities. This story is in turns poignant, sad, horrific and romantic. It flows effortlessly together under the Tuscan Moon, woven into a textile that tells the complex tale of domestic violence. Not only does Carrington-Smith raise awareness about a topic we all need to be aware of, she takes it a step further, making you truly care.

I am a big fan of Sandra’s work, from her first book “Housekeeping of the Soul, to the "Book of Obeah," "The Rosaries," through to this stunning tour de force, “Shadows of a Tuscan Moon.” I can’t recommend it highly enough! Buy it for yourself, loved one, and a friend. You won’t be disappointed.

Comments

Gran Bwa

Gran Bwa is a lwa that helps you connect to ancestral roots or the spiritual home of Vodou. A friend of mine, who is an expert on Haitian Vodou, who has spent a lot of time in Haiti with the artists there, told me I had painted Gran Bwa when I made this spontaneous work out of walnut ink and sumi-ink on handmade paper. I had considered this painting a self-portrait. She now holds this piece in her private collection: Quite a few people are afraid of Vodou but it is an awe-inspiring tradition of bringing together plant energy with divinity, spiritual and personal energy. My friend who is very involved with Vodou, especially the art that surrounds it, is from European ancestry. She is light in spirit and bubbly, with a close relationship to nature and her garden. Vodou affirms the relationships between cycles of life, trees of knowledge and spirit. The Vodou vision of lwa , understands them as the intelligence of energy present in humans, nature and thoughts. ...

Tree Whispers

Tree Whispers Shinrin-yoku is a complementary medicine modality, designed to up-lift sub-par health conditions, through lifestyle changes that involve immersion in nature, specifically the wildness, we call a forest, where the senses, including our intuitive sense and ability to heal ourselves through it, is ignited. Forest bathing, as Shinrin-yoku is popularly called, has come to our attention, at a time when the scientific community is abuzz about the ability of trees - be it in stands, groves, or forests, to build community. This, at a time, when we as humans, struggle hard to build and sustain healthy in-person communities, in the face of Online communications. Books like “The Hidden Life of Trees: What they Feel, How they Communicate Discoveries from a Secret World,” (Wohlleben 2016) by Peter Wohlleben is a Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post bestseller. It makes readers privy to trees’ communication skills and social networks, that is, it helps us entertain...

Xochitl--Flower

(Winter Poinsettia by Stephanie Rose Bird, oil on wood) One of my Facebook friends does daily posts and shares called "I love Flowers." I love flowers too, in real life, in my garden, in paintings and as they are related to the gods and goddesses, in healing, as well as their use in folklore like Hoodoo. Not long ago I posted about Xochipelli (Sho-CHEE-pee-lee) prince of flowers and Xochiquetzal (Sho-CHEE-ket-zul) goddess of flowers in anticipation of April's blooming season. The Goddess and Prince of Flowers post is here. Today, I want to focus in on the root word of their names and it's symbolism. This word is Xochitl (Show-CHEE-tul) in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs. This word means flower. ...

Stephanie's Studio

Search This Blog