Ciao Bella: In Search of New Relatives and Dante in Italy

By Helena Frith Powell

'You really must read… Ciao Bella.' Sunday Times 'Fascinating… comic… delightful' Sunday Times 'Humorous… rich and satisfying.' Daily Telegraph 'Beautifully written, it made me laugh and I wanted to follow in Helena's footsteps round Italy.' Kate Figes 'A travel book with a difference.' Coventry Evening Telegraph 'An ideal stocking filler.' Evening Standard (Glasgow) 'Brilliant.' BBC Radio Oxford Shabina Akhtar 'I defy anyone not to enjoy it.' Harrow Observer In this exceptional travel book, Helena Frith Powell travels through Italy with her father to discover the Italian family she never knew about. In a rare twist of fate, Helena Frith Powell grew up in Newbury as a shy girl, oblivious of her extrovert Italian family. But, at the age of 14, she was suddenly rudely awakened to the truth, when her real father wrote to her and invited her to come to Italy. Her Italian-style adolescence is guided by her Lothario father, her lying aunt and her doting grandmother. While writing this memoir fourteen years later, she reestablishes contact with her father, who ran out of her wedding, and finally finds their common ground. In this funny, moving and entertaining journey to the places she visited with her father, Helena combines descriptions of Italy, its food, fashion, culture and people to get to grips with a foreign culture that is genetically her own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gibson Square
• Release date: Nov 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781906142513

Reviews for Ciao Bella

[angelfruity · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In parts, a very funny and amusing book. However, sad in equal measure as the writer bears her soul and opens a window on her family's life - which is both confusing, funny and removed. An enjoyable book to read whilst experiencing the arts or Italy.