Ann Cornelisen (1926–2003)

very interesting descriptions of the life of poor women in general----and specifically sicilian women. an idea she poses is that disadvantaged women, the world over, are said to live n patriarchal societies but for the most part the men are not there. they are working in other countries. and if they are there, they are unemployed. i often think that in indiginous cultures the women did all the work. the men went hunting once in a while usually unsuccessfully, made war and spent their"free" time stoned.… (more)

In a summer of robberies and kidnappings in Italy in the 1970s, El (Eleanor) and Lacey keep getting waved through police checkpoints because the carabinieri are on the lookout for male suspects. The two friends sarcastically remark to each other that "any four women could rob the Bank of Italy" because Italian men are so sexist, they would never believe women could plan and carry out such a crime. In the spirit of feminism and equality, they decide to gather up a few friends and rob the mail train at the station of San Felice.

Wonderfully fresh and funny, this book rushes along at a terrific pace. The writing is so smart & sassy, it was a joy to read.… (more)

After being waved through road-blocks because it apparently does not occur to the Italian police that females could be criminals, several female friends and acquaintances (six not four) decide to rob the mail train. I found this to be an intriguing premise, but it is very poorly executed. All the characters (ex-pats living in Italy) sound the same, and I had difficulty telling them apart. The descriptions of how the characters perpetrated the crime were confusing, and also confusing was how they returned the money afterwards. This is one to avoid.

1 1/2 stars… (more)