Cat Lady by Mary M. Schmidt in an Italian Library

Dear readers, this morning I took my car and delivered another book in English in the municipal library of my country in Sicily, Italy. The book I added to the library is Cat Lady by Mary M. Schmidt.  I have already reviewed the book in English and Italian. As soon as I arrived in the library, I took some photos and introduced the book and its author to the Italian librarians who were very happy to add it to the library. Cat Lady is a sweet and tender story created like a poetry, indeed, that is a poetry book.

Writing style and plot are very original and tell about an old woman called Maria who spends her entire life to feed and care the cat colonies that every day wander around the most important monument in Rome: The Colosseum. Tourists mock this old woman who in reality hides a painful secret shared only with her loved cats. These ones, in turn, seem to be outfitted with paranormal powers and are able to talk to Maria in order to discover his burning secret which is also a promise the woman made to a Roman bishop many years ago. All this has been told with enchanting rhymes and verses.

Cat Lady, as I have said during my review, is a sort of tribute and gift to Italy and Italians, a memory of the same life of the author who has studied and lived in Rome during the 1960s. At that time, Rome was a glorious city, in addition to be the main city and capital of Italy. Its magnificence and glory can be seen still today, but thanks to Cat Lady, Italian readers can also admire a talented poet such as Mary M. Schmidt.

Mary M. Schmidt’s poetry is very original, unusual for an author and for this reason, enthralling, also. The words are a stream of memories and sadness seasoned with some sketches of hope and joy, a real masterpiece of poetic story and lyric literature.  As of today, Cat Lady is in the Municipal Library of Grammichele, Sicily, Italy, available to be read by adults and students who want to learn English.

I am sure they will very surprised by the sentence author chose to open her book, namely the final words of The Divine Comedy written by superb Italian poet Dante Alighieri: L’amor che move Il sole e l’altre stelle that I want to translate like this: Love that moves the sun and the other stars! I believe it was the deep and intimate love for Italy that pushed Mary M. Schmidt to dedicate her writing and poetry to our loved Italy and for this I can only say thanks Mary on behalf of me and of the future readers who’ll surely appreciate Cat Lady during their visit to the Italian library.

About the author: Mary M. Schmidt writes prose, poetry and was a member of Poets Against the Iraq War. During the AIDS epidemic, Mary M. Schmidt served those in the final stages of the disease, especially those who had been abandoned by their families. She currently lives in Washington DC with her cat Graycie.

Rosalba Mancuso

Rosalba Mancuso is the journalist, born in Sicily, who founded three online magazines in English. On Advicesbooks Book Reviews, Rosalba shows her great passion for books, helping readers and book lovers choose and buy the best books she read and reviewed. She also worked as a contributor for printed publications and online magazines and as a bilingual Italian-English writer. Here, Rosalba also offers room to authors and publishers who want to get their books reviewed through the voice of an avid reader like her. You must also know that this book review magazine lives thanks to your help. Rosalba, in fact, earns a small commission, with no cost for you, when you buy books through the affiliate links you find in her book reviews. This book review magazine is also funded by services of editorial reviews and book press releases.