About the Book:

The moving and delightful story of the Valente family, although fiction, is grounded in first-hand knowledge of the way of life in Picinisco, southern Italy, in the post-war years. Poverty, separation and loss were common experiences that caused many to emigrate. Yet the hardships were more than balanced by a culture of family warmth and vitality, shared connection to the land and an intimate understanding of how to work it.

A born storyteller, Serafina Crolla was inspired to write Children of This Land when visiting the cemetery in her native village of Picinisco. There, she saw a headstone for ‘An exemplary mother of nineteen children’. She was deeply struck by the eloquent simplicity and poignancy of this memorial inscription. As the daughter of a shepherd, Serafina well understood the joys and hardships that life would have entailed for this family.

Through the vicissitudes of life, ties to this place hold strong for the Valentes. The nineteen children who make up the family tell their stories of love, marriage, trials and tribulations, loss and pain of immigration. Serafina’s own family emigrated to Scotland when she was a little girl but she returns to her homeland often, for, as she puts it: ‘A love for Picinisco as deep as the valleys and as pure as the snow-capped mountains is never forgotten.’

Reviews:

Poignant but life-affirming ... Crolla clearly understands that she needs to strike a balance between idealising the Italian peasant way of life and acknowledging its hardship ... Her prose has a warmth and simplicity that complements its characters' lives, conveying an affection that could convince you she was writing about her own family, and an ambivalence that reflects their feelings about a land they love but are no longer certain has anything to offer its young. THE HERALD

Praise for Serafina Crolla:

You expose the human cost of war beyond the battlefield in a depiction of love and grief, pain and union... It has allowed me to see more clearly where I come from. RICHARD DEMARCO

A great document of a simpler life for so many Scottish Italians. A great read! GOODREADS

Serafina gives us an insight to a simpler time. It was a beautiful memoir and told beautifully. MARIA on The Wee Italian Girl