As a kind of summary of his previous literary work, Leonardo Sciascia regarded these thirteen Sicilian stories. Indeed, they are not only literary masterpieces; they transport the reader into the world of this island of longing, familiarizing them with the bloody rules of Sicilian separation, the male code of honor regarding female fidelity, explaining the deeper meaning of the term "family ties" through the dictatorship of the children of a four-member family during a train journey, and telling how one with an honest face still takes the last from the poor.