Here writes someone as if he were the very first traveler to Sicily. Rarely has there been such success and return. Ralph Giordano's literary travelogue is much more than a masterful depiction of the stark beauty at Africa's border. It is also a return to one's own roots. Grandfather Rocco Giordano would gently twist little Ralph's earlobes when he sat on his lap. In doing so, the grandfather would utter sounds that the favorite grandson did not understand but remembered: "Zitschilia, Zitschilia." At that time, he had no inkling of the drama of the brilliant musician that began in the Sicilian town of Riesi and ended in Hamburg. More than seventy years after the grandfather's death, Ralph Giordano embarks on a quest for Sicilian traces. This journey, covering well over 10,000 kilometers between Etna and Erice, Palermo and Catania, resulted in a vibrant portrait.