Review: Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson

Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson is a witty memoir and a love letter to Italian food.

After college graduation, Katherine is to “do a year abroad”. Not knowing what she wants to do, she lands an internship in Naples, Italy, working at the consulate. She thought she would find her life’s career in Italy, something she was passionate about. Instead she found family and love, and the ability to see food differently than she ever had before.

Only in Naples is a warm, hearty story. Unlike many memoirs, which read like a pre-packaged snack or bowl full of devourable popcorn, this is a bubbling pan of lasagne straight from the oven – a lasagne of which you are going to want seconds.

My Favorite Quotes from Only in Naples:

(read on Kindle, sorry no page numbers!)

“I now know that Naples is like New York City: you either love it or you hate it.”

“The kitchen was for cooking and eating in famiglia. You can scooch around and bump into family, after all. Lean over them, step on them, feed and be fed by them. A lot of space isn’t really necessary when you’re with people you love.”

“The English word ‘carnal’ is derogatory and has sexual connotations, but in Italian ‘carnage’ is precious and sacred.”

“I should have realized by then that in Italy, and particularly in Naples, anything is possible. Magic happens. The chaos and noise and colors give way suddenly, unexpectedly, to solemnity. How? The answer is always in the food.”

“This is all to say that the day after Easter should be a holiday everywhere for Christians, like it is in Naples. A day to let it sink in: the chocolate, the music, the impossible fact that He died for me and rose again… give us a moment to digest it all and figure out how we’re going to live our lives.”

“The important think is how you behave with the people who really matter.”

Should you read Only in Naples? If you like creative non-ficition or memoir, if you love reading about how food can comfort and hurt, and if you love a good story about cultural differences and learning to love someone whose family is very different from yours, then yes!

As someone who knows just enough Spanish and French to be dangerous, but not even a little Italian, sometimes the Italian phrases sprinkled throughout the book were a bit distracting. Otherwise, this was a lovely, heartfelt story about what it’s like to see another culture and become part of someone else’s family.

P.S. If you like this, I recommend Shauna Niequist’s Bread & Wine for another memoir that looks at the the ways in which life and food are forever intertwined.