Under the Shadow of Etna: Sicilian Stories from the Italian of Giovanni Verga

"Under the Shadow of Etna: Sicilian Stories from the Italian of Giovanni Verga" by Giovanni Verga shares tales of Sicilian peasants in the late 1800s, focusing on their challenging lives and strong emotions against the striking, but severe, landscape of Mount Etna, where love, poverty, and deception shape the characters' destinies. The collection starts with Peppa, who is set to marry but instead becomes fascinated with a bandit named Gramigna; her intense love for him causes her to break off her marriage, showing how love can be strong and unreasonable. As Gramigna is hunted, Peppa's determination to be with him makes her go against what society expects and what her family wants, capturing the feelings of desperation and devotion—providing a glimpse into a world where personal desires often go against tough realities.