The Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize for Writing about Italians in Australia: Winner 2005

A Spoonful of Zucchero by Kate Taylor (Little Red Apple Publishing)

In this book the author succeeds in presenting the reader with the human face of a document, taking us through time and space to encounter the characters of a tragedy, in a segment of life which progresses from darkness and despair into light and hope.

The work is relevant, well-written and engaging. In our opinion the ending of the story is splendid. Kate Taylor proves herself to be a fascinating storyteller.

Novels depicting the Italian experience on the North Queensland canefields have been appearing since the 1920s. There are also numerous coming-of-age stories that offer an account of the immigrant child’s adjustment to Australian life and conditions. A Spoonful of Zucchero combines these two themes and does more besides. Through the eyes of a 10-year-old we are taken into a distant and strange world that is both believable and also insightful for its depiction of the cross-cultural reality in the early years of the Commonwealth. An immigrant boy detached from his immediate family must adjust himself to the larger and chaotic world. There are many nice touches – perhaps our favourite was the farewell corroboree given to the boy and his kanaka friend, partly because it mirrors (perhaps unwittingly) the festa d’addio, which was so much a part of the emigrant experience in this period. 

In general, we wish to compliment the donors and organisers of this new section, as it will undoubtedly encourage Italo-Australians to read and write more about their heritage.