Siracusa: Delia Ephron's latest book getting its big screen moment in the sun

I loved Delia Ephron's The Lion is In so much I put it on my short list of books I wished were movies. I won't have to do that with her latest book, Siracusa, as the novel, released July 12th, was optioned by Working Title back in March. A director is already lined up; Alfonso Gomez-Rejon who recenlty helmed the adaptation of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.




The book takes place on the island of Sicily, on the Ionian Sea so the 'sun-drenched' locale seems set in stone. I love movies that show us the world, and Siracusa, full of Greek influence, sounds like a special place to see. All that's left is the casting. I can't wait to start reading! 


Here's the rundown on the book—already named one of New York Magazines top 100 beach reads.  

An electrifying novel about marriage and deceit from bestselling author Delia Ephron that follows two couples on vacation in Siracusa, a town on the coast of Sicily, where the secrets they have hidden from one another are exposed and relationships are unraveled. 

New Yorkers Michael, a famous writer, and Lizzie, a journalist, travel to Italy with their friends from Maine—Finn; his wife, Taylor; and their daughter, Snow. “From the beginning,” says Taylor, “it was a conspiracy for Lizzie and Finn to be together.” Told Rashomon-style in alternating points of view, the characters expose and stumble upon lies and infidelities past and present. Snow, ten years old and precociously drawn into a far more adult drama, becomes the catalyst for catastrophe as the novel explores collusion and betrayal in marriage. 

With her inimitable psychological astute­ness and uncanny understanding of the human heart, Ephron delivers a powerful meditation on marriage, friendship, and the meaning of travel. Set on the sun-drenched coast of the Ionian Sea, Siracusa unfolds with the pacing of a psychological thriller and delivers an unexpected final act that none will see coming.

A new twitter acquaintance @BooksandTunes tweeted this quote from the book!

"There are some people who dump all their misery into marriage, make wedded bliss their neurotic nest, & the best version of them lives outside that ugly place."

Oh God! On a bad day, that's a lot of us. 

Have you read Siracusa yet? Who would you cast as the famous author Michael and his journalist wife Lizzie?