Book launch   |18 March 2023

Mr Soru with a copy of his book (Photo: Joena Meme)

‘Spaghetti in a suitcase – My journey to the Seychelles’

‘Spaghetti in a suitcase – My journey to the Seychelles’ is the title of a new book by Felice Soru.

It is a story about true events.

Felice Soru was born in a small town in Sardinia, Italy and decided to come to Seychelles when he was very young. Just a few months after he arrived in Seychelles, the country experienced a coup d’état. After a few years of standstill, life came back to normal and he was employed in a construction company.

The book, which contains 65 chapters, tells each stage of his life in the Seychelles.

“I am now a retired 69-year-old and living in Seychelles/Surrey (United Kingdom). I was born and raised in a small town on the Italian island of Sardinia, and as a teenager, I always felt underlying wanderlust. I spend the winters here and then go back to the UK,” shared the author.

Where did the inspiration come from? Mr Soru shared that it was her daughter, Cristina, who persistently encouraged him to put down his life story.

“After years of cajoling and numerous walks along the paths of Virginia waters, I finally started drafting parts from my old diary notes. As I compiled the chapters, during Covid times, I find myself intrigued by the next one. Exhilarated and satisfied I could not stop but to write.”

The book, a memoir, is an intriguing recount of his life experience in the 1970s, a fulfilment of a dream of life on a tropical island.

“A blind date with a mysterious island in the middle of the Indian Ocean as the country falls victim to a coup d’état. It is a story of naivety; I wanted to capture the beauty of these islands, still untouched by mass tourism, and the difficulties encountered through these years by its inhabitants. An account of what was like air travel and what came to be later in the years, a newfound passion for travel! A whole real account of exciting stories shaped by personality and life. The strong male characters in the story are the people who have shaped my life – from my dad to Mr Floris and the daredevil of Mr Cossu. My sponsor, the person that brought me to Seychelles, initially was full of admiration and inspired me to be! As years went by, I experienced his many controversial affairs, with twists and turns. Once settled on the island, witnessing the country’s transformation into a new dictatorial regime.”

The book is available on Amazon and at Antigone Bookshop at R200. The Italian version also is available.

Vidya Gappy

BOOK BLURB

Days spent on his family’s vineyards left him eager to escape until a chance encounter with an ostentatious entrepreneur changed the course of his life. Signor Cossu was a flamboyant Sardinian businessman who offered Felice a job in his business based in the Seychelles. A blind date had been set with the enigmatic archipelago somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Despite arriving when the country was in the throes of a coup d’état, Felice quickly carved out a good life in Mahé. Working for a company that was responsible for some of the largest developments in the Seychelles, Felice also fell in love with Helena, a native Seychellois.
They quickly became inseparable, indulging in all the islands had to offer, from the nightlife to the unique Creole culture and intoxicatingly beautiful beaches. But life in paradise soon became overshadowed by the harsh reality of the Seychelles’ socialist regime, corrupt politicians, dishonest workers and yet another coup that threatened to destroy everything Felice had worked so hard to build.

Amid the turmoil, he began to feel disenchanted with the islands. Although the Seychelles was like a siren, seducing anyone who set foot on her shores, mayhem so often followed. He eventually settled in England with Helena and started a family. But his years in the Seychelles would colour his life forever…