Aunt Poldi, as the titles character, takes center stage in this first chapter. She seems born to be in the center of things, with her loud laugh, her bright clothes, and her Sicilian home where “the ice is thick enough.” I can’t wait to read more about Poldi, but I’m also intrigued to learn more about the narrator— the “German nephew” who seems part of the house from the beginning. Things seem bound to happen in Sicily!