To the Editor: I would like to congratulate Adam Begley on his excellent article, 鈥淪icily, Through the Eyes of the Leopard鈥 (July 6). Having been born in Siracusa, Sicily, and grown up there in the 1960s, I was made to read 鈥淚l Gattopardo鈥 in high school and never appreciated it. Not sure how, but recently I found the old high-school book, reread it and loved it. The article captures, better than any I have ever read, the essence of the book, the author, the land, the people, the contradictions, the culture. Paul Pirrotta.