A moving and well-written saga of an earlier time in America.
Trubiano’s historical novel tells the story of the Italian immigrants who fought for survival and acceptance in Boston’s North End in the first half of the 20th century.
Domenic Bassini is 16 years old when he sets sail for America from his hardscrabble little village to make a better life for himself and perhaps improve the family fortunes. A shy, quiet kid, he nonetheless meets people on the voyage who will remain in his life (for good or ill), including Cologero Dragotto and his beautiful and shrewd young bride, Francesca, who seduces Domenic even before they land in Boston, and the spunky 10-year-old stowaway, Ermino Lentini. Once in Boston, Domenic, a stoic, steady worker, gets a job and keeps his head down. Domenic becomes Ermino’s protector by default, but the kid is a handful and drifts away, finally going full-bore into a successful life of crime. Early on, Ermino and Domenic have a run-in with young Colin O’Riley, the son of Brendan O’Riley—a very powerful police officer in the BPD; a generation-long enmity between the Bassinis and the O’Rileys will soon develop. Colin becomes a dirty and dangerous cop and the nemesis of Domenic’s son, Dommy, who’s a war hero, a scrupulously honest cop, and a beacon for the future. (As his wife, Martha, later says ruefully, “Dommy didn’t want to just be a cop. He wanted to be a saint.”) The narrative runs from 1914 to the 1950s and through three generations of triumphs and tragedies; the city of Boston is as much a character as the human characters. The author effectively illustrates the ways in which struggles for power in the city often resembled a fight between scorpions trapped in a bottle. The story covers the Brahmins, who lost Boston but controlled the State House; the Irish, who took over the BPD; the Italian Mafia and lesser gangs; and the often hilariously corrupt politicians. In the course of the tale, readers encounter the famous police strike of 1919, the Great Molasses Flood of that same year, the Spanish flu, and several cameo references (including Joseph Kennedy, Sacco and Vanzetti, and James Michael Curley).
A moving and well-written saga of an earlier time in America.Pub Date: June 1, 2024
ISBN: 978-1-963844-04-7
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
