Dramatic, packed with disturbing historical tidbits, and helmed by a memorable protagonist.
Amato’s historical novel presents a multigenerational tale of Sicilian immigrants at the turn of the 20th century.
The story opens in 1877, in Marinella, Sicily. Nine-year-old Saverio Mancuso is fighting off schoolmates who want him to declare his love for pretty Rosa Favale. After being pummeled, Saverio proclaims his love for the young girl (“Yes, I do love Rosa, and I want to kiss her on the mouth”). In 1888, the couple marries. Frustrated by the lack of opportunity in poverty-stricken Sicily, Saverio begins talking to Rosa about moving to America. In 1895, after suffering two miscarriages, Rosa dies while giving birth to their son, Tommaso. At only 5 years of age, Tommaso finds himself an orphan after Saverio dies of lung cancer, and, with his father’s best friend, Giacomo Capelli, he takes a ship to America. Frightened, the quiet little Tommaso (eventually called Thomas), taken under the protective wing of a kindly group of Sicilian men aboard the ship, grows up to become the American patriarch of the Mancuso clan. After arriving in New York, the men bring him with them to Detroit and place him in foster care under a brutal tyrant, Nunzio Davanzo, and his gentle wife, Angelina. Nunzio immediately puts the child to work as a newsboy toiling 12-hour days, even during the frigid winters. But Thomas is a smart youngster determined to make a success of his life as an American. Amato’s portrait of 19th-century Sicily is vivid and poignant. While the narrative verges into the melodramatic, the author’s chilling descriptions of living conditions during the transatlantic crossing, and of the reprehensible mistreatment Thomas suffers at the hands of Nunzio, make for addictive reading. Amiable, conversational prose and dialogue, in addition to a sizable cast of secondary characters with their own intriguing stories, capture the struggles of the Italian immigrant experience. Thomas is the emotional core of the novel; the intensity of the story eases when he moves to Norfolk, Virginia, and his life takes a dramatic, positive turn. While still engaging, the work becomes less riveting as the narrative moves forward with subsequent Mancuso generations.
Dramatic, packed with disturbing historical tidbits, and helmed by a memorable protagonist.Pub Date: July 16, 2026
ISBN: 9781685137687
Page Count: 354
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: March 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
© Copyright 2026 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.
