A studied novel about a volatile time in both American and Italian history.
A historical novel about Italian Americans in the 20th century.
Heckenlively introduces a Sicilian named Vincenzo Nicosia, who’s merely a boy when his father receives a 20-year sentence for beating up a jeweler in 1907.It’s a major blow to Vincenzo’s family; his mother is even forced into sex work to make ends meet. The youngster places the blame for his family’s plight on the local Duke du Taormina, a man named Alessandro de Leone, whom he feels is responsible for his father’s tough sentence. Years later, a politician named Benito Mussolini is building a following; he has many enemies, one of whom happens to be Alessandro. Mussolini offers a deal to Vincenzo: If he kills the duke, Mussolini will free his father—and give him the duke’s property, to boot. Vincenzo shoots the duke, but then his entire family is murdered by Mussolini’s thugs, so he decides to flee Sicily for America. In San Francisco, after years of hard work and ruthlessness, he winds up running a successful construction business. He also falls in love with a widow named Jacquetta Mercurio,who, as chance would have it, is the daughter of Alessandro. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Jacquetta’s nephew Alex Falcone enlists in the U.S. Army. His platoon fights their way from North Africa and on into Italy, where he’s wounded. In Sicily, he learns more about his grandfather Alessandro, the “Lion of Sicily.” Alex will go on to become much more involved in the future of the country than he ever imagined.
This account of Italy and the impact of its fascism makes for some intriguing, often overlooked history, such as the fate of the Italian monarchy following the war, as well as Western fears about a potential communist takeover of the country. By contrast, Vincenzo’s time in America is more familiar; this part of the book shows how he struggled to find work and master English before his rise to become a man of power, but it’s not particularly novel. He was, after all, a man who once cut a deal with Mussolini, so his later, cruel decisions, such as firing a friend as soon as he becomes a foreman, are unsurprising. But he’s not involved with the Italian American Mafia, which allows for some nuance, although he shows himself to be quite capable of committing a Mafia-like murder. Still, the question remains of just how aggressive he’ll become. Even after Vincenzo has a daughter with Jacquetta, there’s no telling who might raise his ire in the competitive world of San Francisco construction. Things kick up a notch when Alex enters World War II. Although readers will, of course, know how the war ends, they can’t predict the extent of Alex’s involvement; he witnesses some lesser-known terrors of the fighting in Italy, such as the massacre at the Ardeatine Caves. Although Vincenzo’s quest isn’t as engaging as Alex’s, the work ably portrays the clash between an old world and a modern one.
A studied novel about a volatile time in both American and Italian history.Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781956763959
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Arcade
Review Posted Online: Jan. 23, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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