From November 2005 School Library Journal:It is 1953 and Maddalena Grasso is newly arrived in the United States, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar language, strange customs, and her place in her new extended family. Her husband, Antonio, is a perpetually dissatisfied man who yearns after the American Dream: shiny new car, new home, and children. Having convinced the beautiful Maddalena to marry him and leave her family behind, he now watches over her jealously and becomes ever more frustrated over his inability to acquire all the outward trappings of success to which he feels entitled. He feels a mixture of contempt and jealousy for his brother Mario, who seems perfectly happy with his average wife, his nondescript daughters, and his job managing someone else’s restaurant. While Maddalena tries to keep Antonio grounded in the simpler joys of the life they share, his childhood friend Renato, adventurous and single, lures him on with promises of easy riches. Maddalena befriends a middle-aged single man who has recently lost both his parents. Giulio Fabbri is drifting through life, trying to overcome his feelings of purposelessness. As his friendship with Maddalena and the Grasso family deepens, Giulio comes to understand himself and his dreams better, and realizes that he must take risks if he is ever going to be more than an observer of life. Threading through the various relationships are undercurrents of racial tension. An African-American family moves into the predominantly Italian neighborhood, and the community reacts with ugliness and prejudice. The presence of Abraham Waters and his family seems to be a personal affront to the residents of “Little Italy.” Maddalena, Antonio, and Giulio each interact with Abraham Waters in markedly different ways, and these differences are very telling in how they handle life’s disappointments and surprises in general. With The Saint of Lost Things, Christopher Castellani has crafted a lyrical and elegant novel that goes beyond an Italian-American community in the middle of the twentieth century. His character portraits are finely drawn and he has a keen eye for the subtle dramas of family and friendship.
Another "quiet" book that captivated me. Beautifully renders the paradox of the immigrant's life: hope for the new world, grief for all that's left behind. Elegant writing. The author switches deftly from one character's point of view to another. I admit I'm partial to the subject matter, as I love immigrant tales, but the descriptions of the daily grind and family life of the Grassos, trying to claw their way into the American Dream, made me feel like I was there with them. Felt particularly partial to Giulio/Julian, a lonely and misunderstoond poet/musician friend of the family who perhaps has an even harder time fitting into America than Maddalena, even though he has less back in Italy for which to pine.I admit I was a bit queasy that a central mystery/crime in the book hangs throughout as an open question. But evidently Wilmington in the 1950s experienced a rash of awful, still unsolved crimes of this type. In that historical context, a tidy and "fair" resolution would have likely felt far too tidy for the messy world of 1954 Little Italy.
Do You like book The Saint Of Lost Things (2006)?
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about immigrant Italian-Americans creating new lives in Wilmington, Delaware in the 1950's. No doubt a great deal of my pleasure came from the fact that I grew up in that small city at the same time. Although my family was neither Italian nor recently immigrated, I grew up surrounded by the people of this book, and so much of this book rang true for me. I have lived in the Midwest for the past 40 years, and I miss the Italian influences of my youth -- the food, the businesses, the people -- so this book was a real treat for me. I recommend it!
—Julie
This story is about an Italian immigrant family. Told within that cultural context it is a wonderful insight into how these immigrants struggled to make it in the New World while also wanting to become a part of the US.They are proud of their culture and language, but at the same time they all learn English and the American way of life. They work very hard at becoming Americans and obtaining the status that that brings. I borrowed this one from the library, but I might buy a copy and add it to my library.
—Lily
This is the second of a trilogy about the Grasso family. The first book ends with Maddolina leaving behind Italy, her family, and her first love as she bows to the wishes of her parents and family to marry Antonio Grasso who returns to Italy from America to pick his bride. This novel is set 7 years later in the city of Wilmington as she adjusts to marriage in a strange land in the early 1950's, Wilmington's little Italy, all 8 blocks is still bigger than the three streets of her small village. It is experiencing the transition from immigrant enclave to the lure of the suburbs and the strains of black families beginning to encroach on the insular Italian community. America is not a land of plenty and her introduction into the Grasso family and marriage to Anthony is difficult. Maddolina emerges from her loneliness and copes with a husband with abundant imperfections . This is a slice of life with immigrants coping with and coming to terms with a new land which itself is changing.Alice liked this better than the first book of the trilogy. I liked a Kiss For Maddolina better, as I roted for the two lovers torn apart by fate and false conventions. I look forward to reading the third book. Good, better, best is Alice's assessment.
—Bap
