Synopses & Reviews
In April 1903, the steamship Republic spills more than two thousand immigrants onto Ellis Island. Among them are Diamante, age twelve, and Vita, nine, sent by their poor families in southern Italy to make their way in America. Amid the chaos and splendor of New York, the misery and criminality of Little Italy, and the shady tenants of Vita's father's decrepit Prince Street boarding house, Diamante and Vita struggle to survive, to create a new life, and to become American. From journeys west in search of work to journeys back to Italy in search of their roots, to Vita's son's encounter with his mother's home town while serving as an army captain in World War II, Vita touches on every aspect of the heartbreaking and inspiring immigrant story.The award-winning Italian author Melania G. Mazzucco weaves her own family history into a great American novel of the immigrant experience. A sweeping tale of discovery, love, and loss, Vita is a passionate blend of biography and autobiography, of fantasy and fiction.
Review
"A beautiful and moving saga, a lyrical epic, profoundly existential, full of illusion, hope, and heartache" Giovanni Pacchiano, Il Sole 24 Ore
Review
"Winner in 2003 of Italy's Strega Prize, this teeming, nostalgic tale should find willing American readers." Kirkus Review
Review
"While the text is dense, rich details provide a harrowing glimpse into the era's political and social milieu. Winner of Italy's prestigious Strega Prize, this fascinating and moving novel is highly recommended." Library Journal
Synopsis
In "Vita," an award-winning Italian author weaves her own family history into a great American novel of the immigrant experience. A sweeping tale of discovery, love, and loss, "Vita" is a passionate blend of biography and autobiography, of fantasy and fiction.
Synopsis
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
In April 1903, Diamante, age twelve, and Vita, age nine, are sent by their poor families in southern Italy to make a life for themselves in America. Theirs is an unforgettable love story, a riveting tale of immigrant survival and hope that takes them from the crime-ridden tenements of Little Italy to the brutal rail yards of the Midwest, on paths that cross with the Black Hand, Caruso, and Chaplin. It is a story that reaches across decades, to the son of Vita, who would travel as far as Italy to find his roots and the man who could have been his father.
In Vita, the author, Melania G. Mazzucco, also tells her own story of how she found Diamante and Vita in old photographs, documents, ship manifests, and the fading memories of her relatives, and from these fragments of the past imagined this gripping epic fiction of her family's history.
About the Author
Melania G. Mazzucco was born in Rome in 1966. She earned a degree in Italian literature from the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and a degree in cinema from the Experimental Center for Cinematography. In addition to her four novels, she has written award-winning works for the cinema, theater, and radio. Vita was awarded the 2003 Strega Prize, Italy's leading literary award.