- Paperback: 377 pages
- Publisher: Regent Press (Nov 1 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1587900300
- ISBN-13: 978-1587900303
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 14.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 553 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #454,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
About the Author
Peter Chiarella started life in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in 1932. He was educated in the public school system and at St. John's University. Retired from the corporate world, Peter lives in Napa, California and enjoys the life of a gentleman farmer as a wine grape grower and vintner. He is married and has four children.
Despite the shame and disgrace brought upon his family by his great aunt's improprieties and his grandfather's two prison sentences, his grandmother's steadfast choices and enormous integrity placed a stamp of honor on the family that has been passed on to subsequent generations. It has allowed them to succeed as Americans and has endowed them with the courage to reveal the past.
The author's father grew up in Calabria, immigrating to the U.S. in 1920 at age 22. His mother grew up on the lower East Side of New York. Because his paternal grandmother lived with his immediate family, Peter needed to speak Italian to include Nonna in his conversations. Consequently, Peter grew up speaking and understanding Italian while internalizing what it means to be Italian.
For as long as they can remember, the author and his older brother felt the compulsion to reduce to writing the stories they heard and reheard over the years. Encouraged by his brother and other members of the family, Peter took on the task of writing "Calabrian Tales", reflecting on the struggle and compromises that past generations of his family endured in turn-of-the-century Italy. At times you will have to remind yourself that these are true stories with real people.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
In the white heat of the Calabrian sun, a teen-age peasant girl labors in the field. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
In the white heat of the Calabrian sun, a teen-age peasant girl labors in the field. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A deftly written tale of enduring humanity, pride, & culture,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Calabrian Tales (Paperback)
Drawn from a true succession of personal family incidents, Calabrian Tales: A Memoir Of 19th Century Southern Italy by Peter Chiarella is a compelling saga about a family who lived in one of Italy's poorest regions more than a hundred years ago. Here are memorably crafted stories of inexplicable injustice, poverty, avarice, indomitable pride, and survival. Marianna (who is the author's great aunt) is a woman who mortifies her family by becoming the mistress of a wealthy noble. The resulting familial clashes, the trials of emigration, and the struggle to make a new life in America enhance this engaging and deftly written tale of enduring humanity, pride, and culture.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The way life really was,
By
Ce commentaire est de: Calabrian Tales (Paperback)
You really feel what it's like to know you will starve once the food you are growing runs out. That overwhelming insecurity was the life of many of our parents and grandparents. The story is fascinating and truly holds your attention. It illuminates our emotional inheritance while it entertains. I want to give this book to all the people who go on about how hard life is these days.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
TRIUMPH OVER TRAGEDY,
By A Customer
Ce commentaire est de: Calabrian Tales (Paperback)
This is a heart-rending story of triumph over tragedy. The characters come alive and invite the reader to see how determination of the human spirit lives on through their valiant lives. Ths story unfolds with a trip through this part of Italy and its history.
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