Assessment:
Plot: In volume 2 of Diorio's Italian Chronicles series, her characters are forced to migrate from Italy to the New World. Diorio delivers an affecting immigration story, though plot developments are somewhat hastily presented and resolved.
Prose/Style: The author writes impressively well, with smooth prose that conjures both a sense of the historical era and the characters' harrowing experiences. The narrative is finely detailed, albeit at times oversimplified.
Originality: While stories of immigration are familiar, the author succeeds in personalizing the journey for readers, with visceral descriptions of an impoverished life in 19th-century Brooklyn. Diorio excels at sensitively exploring the unsettling experience of relocation.
Character Development: Readers would benefit from first reading Diorio's previous novel, The Madonna of Pisano, in order to better understand the characters and their origins. This novel focuses more readily on the experiences of Luca, whose mannerisms and way of speaking can come across as overly subdued and dispassionate. Nevertheless, the author establishes a rich sense of community and an authentic representation of a family adjusting to a new life and its challenges.
Date Submitted: August 07, 2019
4.0 out of 5 starsGripping Series!
May 1, 2018
Format: Paperback
I fell in love with the dramatic characters in Book One 'The Madonna of Pisano' and knew I must read the rest of their intriguing story. It broke my heart to read of the deplorable conditions immigrants had to endure while seeking a better life in America. Not only racism, but rat-infested tenements, long, tedious working hours, and an intense yearning for the beautiful land they left behind. I can honestly say I could not have endured it and would have been on the next ship home! Maria and Luca are two of the most godly characters to ever grace the pages of a novel and I so look forward to reading the next book in the series, Return to Bella Terra! I want to go back home to Sicily! lol
