The Italian American Reader

by Bill Tonelli

Book Overview

This anthology -- the first general-reader collection of writing by Italian American authors -- is part manifesto, part Sunday dinner. A gathering of voices old and new, some speak in the accents of another age, some completely contemporary and assured, and all together for the first time. To stand with all the other popular media images we represent, now, at last, one exists in written form, the literature of Italian American life.

Inside,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060006676
• ISBN13: 9780060006679
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Cover...

The book is a good read...NOT perfect--but you can forget about it! The cover of the book is worth it alone to purchase this book.

A great achievement!

I stopped dead in my tracks in the bookstore when I saw this, because it looks exactly like a box of Ronzoni pasta, the macaroni of my youth. And the contents of the book brought me back to my childhood, too, in many ways--the richness of the voices of the writers included here, most of whom were unknown to me beforehand, reminds me of what it was like to live surrounded by italian americans. this ia a great, great book and I'm going to buy several more copies to give as gifts. A must-have for anybody who cares about good reading, italian-style.

Just plain brilliant

I discovered this only because my youngest cousin, who goes to Harvard, read it in a course and came home insisting that I read it too. I take a strong interest in my ancestry (I'm Italian American, the grandson of immigrants) and this book hit me right between the eyes. It is one man's search for the meaning of his ethnicity and all the goodness that comes with it, before it all slips away. Tonelli writes in a funny, quirky, totally absorbing style that's never dry or ponderous. But he's writing about some of the most deeply meaningful, even sometimes sad aspects of being part of a genuine community in a time when community in American seems (to me) to be on the wane. This is the kind of book that could (and should) have become a minor classic of literary nonfiction, and also a book that every ethnic American would want to read, but I gather it did not back in '94 when it came out. But if you can find a copy today, grab it fast and get ready for a thrill.

A book full of discoveries

I was familiar with some of the better-known authors (Mario Puzo, Gay Talese) but I'm finding one wonderful writer after another thanks to this terrific collection. As a result of this I've already ordered books by Rita Ciresi, Josephine Gattuso Hendin, Richard Russo--all of whom wrote great domestic fiction, not a gangster or a gun in sight, for the book. They're writing about the average Italian American life, which has always existed out here in its normal, law-abiding way, though you might not know it if you never move from in front of the TV. Now I'm going to try and convince my reading club to do this book next. A real find.

Mr.Bill TONELLI from Nereto?

Spett.le Redazione, Questo Ente desidera entrare in contatto con lo scrittore Statunitense di origini italiane Bill TONELLI. Mr. Bill TONELLI h radattore di Esquire ed autore de "La sorprendente storia della Famiglia TONELLI in America ". Il volume citato dovrebbe essere stato pubblicato dalla Casa editrice americana"PERSEUS BOOKS ". La ricerca del contatto con lo scrittore h tesa ad uno scambio culturale da realizzare prossimamente. Lo scrittore Bill TONELLI ha antenati provenienti dall'Italia, piu' particolarmente dal nostro paese, Nereto. Qualsiasi informazione sullo scrittore Bill TONELLI h gradita alla e - mail: comunenereto@itol.it oppure al numero di telefono 0861 / 855779 ove h sempre disponibile il Dott. Lucio ADDARII che sta curando la pratica riguardante lo scrittore italoamericano. Con l'occasione, distinti saluti. Lucio ADDARII