The Rosselli Cantata: A Brief Family Chronicle

by Anthony S. Maulucci

Born into poverty in Southern Italy, Salvatore Rosselli stumbles upon success in America after giving up the search for the cousin who murdered his father in their native town of Apulia. Having... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1502307049
• ISBN13: 9781502307040
• Release Date: September 2014
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

It was exciting to see a book written about my husbands "family". The book is very interesting and makes us want to know more.

Haunting story that is familiar to me.

This is truly an amazing story because it is based on real events, albeit fictionalized to protect the innocent. My grandmother told me the story of how her father had to leave Italy because of a deaf mute cousin who was killed on his property by accident, how a priest helped him come to America and how she came to America with her step-mother and older brother. Her father had several more children by the 2nd. wife and 2 of those half siblings, sisters, were deaf mutes. It was amazing to read and watch the story unfold from the son's point of view. At a recent reunion with the family it was acknowledged that the true ending of the story was that it really was an accident after all. My cousin, A. S. Maulucci, wrote a beautiful story to immortalize this wonderful Italian family and all of their struggles.

Sums up the American immigrant experience

Ever wonder what it was like for the European immigrants who came to America in the early 20th century? This story will show you what it was like to adjust and survive in those difficult times. However, this is not your typical family saga. The central character, Salvatore Rosselli, goes to New York to find the man who murdered his father in Italy with the intention of taking his vengeance and returning home. It doesn't turn out that way, and he must live with the pain and anger which he channels into making money. Isn't that the usual way with first-generation Americans? Ironically, he becomes a success, never returns Italy except for a brief visit on business, has a large family, and just when he's finding some peace, the murderer comes back into his life. This is a universal American story that resonates with all of us, not just Italians.

written with simplicity and strength

There are passages in The Rosselli Cantata which are written with the simplicity and strength of a folk tale. Maulucci has a fine grasp of Italian-American life and a lucid style in which to show it. The characters in The Rosselli Cantata are particularly elemental -- the deaf-mute Dominic with those bare feet that looked like the stumps of a tree, the son Salvatore who kneels in the soil of his dead father's farm a generation later and rubs the limestone dirt into his face and weeps until it turns to mud -- these are powerful images. I thought of Cavaleria Rusticana and Pagliacci while reading this brief book; it has the same verismo. -- Eugene Mirabelli, author of The World at Noon