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   Summary and Book Reviews

Vita: Summary and book reviews of Vita by Melania Mazzucco, plus links to an excerpt from Vita and a biography of Melania Mazzucco.

Vita

Vita
by Melania G. Mazzucco
Hardcover: Sep 2005,
448 pages.
Paperback: Sep 2006,
448 pages.

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Critics' Opinion:   very good
Readers' Rating:  Five Stars
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Book Summary

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.

Translated from Italian by Virginia Jewiss.

BOOK REVIEWS

Media Reviews

Good  Kirkus Reviews
....this teeming, nostalgic tale should find willing American readers.

Very Good  Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Inspired storytelling drives this fictionalized narrative. Mazzucco also interjects nonfiction chapters that relate her search for family members in Italy and the U.S., adding a resonant sleuthing element that further distinguishes this literary take on early-20th-century Italian-America and enduring love.

Very Good  Library Journal - Eleanor J. Bader
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.

Very Good  Il Sole 24 Ore - Giovanni Pacchiano
A beautiful and moving saga, a lyrical epic, profoundly existential, full of illusion, hope, and heartache.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by www.mirellapatzer.com
Vita by Melania Mazzucco
“The image of that city rising from the water and aiming straight for the sky will stay with him for the rest of his life - so near and yet so unreachable.”

This novel written by Melania Mazzucco became an international publishing sensation ...   Read More

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