I am so delighted today to provide a review for you at my blog stop for Between the Cracks by Carmela Cattuti on the RABT Book Tours and PR. Scroll down to enter your chance to win the Giveaway!
One woman’s journey from Sicily to America
Historical Fiction
Publisher: HenschelHAUS Publishing
Join Angela Lanza as she experiences the tumultuous world of early 20th century Sicily and New York. Orphaned by the earthquake and powerful eruption of Mt. Etna in 1908, Angela is raised in the strict confines of an Italian convent. Through various twists of fate, she is married to a young Italian man whom she barely knows, then together with her spouse, immigrates to the U.S.
Having survived the powerful eruption of Mt Etna and the earthquake associated with the catastrophe, Angela Lanza is left with no idea what happened to her family, specifically her sister, and that would become a recurrent theme throughout the semi-biographical novel. Many of the orphans were sent to orphanages or convents, and as a young girl, Angela found herself in an Italian convent. Her life in Messina, Sicily, a painful memory now only allowed to speak Italian.
Angela’s life changes dramatically when she is the chosen bride of an Italian American. Each has their own reasons for the marriage and Angela finds herself the partner of the son in a diverse family in New York, including a young half-sister who Angela takes under her wing. Speranza in return begins the task of teaching Angela English. An accomplished seamstress, Angela finds work and discovers Franco has been extremely industrious, accomplished in the building trades, and saving money. But Franco is rather close-minded when it comes to his family and to his mother’s and sister’s plans for young Speranza.
Not a marriage of convenience, nor of love, they do the best they can, getting to know each other. Franco still has family in Italy and particularly a cousin who is fast-becoming an outspoken poet, speaking out against Fascism, and he worries about him and what is happening in Europe and the coming world war. Meanwhile, Angela’s dream of children of her own is shattered.
Franco and Angela are beset with problems, not only their own, but his close family, while Angela does her best to be the proper help-mate. Eventually, one tragedy after another, the roles are reversed and it is she who must become the stronger of the two, facing down each misfortune after the other, holding the household together and coming to terms with his family’s path.
Interesting writing style, somewhat simplistic, often descriptive of her native land and that of the family she lost as well as Franco’s thoughts and motives. An often heart-breaking turn of events that might have broken the back of a weaker willed person, Angela certainly struggled with the life she felt God handed her. Life in the convent would have presented so radically different. A narrative that has you hoping for the best though realizing there are often, in real life, no fairy-tale endings. Still, the triumph here was in the mindset and strength to go on, overcoming adversity and coming out the other side.
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Carmela Cattuti started her writing career as a writer for the Somerville News in Boston, MA. She is a writer, painter, and yoga instructor in Boston. After she finished her graduate work in English at Boston College, she began to write creatively. As fate would have it, she felt compelled to write her great aunt’s story. Between the Cracks and The Ascent have gone through several incarnations and will become a trilogy.
Website: www.ccattuticreative.com/carmela-cattuti-books
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carmelacattuticreative
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccattuti
Instagram: www.instagram.com/carmelacattuticreative
Purchase Links
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/carmela+cattuti?_requestid=3832793
Thank you for visiting my stop on the tour and please visit the other stops listed below!
Tour Participants:
April 10 – RABT Book Tours – Kick Off
April 10 – Nana’s Book Reviews – Spotlight
April 11 – Salt and Novels – Excerpt
April 13 – Mythical Books – Guest Post
April 14 – Tea Time and Books – Spotlight
April 15 – Java John Z’s – Excerpt
April 16 – The Sexy Nerd Revue – Spotlight
April 16 – The Avid Reader – Interview
April 17 – Nesie’s Place – Spotlight
April 18 – Sylv.net – Spotlight
April 20 – Historical Graffiti – Guest Post
April 21 – Texas Book Nook – Review
April 22 – Novel News Network – Review
April 23 – Ravenous Reader – Spotlight
April 24 – Rose Point Publishing – Review
April 10 – RABT Reviews – Wrap Up 
Thanks to RABT Book Tours and PR for the opportunity to read and review this historical fiction mystery!
©2020 V Williams 
Rosepoint Publishing 