In the Garden of Papa Santuzzu : a Novel

The Santuzzus are poor Sicilian farm laborers at the turn of the century who endure back-breaking work in the fields of a tyrannical landlord. Wanting more for their children and grandchildren than a lifetime of servitude, Papa Santuzzu and his wife Adriana push their seven sons and daughters, one by one, to immigrate to La Merica, a land of promise and opportunity. In each chapter of Tony Ardizzone's loving tribute to Sicilian American culture, the Santuzzu siblings tell us about the family and friends they have abandoned in Sicily, the trials of their passage to America, and the uncertain, yet ultimately satisfying lives they build in their adopted home. Interwoven throughout their tales are the traditional folklore and songs of Sicily. In the Garden of Papa Santuzzu is a rich and vibrant addition to our diverse body of immigration literature.

The Santuzzus are poor Sicilian farm laborers at the turn of the century who endure back-breaking work in the fields of a tyrannical landlord. Wanting more for their children and grandchildren than a lifetime of servitude, Papa Santuzzu and his wife Adriana push their seven sons and daughters, one by one, to immigrate to La Merica, a land of promise and opportunity.
In each chapter of Tony Ardizzone's loving tribute to Sicilian American culture, the Santuzzu siblings tell us about the family and friends they have abandoned in Sicily, the trials of their passage to America, and the uncertain, yet ultimately satisfying lives they build in their adopted home. Interwoven throughout their tales are the traditional folklore and songs of Sicily. In the Garden of Papa Santuzzu is a rich and vibrant addition to our diverse body of immigration literature.

"In the Garden of Papa Santuzzu is a novel about a close knit family's immigration from Sicily to America in the early 1900s. The Santuzzus are poor Sicilian farm laborers who endure backbreaking work in the fields of a tyrannical landlord. Wanting more for their children and grandchildren than a lifetime of servitude, Papa Santuzzu and his wife, Adriana, push their seven sons and daughters, one by one, to immigrate to America, a land of promise and opportunity."--BOOK JACKET. "In each chapter of Tony Ardizzone's loving tribute to Sicilian American culture, the Santuzzu siblings tell us about the family and friends they have left behind in Sicily, the trials of their passage to New York, Chicago, and elsewhere, and the uncertain yet ultimately satisfying lives they build in their adopted home."--BOOK JACKET. A novel about Sicilian emigration early this century, describing the fortunes of the Santuzzu family's seven sons and a daughter. One by one, the father puts them on the boat to America in the hope of giving them a better life than farm laborers