Mount Allegro: A Memoir of Italian American Life (New York Classics)

Mount Allegro is an extraordinary memoir, a celebration of Sicilian life, an engaging sociological portrait, a moving reminiscence of a fledgling writer's escape from the restrictive culture in which he grew up. Jerre Mangione's autobiographical chronicle of his youth in a Sicilian Community in Rochester is one of the truly enduring books about the immigrant experience in this country. Family squabbles, soul-nourishing food, and the casting of evil eyes are only some of the ingredients of this richly textured book, although they must all take second place to its unforgettable characters. As Eugene Paul Nassar writes in the book's Foreword, "Mount Allegro ... gave a literary visibility and identity, amiable and appealing, to a poorly understood ethnic group in America, and did so at a very high level of artistry." Depicts the lives of Sicilian immigrants in Rochester, New York, in the first half of the twentieth century as their customs blend and clash with those of their adopted country. This memoir celebrates the Sicilian life in America, while providing a sociological portrait of the immigrant experience in the US. The author reminisces about his experience as a fledgeling writer trying to escape from the restrictive Italian American culture in which he grew up. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Table of Contents Section 1 (Page 1) Section 2 (Page 15) Section 3 (Page 40) Section 4 (Page 51) Section 5 (Page 70) Section 6 (Page 121) Section 7 (Page 172) Section 8 (Page 187) Section 9 (Page 213)