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Feb 10 - Feb 17, 2002 |
Transcending Ethnicity
Rita Ciresi's Dream tribute to immigrant experience
By Adriana Suppa
Originally Published: 2002-01-20
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Sometimes I Dream in Italian by Rita Ciresi Delta Fiction, $19.95
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Author Rita Ciresi's most recent offering, Sometimes I Dream in Italian, is a bittersweet tale of two Italian-American sisters growing up in New Haven. Each chapter represents a series of poignant vignettes that, in the first half of the novel, focus on childhood memories of the heroine - Angelina (Angel) and her older sister Pasqualina (Lina). The second half journeys into early adulthood and reveals that many of the childhood scars remain, and invariably influence the paths the two sisters take.
Sometimes I Dream in Italian has a distinct Italian-American flavour, especially in recounting the young Lupo family's trip to the Statue of Liberty. On their way to see the statue, the girls' mother recounts her first crossing many years earlier from Italy to her new homeland, and describes the first sighting of "la bellissima donna." The mother's version of the story takes on almost mythical proportions as she relays it to her two daughters: "As the boat came in, they let us all come up onto the deck. People held their breath. Some of the women began to cry. Even some of the men, can you imagine? They had to wipe a tear away. Then suddenly, out of the mist - yes, there was mist, and fog - we saw her, the Statue of Liberty, holding the torch."
While events in the novel are reflective of the Italian-American immigrant experience, many surpass their geographical boundaries and uncover heart-wrenching glimpses of the immigrant experience that are universal. The experiences of the Lupo children in particular that reveal the difficulties of growing up between two cultures can be easily transplanted to any North American city.
Lina's foray into junior high is a prime example: "It was one thing to be Pasqualina in the Holy Redeemer Elementary School. But next month she was going to start junior high in a public school across town... The homeroom teacher would stand and read her full name off the list just as Saint Peter called out the names of those who were to step left or right on judgement day... Just as she expected, Lina was miserable in junior high school. The Irish girls shortened Pasqualina to Squats or Mama Lina..."
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