Paper Fish

 



Review of Paper Fish by Tina De Rosa


Overview from www.goodreads.com: Set in Chicago during the 1940s and 1950s, this novel of Italian American life is populated by hardworking immigrants whose heroism lies in their quiet, sometimes tragic humanity. At the center of the novel is young Carmolina, who is torn between the bonds of the past and the pull of the future—a need for home and a yearning for independence. Carmolina’s own story is interwoven with the stories of her family: the memories and legends of her Grandmother Doria; the courtship tales of her father, a gentle policeman, and her mother, a lonely waitress; and the painful story of Doriana, her beautiful but silent sister. "Understated, lyrical and intensely imagistic, De Rosa’s tale of Italian ghetto life stands out from other immigrant narratives by virtue of its artistry."—Kirkus Reviews

My Review:

Paper Fish is another book that I have wanted to read for a long time. In this case, a very long time. We're talking years. I was so excited when my friend and coworker presented me with this book as a gift, not knowing that I have been trying to find it for years.


I have to admit though then when I started reading; it was something of a letdown. It just wasn't what I was expecting. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was but I know that I was hoping for something less literary (as in literary fiction) and more like Adriana Trigiani's novels, something that was entertaining as well as educational. This was not it.


However, I kept at it. I had read rave reviews of this thing after all and after years of waiting I was determined to finish the thing. After all, it was only one hundred odd pages or so. It shouldn't be difficult, right?


And it wasn't. It did get better. True, it still wasn't what I'd hoped to get but really there were some great lines and the characters were intriguing. As promised on the back cover, this book does not give you stereotypical caricatures of Italian immigrants. These are real people and real people are flawed yet strangely beautiful, in this novel anyway.


 Our story centers mostly on Carmolina, a young third generation, half-Italian, half-Lithuanian girl who grows up in an Italian neighborhood in Chicago during the 40's and 50's. However this story jumps around—a lot—and not just from character to character but we keep jumping back and forth in time. It got to the point that I wasn’t sure where or when we were much of the time and that was the primary reason for my frustration.


The other was that I had trouble figuring out Carmolina’s motivations. What was this story about? I am still not sure I know but I enjoyed it more when I paid more attention to the other characters such as Grandma Doria, Carmolina’s parents, and Doriana, her sister than I did when I focused exclusively on her.


 I am not entirely sure if I should recommend it so I am going to recommend it only for those who like literary fiction and those that are looking for some Italian American characters that are true to life and yet retain elements of fantasy in their stories. I am just not sure that anyone else will have the patience to keep reading and that’s a shame.


 Contains: some language, sexuality, disturbing images

Home Front Girl

Review of Home Front Girl by Joan Wehlen Morrison

Overview from www.bn.com: This diary of a smart, astute, and funny teenager provides a fascinating record of what an everyday American girl felt and thought during the Depression and the lead-up to World War II. Young Chicagoan Joan Wehlen describes her daily life growing up in the city and ruminates about the impending war, daily headlines, and major touchstones of the era—FDR’s radio addresses, the Lindbergh kidnapping, Goodbye Mr. Chips and Citizen Kane, Churchill and Hitler, war work and Red Cross meetings. Included are Joan’s charming doodles of her latest dress or haircut reflective of the era. Home Front Girl is not only an entertaining and delightful read but an important primary source—a vivid account of a real American girl’s lived experiences.

My Review:

This one is a hard one to review but I decided that I just had to do it since I think it is such an interesting book. It is basically tells the story of the life of a young girl from the 1937-1943.

Her name is Joan and she lives in Chicago. This is her diary and we are witness to her private thoughts both about her personal life and what is going on in the world at the time she is writing. The diary takes her from age 14 to 20 and is often padded with entries from her school journals when the regular diary has missing periods.

I have been reading partly for research on a novel that I have been working on that also features a teenage girl as narrator. I thought it might help me with some tone and dialogue problems that I am having but it so much more than that.

Joan is still relatable today, even if some of the expressions she uses are not. And actually even a few of them surprised me, such as her use of the word “uh.”

Like most of us, she is full of contradictions. On the one hand, she gets excellent grades and considers herself the “intellectual” type but her spelling is terrible in some places. We also hear from her own pen that she is not so good at Geometry or German. I can relate to the Geometry part and was relieved to hear that some smart people have trouble with it too.

The German classes surprised me also since, from my research, I have also found that the government tried to convince people with blood of the Axis powers in their veins from speaking the Axis language. So why were they ok with non-Germans learning how to speak German when they wanted German Americans to stop. Hmmm.

Not sure what else to say since there really is no main storyline to talk about. But I knew that I just had to bring this book to your attention since I think it is well worth reading and will probably surprise you as it did me.

The only downside I found was her reference to Winston Churchill as "pigface" but I reminded myself that she was a teenager and maybe that is what he looked like to teenage girls once upon a time.

I think I will just end with a quote. Here it is: “Oh well…someday I’ll be a genius. Bruce wants to be a psychiatrist (I can’t even spell it!) but I wouldn’t let him examine my brain though Frazier said I wouldn’t miss it. (Grrrr.)” That says it all, right?