A Kiss from Maddalena

Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet Read
Review: A Kiss from Maddalena by Christopher Castellani, Algonquin Books, 2003.

Reading this book was like tasting sweet water which, in the end, turns bittersweet.

Told from the respectful, tasteful and gentle perspective of a young man in turmoil. The story is set in a small village in Italy, during the later years of WWII. The Germans are withdrawing, the Allies are invading and Vito, the hero, is pursuing his love of Maddalena. Always the well meaning "loser" or ne'er do well in the village, he is the caretaker of his mentally deranged mother whom his father left behind for Philadelphia.

Maddalena, on the other hand, is the cherished and most beautiful girl in the village. The bella is daughter of a well-established grocer, a prize, not to be released to a husband lightly. Maddalena's family is forced to leave the village facing foreign invasion. The story follows the family as well as the plight of Santa Cecilia's inhabitants.

Love has its pitfalls, and this keeps the sweetness of A Kiss from Maddalena from being insipid. The well-constructed sorrows come alive when marital demands are placed upon Maddelena by her family. The lovely maiden faces the threat of being extricated from the family if their choices are not followed. This infuriated me. Her complex bind brought to light the conflicting issue of American's belief right to choose. Societies, with arranged marriages, are a well known, yet a widely misunderstood aspect of many cultures. This book tells the story of one young woman, one young man and a village faced with the unquestioned desire to live traditionally amidst world-wide change. Eventually, the incredible web of life that existed in this hamlet was dismantled, disarrayed during the war years. The rebuilding of the village and the casting of the web to foreign soil transpires as the tides of change carries this beauty to distant shores.

A Kiss from Maddalena, an excellent first novel, depicts innocence, naiveté, love and its never-ending heartache This easy read contained some storytelling, which I forgot as soon as I turned the page. Fortunately, the memorable passages far outnumbered the forgettable and I read on. In the end, I came away with the feeling of having read a wonderful novel. This first novel by Christopher Castellani heralds the fantastic launch of a novelist's career.


Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful and Engaging Love Story
Review: A KISS FROM MADDALENA captures love and reality in World War II Italy and the years immediately following the war. We meet the young Vito Leone who is madly in love with the beautiful Maddalena Piccineli, the youngest daughter of the village's storekeeper. At first, Maddalena wants nothing to do with the loveable, yet goofy Vito. Vito is hardly handsome, has a limited future, and is considered too much of a mama's boy. Besides, her parents want their favorite daughter to marry someone more worthy of her love than Vito. Gradually she sees the charm of this genuinely good young man. The war separates the two, and changes after the war test the couple. The characters are so well developed, and the details of the story are so vivid, the reader immediately is drawn into the work. Maddalena has to make very important choices in the novel. If she marries the man her parents prefer, she will risk losing their love, but doing so would crush Vito. The reader wonders which way she will go, will she marry the man she loves and hurt her parents, or will she hurt Vito?

The two main characters of the book are real flesh and blood people, and the reader cannot help but love them both. Readers will immediately develop a soft spot for Vito; he is the epitome of goodness. He unselfishly cares for his mentally ill mother even though it means putting his own life and ambitions on hold, he will do anything for anyone, and he deserves to be loved by someone as good as Maddalena. Readers will sympathize with Maddalena as well, a girl who wants to please everyone yet also wants to be happy. Throughout the work readers will hope that she is able to follow her heart.

Though the book is an old fashioned love story, it is never sentimental, and it does not follow conventional twists. It is realistic in the way it depicts World War II and the conflicts in Italy after the overthrow of Mussolini. The village of Santa Cecelia, where most of the action takes place, is the sort of village most people would imagine in a remote section of Italy, and it has a certain Old World charm, yet the interactions of the people in the village show that it is not necessary Italy's version of heaven on earth. Conflicts develop which give the village a realistic flair.

In the dedication page of the novel, the author dedicates the book to his parents, calling it his love letter to them. Judging from the exquisite writing of these pages, combined with lovable characters, historical accuracy, and a memorable plot, the reader can make one conclusion. Christopher Castellani must deeply love his parents.

Rating:
Summary: Poetry of Life
Review: A Kiss From Maddalena is a story about the poetry of life told through the shroud of love. Set in 1943 in the war-torn village of Santa Cecilia, Italy, Castellani lyrically wraps his readers in a daguerreotype-like word cloak and transports them into the lives of vito and Maddalena.

Vito Leone, a 17 year old, is one of the few males in Santa Cecilia who have not gone off to war. Dubbed the village clown, living alone with his mother who suffers from a chronic mental disorder, Vito is nevertheless determined to capture a kiss -- "un bacio" -- from the village beauty -- Maddalena Piccinelli. After Vito ingeniously gathers kisses from most of the young girls in the village, he finally gets a kiss from Maddalena. Before Vito can be sure of Maddalena's love, however, the village comes under attack by the Germans and Maddalena's family decides to flee to the countryside for the duration of the war.

Vito is left in the mostly deserted village where he cares for his mother and rebuilds Maddalena's family home after the Germans destroy it. When the Piccinellis return to Santa Cecilia, they are astonished to find their house preserved and even more surprised that the work was done by Vito. Vito presses his case for the hand of Maddalena, but her family is very reluctant to accede to his request as they have a more grandiose suiter in mind for this most beautiful daughter -- a prosperous Italian-American, Antonio Grasso.

The tale of how the dilemma is resolved provides the reader with an intricately woven tapestry of thoughts, feelings, and reactions and left this reader with a deeper understanding of those truths that neither war nor evil can unravel or destroy. A Kiss From Maddalena is a love story. It is also a war story, but not a war story of soldiers and battles -- rather, a war story of the people left behind, the ordinary people trying to carry on with their lives during a war, doing their own brand of fighting. It is a tug of war of the heart, between young and old, love and family, men and women.

Castellani has captured that sense of family, of belonging that we bring to adulthood from our childhoods. His tale is a tale of love versus the power of family, of love versus the power of acceptance, of love versus the power of approval. Castellani tells us that a kiss is more than a kiss and we believe him. When Maddalena gave her kiss to Vito it was her bond and her trust. She did not break that trust.

Rating:
Summary: Poetry of Life
Review: A Kiss From Maddalena is a story about the poetry of life told through the shroud of love. Set in 1943 in the war-torn village of Santa Cecilia, Italy, Castellani lyrically wraps his readers in a daguerreotype-like word cloak and transports them into the lives of vito and Maddalena.

Vito Leone, a 17 year old, is one of the few males in Santa Cecilia who have not gone off to war. Dubbed the village clown, living alone with his mother who suffers from a chronic mental disorder, Vito is nevertheless determined to capture a kiss -- "un bacio" -- from the village beauty -- Maddalena Piccinelli. After Vito ingeniously gathers kisses from most of the young girls in the village, he finally gets a kiss from Maddalena. Before Vito can be sure of Maddalena's love, however, the village comes under attack by the Germans and Maddalena's family decides to flee to the countryside for the duration of the war.

Vito is left in the mostly deserted village where he cares for his mother and rebuilds Maddalena's family home after the Germans destroy it. When the Piccinellis return to Santa Cecilia, they are astonished to find their house preserved and even more surprised that the work was done by Vito. Vito presses his case for the hand of Maddalena, but her family is very reluctant to accede to his request as they have a more grandiose suiter in mind for this most beautiful daughter -- a prosperous Italian-American, Antonio Grasso.

The tale of how the dilemma is resolved provides the reader with an intricately woven tapestry of thoughts, feelings, and reactions and left this reader with a deeper understanding of those truths that neither war nor evil can unravel or destroy. A Kiss From Maddalena is a love story. It is also a war story, but not a war story of soldiers and battles -- rather, a war story of the people left behind, the ordinary people trying to carry on with their lives during a war, doing their own brand of fighting. It is a tug of war of the heart, between young and old, love and family, men and women.

Castellani has captured that sense of family, of belonging that we bring to adulthood from our childhoods. His tale is a tale of love versus the power of family, of love versus the power of acceptance, of love versus the power of approval. Castellani tells us that a kiss is more than a kiss and we believe him. When Maddalena gave her kiss to Vito it was her bond and her trust. She did not break that trust.

Rating:
Summary: absolutely beautiful story
Review: Christopher Castellani's debut novel is a love story in a time of war. Castellani's gift is for storytelling, and his prose is so precise you can smell the dusty air of Santa Cecilia in every sentence. He's so at ease telling the story of Vito's love for Maddalena, that you fall in love with both of them. Castellani has a great sense for story and a great ear for rhythmic prose. I couldn't help wishing against all my 21st Century common sense, for love to work out. This is writing that will stand the test of time. A Kiss From Maddalena, from the title to the conclusion is as measured and suddenly surprising as life itself. If you are a reader who loves to be lost in the tale, here's the first book on your new list.

Rating:
Summary: A first novel of uncommon depth and maturity
Review: Much to my delight I have just finished reading A Kiss from Maddalena. It was like taking a journey through time and place where one continually experiences life in a sensual and realistic fashion. The author has created a wonderful story of family that is woven into the tapestry of a small village in war ravaged Italy. The characters remind me of my aunts and uncles and stories told over a big bowl of pasta. Bravo! A wonderfully engaging story that invites the reader to feel the passions and struggles of life and love.

Rating:
Summary: Transport yourself to Italy...
Review: One of our book club members loved this book so much she invited the author to join us. Surprise! He did and now has 30 new fans. The best part was that the book was fabulous! It is a warm, tender, exciting story with beautiful characters, settings and powerful issues to discuss. We can't wait for the sequel!

Rating:
Summary: A winner of a debut novel
Review: Setting: Tiny village in Italy in 1943
Theme: The blossoming of love in a war-torn environment
Set-up: Few men remain after war scars their hamlet - one has somehow escaped the draft, another is too young for the draft. One of them is in love with the daughter of the other.
Crisis: German soldiers terrorize the village after the Italians surrender to the Allies.
Denouement: Read the book to find out.
Only down-side, for me, was I kept visualizing Vito, the love-sick swain, as morose-looking Nicholas Cage in Corelli's Mandolin, a horror of mis-casting if ever there was one.
Otherwise, great.

Rating:
Summary: A Breathtaking Debut
Review: There are books you rush through, desperate to know what happens. This is not one of them. A Kiss from Maddalena is a book to savor. I found myself rationing pages, not wanting it to end. Each character is fully realized and, love them or hate them, I didn't want my time with them to end. Although I suspect that I will re-read this book many times, I wish I could have the joy of discovering it again.

This truly is an amazing debut from an author who clearly has boundless talent. I can't wait for the follow-up.

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying Literature
Review: This new novelist first effort is engaging. It is not a romance novel, yet there is much romance. It is not a war novel, yet there is much war, both as a story backdrop and among believable characters. It is not an action-thriller novel, yet there is sufficient action within the dialogue and structure to keep the reader turning pages. The style moves the book, propels it from a dark beginning to a surprising ending. Witness chapter headings: The Bike, The Tank, The Carriage, The Procession, The Car and The Boat. And that, fundamentally, is what this book is about. It is a good love story of people moving their lives to survive. It reminded me of To A White Sea by James Dickey.
The book graphically is wonderful! Pleasant typeface, nice paper stock, great cover. Kudos to Algonquin Books. And, to writer Christopher Castellani, grazie!