Bread, Wine & Angels: A Novel

By Anna P. Zurzolo

Book Overview

Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book, Runner-Up.
The story of a girl in a remote village of southern Italy, considered a "barrel of wine" to be sold off quickly, lest she turn to vinegar.
". . . a novel that describes the real lives of a vanished world with brilliant and down-to-earth sincerity."
--Quill & Quire

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888012136
• ISBN13: 9780888012135
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Turnstone Press
• Length: 293 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

The life of a child in post-war Southern Italy

I bought this book because the story takes place in the town where my wife's grandparents were born, San Giovanni in Fiore. The story is told in the voice of a young girl who misses her parents, who have gone to Canada to seek a better life. The parents plan to send for the children as they can afford to do so, but instead they give birth to more children in the new land. This complicates things because money is scarce. The girl lives in San Giovanni in Fiore with her aunt, who is a picture-book, old-fashioned Calabrian woman. The author, Anna P. Zurzolo, who grew up in San Giovanni in Fiore, gives us an up-close and personal look at day-to-day life from a generation-ago in Calabria. When we went to visit the actual city, Zurzolo's story really came to life for us. This is a delightful book that I enjoy reading over and over again for the mental pictures of the old mountain town.

Beautiful story of life...

As the daughter of Italian immigrants, I found myself being totally immersed in this wonderful novel. Even more surprising, is the fact that our family also settled in Winnipeg, just like the little girl from San Giovanni. I found this story magical.