In a Glass House
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Book Overview
After a harrowing voyage from Italy, during which his mother died, seven-year-old Vittorio arrives in Canada with his newborn half-sister, and is reunited with his estranged father, a dark, isolated, and angry figure he hardly knows. The story that follows spans two decades of Vittorio's life within an immigrant Italian farming community in Southwestern Ontario, through his university years, and then into Africa where he goes to teach. At the centre of Vittorio's existence is his strained relationship with his father and with his half-sister, Rita. In a Glass House is a haunting tale about perseverance and longed-for redemption. Ricci juxtaposes the intimate, complex world of family, with "its shadowy intricate web of alliances," against the dislocations of the immigrant experience. The result is a richly textured and memorable novel.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0771075057
ISBN13:9780771075056
Release Date:January 1999
Publisher:Emblem Editions
Length:384 Pages
Weight:0.88 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 5.4" x 8.3"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
Ricci produces nothing but MASTERPIECES
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
Unlike Lives of the Saints and Where She Has Gone, a longer period of Vittorio's life is portrayed in this book. He's 7 in the begginning and in his mid-twenties in the end. I can't think of another book that exposes the importance of family ties as much as this one. Everyone must read it! It's a masterpiece! There may be better trilogies than that of Ricci's, but I'm afraid I haven't read them.
Left me thinking about family ties.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
More than with "The Book of Saints," this book has gotten me thinking about the ties of family and their importance. Perhaps because I found it to be a sadder book, I didn't enjoy reading it as much as "Saints," but feel it will stay with me longer.
Excellent coming of age novel.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
Ricci continues to draw us into the life of young Vittorio Innocente through his colorful descriptions. The novel is not as riveting as The Lives of The Saints, but Ricci does paint an excellent picture of the italian immigrant mentality. An excellent novel, it touches on the importance of family as well as the pains and pleasures of adolescence and self-discovery.
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