Dances with Luigi: A Grandson's Determined Quest to Comprehend Italy and the Italians($12.99Value)

Description

In this spirited memoir, veteran TV journalist Paul Paolicelli does what many of us can only dream of--he picks up and moves to a foreign country in an attempt to trace his ancestral roots. With the help of Luigi, his guide and companion, he travels through Italy--Rome, Gamberale, Matera, Miglionico, Alessandria, even Mussolini's hometown of Predappio--and discovers the tragic legacy of the Second World War that is still affecting the Old Country. He visits ancient castles and village churches, samples superb Italian cuisine, haggles at the open air market at Porta Portese, enjoys and Alessandria siesta, and frequents "coffee bars", where beggars discuss politics with affluent Italian locals. He finds lost-lost cousins during the day and performs with an amateur jazz group during the night. Along the way, he discovers deeply moving stories about his family's past and learns answers to question that have plagued him since childhood. More that just a spiritual account of one man's ancestral search, Dances With Luig i is also a stunning portrait of la bella Italia --both old and new--that is painted beautifully in all of its glamour, history, and contradiction. Award-winning television journalist Paolicelli has written a beautiful story that traces the history of his grandfather's life in Italy in an attempt to learn more about his own roots. A natural-born storyteller, Paolicelli immediately grabs the reader's attention in his prolog, describing his Italian family members and the passing of the older generation. His search begins in Rome, where Paolicelli gets help from his Italian neighbor Luigi, who takes him under his wing and acts as his translator, his chauffeur, and his contact throughout the entire journey. Vivid descriptions of the Italian countryside and its people carry the reader along on this three-year journey of self-discovery. The search ends in Matera, where Paolicelli finally learns the answers to his questions and comes, finally, to know the man his grandfather was. A compelling and moving memoir, this tale is remembered long after it has been read. Recommended for public libraries. -Stephanie Papa, Baltimore Cty. Circuit Court Law Lib. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Paolicelli, a television journalist who grew up in Pittsburgh and lives in Houston, reached midlife divorced and childless. He took the money he had saved for a child's education to support himself while he lived in Italy. And what he did there proved, indeed, that the past is not only never gone, it isn't even past. He wanted to find, specifically, an official record of a grandfather's birth, but that seemingly simple search turned into a journey to the villages where his grandparents lived and where he hoped to find whatever time, fire, and war might have spared. His companion was a man of his own age named Luigi, who became for him the embodiment of contemporary Italy and its ties to the past. Paolicelli learns why some of his ancestors never learned to read, what World War II meant and still means, and why some will not speak of it. He finds the ways to make his relatives--so many now gone--dance in these pages. The writing has a headlong, heartfelt quality, the energy of someone who has searched to find words for what he feels so deeply. His narrative is made more compelling by his skillful interpolation of local history and folklore into his family storia that lovely Italian word that means both history and story. The coda, where he finds the words--in Italian--to share his feelings with his father and where he names his new daughter Cara, is almost unbearably moving. GraceAnne A. DeCandido "[A] touching memoir...The reader becomes a passenger on a sensual trip through the Italian countryside as Paolicelli vividly describes each person he meets and each food he tastes." -- Chicago Tribune "[Paolicelli's] writing has a headlong, heartfelt quality, the energy of someone who has searched to find words for what he feels so deeply. His narrative is made more compelling by his skillfull interpolation of local history and story. The coda, where he finds the words--in Italian--to share his feelings with his father and where he names his new daughter, Cara, is almost unbearably moving." - -Booklist "Paolicelli has written a beautiful story....A natural-born storyteller, Paolicelli immediately grabs the reader's attention...Vivid descriptions of the Italian countryside and its people carry the reader along on this three-year journey of self-discovery... A compelling and moving memoir, this tale is remembered long after it has been read." - -Library Journal Paul Paolicelli is an award-winning television journalist and documentary producer. In his more than twenty-five years as a news reporter, producer, and executive, he has worked throughout the United States and Europe at local and national TV outlets. He is currently at work on his second book. 1Rome . . . The Immersion Luigi and I were neighbors. W