Umbertina

by Helen Barolini, Edvige Giunta (Afterword)

The “panoramic, descriptive, and solidly crafted” historical novel of immigration, womanhood, and the feminist ideals of self-reliance and self-confidence ( Publishers Weekly ). This sweeping, multi-generational novel begins in southern Italy’s Calabria region in the late 1800s, as Umbertina—the wife of a simple farmer—persuades her husband to emigrate to the United States to pursue its promise of hope and freedom for their three children. Through years of struggle on New York City’s Lower East Side and then in a growing upstate New York town, it is Umbertina’s determination, ingenuity, and business sense that propel the family into financial success and security—leaving her daughters and granddaughters free to sort out their identities both as Italian Americans and as women. “Through a dazzling interplay of American and Italian characters in both countries, Helen Barolini delineates the major concerns of all thinking American ethnics.” This is no less true today, as this republication restores Umbertina to a reading public newly attuned to the complexities of cultural inheritance and identity ( The Philadelphia Inquirer ).

Genres: Italy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, American

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Helen Barolini was born and raised in Syracuse, NY and attended local schools. She attended Wells College,graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University and received a Master's degree from Columbia University. She was an exchange student at the University of London where she studied contemporary English literature, and then traveled in Europe writing "Letters from Abroad" for the Syracuse Herald Journal. Following studies in Italy, she married the late Italian author and journalist Antonio Barolini.

In their married life of several moves between Italy and the United States, Helen Barolini became the English translator of Antonio's writings that were published in The New Yorker, Reporter and other American publications.

Given the intercultural themes of her work linking her American birth and education with her ancestral Italy, Helen Barolini has participated in international conferences and her work has been the subject of many student theses both here and abroad.

She has been honored by MELUS, the Hudson Valley Writers Center and other organizations for her literary work.

Reviews

[Jonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novel written by my mother's first cousin. The title character of "Umbertina" is based on my great-grandmother, Nicoletta Sacco Cardamone. The first third of the book deals with her life tending goats in Calabria, and coming to the US, building a family, being the backbone of a family business, and (apparently) never looking back. Timely, with the immigration debates currently.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because the author is from Utica, New York, and is a historical novel set in Utica and based upon the life of her grandmother. I didn’t know until I read this that most of the Italians who settled in Utica in the 19th century came from the region of southern Italy known as Calabria. The novel demonstrated how their origins in a rural, hilly area affected their behavior and outlook when they arrived in Utica.

The story was divided into three parts. The first, and most interesting part, described Umbertina’s life in Calabria, and how she came to America, arriving first in New York City, and eventually migrating to Utica. The descriptions of life in Utica back then, and how the Italians changed and culturally enriched the community despite some prejudice against them, was vivid and fascinating. The second part described the life of Umbertina’s granddaughter Marguerite, as she copes with being a second-generation Italian American in changing times, and the third part tells the story of Marguerite’s daughter Tina, who discovers what her Italian heritage means to her.

The reason I gave this book 3 stars (actually 3 1/2) is because, while I thoroughly enjoyed part one, I didn’t particularly like parts two and three. Not only were the characters not as interesting, but the latter two parts were written in a distinctly different style from that of part one. This was deliberately done by the author, who wanted to distance Umbertina’s story from the stories of Marguerite and Tina. Unfortunately, it made it feel like you were reading an entirely different book, which I found jarring.

So I highly recommend part one, Umbertina’s story—it’s well worth the effort, whether you’re of Italian descent or not.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

If the author had stopped after the first part on Umbertina, I would have given it 4 stars. She was a far superior character over those to follow in the book. It could have also been the time period of 1860 to 1940 which i found far more interesting than the later time periods.The other two parts of the book , I would give only one star. I will avoid this author in the future.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it while I was taking an Italian American Culture Class at good, old PSU. It's the story of 3 generations of Italian American women. Very interesting!

[Rose Kelleher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this four stars largely on the basis of Part 1, which tells the story of Umbertina, a "goat girl" in southern Italy who emigrates to the U. S. and manages to lift herself and her family out of poverty. I've been craving something like this and I didn't even know it. My own great grandmother came from a tiny mountain village in southern Italy. It's interesting to compare the similarities and differences between Umbertina's journey and what little I know about my ancestor's. Barolini articulates feelings I didn't know I had, too - about those hordes of mysterious, faceless ancestors; about not being Italian and not being a Wasp; and about who's entitled to be creative. That last theme made me think of Meg Wolitzer in "The Interestings" and Jamaica Kincaid's "See Now Then." As far as I know, Barolini is the first to write anything like this from the POV of an Italian-American woman. It's a groundbreaking book.

But I have to be honest. Parts 2 and 3 are a slog. Peppered with good details and insights, but way too long and rambling. Rich, pretty women jetting around the world, endlessly analyzing their feelings and searching for personal fulfillment. And they're snobs, too. The feminism here is that 1970's, upper-middle-class, educated-yet-slightly-oblivious kind. In one scene, Tina mentions that her mother has a part-time maid, and in the same breath describes her life as an American in Italy as "the worst of both worlds." I guess it's the peasant in me, but I prefer Umbertina.

[Msimone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a worthwhile read for anyone who is interested in how descendants of Italian immigrants try to connect with their héritage in order to better understand who they are. Umbertina ,already married with children, emigrated to New York from Calabria in the 19th century . She and her husband built a successful family business in upstate New York for their children to inherit. Her grand child, Margherita, many years later, tries to learn more about Umbertina's life as a way of sorting out her restlessness in a marriage to an Italian poet and revolving her personal unhappines in Venice through divorce. Margherite's struggle for identity propels the action of the book from her psychiatrist's couch in Venice where she describes her internal conflicts about responsibilities as student,mother,wife , and part-time translator and her own identity. She looks backward to Umbertina's past as a girl in Castagno, Calabria, then to New York as an immigrant in the early 1900s as a key to finding self. The best part of the book describes Umbertina's journey from Calabria to New York City and then upstate New York where the grit, determination, and sacrifice of Umbertina provide her descendants in a new country with a better life. The publication of this book in the 70s probably resonated with women who like Marguerite exposed to the struggle of the female libération movement, were questioning the social pressures of marriage and child-bearing over professional careers, which were cultural expectations implicit in her own family background. Marguerite's consciousness about choosing between family or career were not part of the vocabulary of Umbertina's path to self-relization. Umbertina accepted that her contributions to the family's success would be recognized as her husband's. She knew that she was the driving force that managed her children and the family business, and unlike Marguerite , Umbertina saw her contributions at home as markers of her self-identity.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this novel for one of my literature courses. Personally, I was not a fan. The prologue is confusing and does not do an adequate job at setting up the following chapters. Umbertina’s section was interesting and very enjoyable, but the following sections were about people who frankly I did not find likable. I also felt that the novel was far too long, and many of the chapters dragged on in excess, focusing on details that were not important to the rest of the novel. Overall, this novel was just not my cup of tea.

[Quoth the Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever had the feeling that the opinions, sentiments, and half-remembrances deep in your soul are exactly reflected in the book you're reading, and, for that reason, you can't even bring yourself to read more of it? I need time to think through my own cultural heritage before I accurately dissect this. I had expected a rousing call to understand feminism in an Italian-American context, something that no one else has done before or since, so it was distressing it couldn't be the case.

Barolini's stilted writing does not help; she writes as though she's on the brink of breaking down in her first fiction writing attempt ever, a sort of nausea of the words she chooses. She wants so desperately to have been born in Italy that this comes through in each of her main characters, who robotically spout out what sound like excerpts of Barolini's angst-ridden journal articles about the flaws in the American publishing system. I want to summon her ghost and say, look, I would love to talk with you about Umbertina and your own family over un espresso e una sfogliatella, but don't try to write about it in fiction again from the afterlife...I couldn't take it.

[Jacquelyn Fusco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this.
My great grandma was from Campania, just north of Calabria and her family was probably a little less poor than Umbertina's.
The book is in 3 parts: Umbertina, her granddaughter Marguertie, and her great-granddaughter Tina.
I think Barolini is a great writer. This is the first book I've read by her, but it won't be the last.

[Vincent Lombardo · Rating 1 out of 5]

For whatever reason, I could not get interested in this book, so I abandoned it.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can relate to the first generation stories! My favorite part was the correct Italian words and expressions. Immigrants are people Lost in two worlds, not belonging in either :(

[irene z. willett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that reflects the history of italian immigration and their life and struggles.

[jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part 1 was great and very enjoyable. The Characters from part 2 and 3 were unlikeable and seemed a little aimless

[La Stamberga dei Lettori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leggere Umbertina può essere assai difficile. Non tanto per i contenuti o lo stile ma per mere ragioni pratiche. Si tratta di un romanzo con una storia editoriale piuttosto travagliata, con poche edizioni presto scomparse dagli scaffali nonostante sia sempre citato, al fianco de Il Padrino di Puzo, come uno dei punti cardine dell’epica scritta dagli italoamericani nella seconda metà del Novecento.
La prima edizione di Umbertina è del 1979 ma anche negli Stati Uniti è stato necessario attendere il 1999 per averne una seconda. La prima traduzione italiana è comparsa nel 2001 per Avagliano Editore e attualmente è fuori catalogo. Per leggere questo libro, dunque, bisogna armarsi di una certa pazienza e sperare in una biblioteca ben fornita che lo abbia disponibile al prestito o in bancarelle particolarmente ben fornite del mercato dell'usato.
Ne vale la pena? Decisamente sì.

Continua su
http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written family saga about four generations of women, with the matriarch of the family emigrating to the United States from Calabria near the turn of the twentieth century. Umbertina, the first generation of women, was about the same age as my Sicilian grandmother, so I could really relate to this story. The themes of assimilation, ethnic identity, and gender roles are ever present. I admired Barolini's strong and tenacious women in this story. Her descriptions of Rome brought back good memories of a recent trip.

To me this book was reminiscent of Gay Talese's book, Unto the Sons, but with emphasis on the female members of the family. This is classic literature about the Italian-American immigration experience, but would be of interest to all who enjoy reading about the theme of ethnic identity.

[Jamie Klingler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umbertina isn’t a book I can review or read without nostalgia and grief intermingling with my love of the novel. I read it in high school- and it is about generations of Italian and then Italian-American women and their maternal relationships. As I read my recently deceased mother’s copy, it was disintegrating in my hands, but felt like my own literary pilgrimage back through our relationship too. I’ll now lock it away in a protected box for another 25 years till I’m ready to revisit it again.

[Susan Scarcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it. living in an Italo-australian family, I saw many similarities.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

just ok