Stay With Me, Lella

by Marisa Labozzetta

Johnny and Carla DiGiacomo are the hub of a big, extended, in many ways, conventional Italian American family. But less than conventional choice made early in their marriage—to take in the orphaned daughter of distant relations will test their notions of love and loyalty, as well as the sexual boundaries within which families exist. Told with earthy humor, Stay With Me, Lella is about the arrangements and rearrangements Italian Americans coped with in the years after World War II, as they began to make their way into the mainstream. Marisa Labozzetta lives with her husband and three children in Northampton, Massachusetts.

172 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 1999

Reviews

[Meg B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book by a local author. I am generally drawn to stories of immigrants in this country and this story of first-generation Italians in Brooklyn did not disappoint. I especially enjoyed it because my own family is New York Italian. The author captured this experience faithfully and handled some delicate topics deftly. Worth the read.

[Carina · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite author!!