Tapestry

by Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli

This is Maria's exploration of the tapestry embroidered from five generations of women and men in her family, from the turn of the twentieth century to its final years, from the poor villages of Italy to the cities of Australia, and back to a nineties Italy that is both alien and home.

Genres: Womens

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Bryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography of an Italian journey of immigration, culture, tradition with the change and challenges it brings.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially I read this because I recognised the author's name on some research articles about gender I have read. I was curious and initially skeptical, it seemed to me the story was going to be too sweet for anything and sentimental. I was gradually won over and drawn in, sure there are braggy moments about "my child is more liberated than most" but I know that I probably sound like that sometimes and it means a lot to me when people support my storytelling. We need to brag about things like outspoken girls and nurturing boys.

In between stories of parenting are stories of being a daughter, student, Italian, Australian, wife, friend, independent woman in Maria's own life and stories of various transgressions and traditions (mostly the former) in the lives of her mother, grandmother and zie (aunties). Men feature as characters who can also transgress expectations, who can value and pass on female strengths and who can be the objects and subjects of love, but although most (significantly not all) of the love described is heterosexual, the book is very careful to show that this is also a construction and not the only way to be. The anti-religion theme is less ambivalent but as a catholic feminist myself I get it, even when it's uncomfortable to think about.

Maria must be about a decade and a bit older than me, so her story did not quite intersect with my own story (I learned Italian at school and had many Italian class mates) but provides a recognisably Adelaidean family history that I enjoyed. I'd love to hear more South Australian stories to be honest. Her agenda was also feminist all the time, and at times reflexive about the dilemmas and contradictions of life.

As I said, I was not looking to find this a 5 star read but it convinced me!

[Annette Heslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria has written about her Family History. How in interweaves through the generations to the making of the strong Italian Woman she is today.
From her great-grandmother's tough life and the beliefs, they were told that weren't true, to the changing of the times that elders found hard to accept in today's modern world - fashion, boyfriends, education, etc.
There arrival in Australia was in hope for a better life and new future.

[VinitaF · Rating 5 out of 5]

An under rated Australian migrant story. This book weaves four generations of women’s stories together in an historical memoir. Beautifully constructed, honest and important testimony to the triumph of love over tradition

[Rose Romano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tapestry by Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli
© 1999 Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli
ISBN 0 09 183872 X
Random House
Just as there are so many people in the United States who think that, at this point, Italian-Americans are just American, many people think the same of Italian-Australians.

The truth is that Italians are still Italian, no matter where they were born and raised. I call us all italo-stranieri, Italian-foreigners.

And for me, as an Italian-American living in Italy, this book, Tapestry, is a friend. Although it’s 267 pages long, I gobbled it up in one day.

But it’s a book that would be interesting and important to anyone, not only those who are living in countries where their parents or grandparents emigrated to, but also to anyone who doesn’t quite fit in or to anyone who has a heart and a soul.

Aptly named, it’s written in the form of a tapestry. There are no chapters. There are only bite-size bits of stories, stories of Italian immigrants in Australia, stories of those who remained in Italy, stories of people left out, carefully placed in relation to each other. From her grandparents who never left Italy, from her immigrant parents in Australia, from her second-generation self, from her third-generation daughter, her stories, her impressions, her feelings weave in and out in a tapestry anyone can recognize.

By saying, at the beginning of the book, “I can show you only what I see and what my fingertips touch. What will you see and touch?” she includes you (yes, you) in the book. In fact, inclusion is the most important part of her work.

Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli is a senior lecturer in the School of Health Sciences at Deakin University, researching, for many years, in the areas of gender, ethnicity and sexuality. But, although she knows what she’s talking about, this book is not stuffy. It’s very readable, readable enough to make you feel every emotion you’ve ever known. There are difficult truths here and there is joy.

Buy this book. Read it carefully. You need it.

I, myself, am looking forward to reading it many more times.

Some contact and ordering information for this as well as other books by Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli:

mariapc@deakin.edu.au
www.seekbooks.com.au
www.ipgbook.com
www.booktopia.com.au
www.dymocks.com.au

And, of course, there’s always Amazon.