When Walls Talk

by Geralyn Hesslau Magrady, Robert Hesslau (cover artist), Annamaria Castellucci (designer)

Antonia "Toni" Russo is broken, but reimagining a family business in Chicago's Little Italy might bring back her inner strength and joy. When venturing into this new future, Toni discovers that she's not the first Russo to face obstacles and distress, and her ancestors' stories could be the inspiration she has been looking for.

102 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2024

About the author

Geralyn Hesslau Magrady is a poet, essayist, and novelist . A Chicago native who specializes in local history, Geralyn won the “Soon to be Famous Illinois Author” contest for her 2015 novel Lines, which is set amid the Great Chicago Fire. Maintaining her ties to the city, Geralyn sets her recent novella, When Walls Talk, in Chicago’s Little Italy. Her poetry and essays have been published in literary anthologies, including The Write City Review and Writer Shed Stories.

Reviews

[J. Shep · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of the present intersecting with the past. In a way, there are two pasts in this story: there’s Toni’s immediate past as she works through the years-long process of mourning her husband’s death, and there’s the past Toni never knew, the one of her ancestors who made a home and life within the same walls Toni and her father know (seemingly) so well. Following Toni as she unearths aspects of the past while grappling with the “right” way to live her life after her husband’s death is an enjoyable and touching read.

Toni’s current path, the one we see unfold before us, is strewn with surprises, from a change in career to several unexpected finds revealing tidbits about her ancestors and proposing a number of questions. The novella is the perfect vehicle for conveying this short period of Toni’s life, yet author Geralyn Hesslau Magrady knows where to spend time, from building a magnolia tree metaphor that in some ways shapes the entire progress of the book to delving into letters of long ago.

For me, while I did enjoy the Little Italy of Chicago showcased in a way that links to Chicago history, my favorite part of the book was both the character of Vittorio and Toni’s relationship with Vittorio. Vittorio is a character we learn about through conversations and through his newly found written words. Through his pen, we get a glimpse into the past as well as a glimpse into a character who served in many ways as the anchor of his family, immigrants from Calabria establishing a new life in a new world. Toni, in a way, is doing the same thing: establishing a new life in a new world. The connection she has with Vittorio, a man she never knew, is a special one. Just as it brings him to life, this newly formed connection brings her to life, too.

Toni’s unearthing of Vittorio’s letters doesn’t showcase two world’s colliding; it reveals a sharing of the same vast world through traditions, experiences, and love, even generations later. A testament to the power of legacy and family, as well as prayer, When Walls Talk provides a moving and touching read.

[Gemma Torin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this after reading Maria Giuseppa's R&R, which I completely adored, because I saw Geralyn Hesslau Magrady's words and book on the back. I'm glad I did. Like Giuseppa's, it was a pretty short book, and it read quickly and smoothly. I frankly am tired with the gimmicks and "shocks" that come with so much contemporary fiction. This was a great, real-life read with real-life conflicts and discoveries that also weren't boring. I am actually really happy with what's coming out of this publisher, CW. I know I don't read enough and have been trying to read more in 2025. I have been successful. I just keep picking up books with this fear of being disappointed by bad writing, gimmicks, forced messages, and When Walks Talk, like other CW books, wasn't. I somehow connected with Toni, maybe in the most general of ways in that we recognized a time for a change and we're both willing to put in the work to see it through. For Toni, it was this parallel between finding a new career through the bookstore and finding out if she could move on from her husband. I liked following her on this beginning. I would have liked to see more on every nook and cranny of this store for some reason but I still loved the character and the story as it quickly unfolded.

[Leser R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Lines and When Walls Talk. As a German, I liked the inclusion and sometimes emphasis on German Americans. The history incorporated to both books is never overpowering but always just enough, though I have to say, Lines necessarily incorporates more, especially since When Walls Talks takes place now with lots of references to Chicago's past. I read it one trip back and forth to Germany, half on the way there and half on the way back-- perfect.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tale of learning to move on in life through the discovery of family history.