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I Before E
i before e, except by the sea,
where when drowning I may,
find padre. Padre!
The third novel in the Elba trilogy, "I Before E" tells the story of Paolo Viglietti, a young Italian-American immigrant whose desperate struggle to understand his father’s drowning triggers a turbulent coming of age—one that ultimately leads him back to Italy to confront the family mysteries he's grappled with his entire life.
Set between 1986 and 2000, "I Before E" follows Paolo's journey from his suffocating childhood in Little Italy (New York City), to his teenage liberation in the West Village, to his college escape to UC Berkeley, and finally to his return to Italy and search for answers in Rome, Padua, and his hometown of Portoferraio, Elba.
Though "I Before E" stands alone as an independent novel, readers of "Able Was I" and "Ere I Saw Elba" will recognize familiar faces as the threads of the trilogy weave together to explore themes of childhood trauma, exile, and forgiveness.
where when drowning I may,
find padre. Padre!
The third novel in the Elba trilogy, "I Before E" tells the story of Paolo Viglietti, a young Italian-American immigrant whose desperate struggle to understand his father’s drowning triggers a turbulent coming of age—one that ultimately leads him back to Italy to confront the family mysteries he's grappled with his entire life.
Set between 1986 and 2000, "I Before E" follows Paolo's journey from his suffocating childhood in Little Italy (New York City), to his teenage liberation in the West Village, to his college escape to UC Berkeley, and finally to his return to Italy and search for answers in Rome, Padua, and his hometown of Portoferraio, Elba.
Though "I Before E" stands alone as an independent novel, readers of "Able Was I" and "Ere I Saw Elba" will recognize familiar faces as the threads of the trilogy weave together to explore themes of childhood trauma, exile, and forgiveness.
374 pages, Paperback
Published November 28, 2025
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About the author
Drew Banks
7 books12 followersDrew Banks is a retired entrepreneur, business author, and novelist. In his business writing as well as fiction, Drew deconstructs behavioral patterns in an attempt to explore psychological motivations and deterrents. While Drew's business books examine organizational implications of various social psychologies, he is drawn to fiction—where he is now focused—as a more intimate medium for delving beneath the surface of an individual.
Drew's Elba Trilogy consists of three independent novels—ABLE WAS I, ERE I SAW ELBA, and coming soon, I BEFORE E—all dealing with the issue of exile, physical and emotional, with the protagonist of each (as well as some ancillary characters) woven throughout.
WUNC Interview: Able Was I
https://tinyurl.com/4s4y6e6k
WUNC Interview: Ere I Saw Elba
https://tinyurl.com/xe883h43
Drew's Elba Trilogy consists of three independent novels—ABLE WAS I, ERE I SAW ELBA, and coming soon, I BEFORE E—all dealing with the issue of exile, physical and emotional, with the protagonist of each (as well as some ancillary characters) woven throughout.
WUNC Interview: Able Was I
https://tinyurl.com/4s4y6e6k
WUNC Interview: Ere I Saw Elba
https://tinyurl.com/xe883h43
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 30, 2025
I loved this story! I felt a deep connection to Paolo almost immediately and that stayed with me throughout the novel. If you are looking to take an engaging and emotional reading journey from New York to Italy to California as Paolo’s story unfolds, buy this book!
Displaying 1 of 1 review