Forty Years In A Day

by Mona Rodriguez, Dianne Vigorito

Based on a true story, experience an Italian immigrant family's profound bravery and life-changing journey into twentieth-century America.

The story begins in Italy, 1900. After years of torment and neglect, Victoria and her four small children immigrate to Hell's Kitchen, New York, to escape her alcoholic, abusive husband. On the day they leave, he tragically dies, but she does not learn of his death for several years—a secret that puts many lives on hold.

Quickly, they realize America's streets are not paved with gold, and the limits of human faith and stamina are tested time and time again. Poverty, illness, death, kidnapping, and the reign of organized crime are just some of the crosses they bear.

Victoria's eldest son, Vincenzo, is the sole surviving member of the family and shares a gut-wrenching account of their lives with his daughter during a visit to Ellis Island on his ninetieth birthday. He explains how the lives of he and his siblings have been secretly intertwined with an infamous Irish mob boss and ends his unsettling disclosure with a monumental request that leaves Clare speechless.

Forty Years in a Day is layered with the struggles and successes of each family member and defines the character of an era. Follow the Montanaro family through several decades, and stand in the shoes of a past generation.
____________________
"Told by two with the eye and instinct of keen storytellers who know exactly when to divulge, when to pause and hold onto secrets and twists. Readers will be exhausted and inspired from the journey, and wouldn't have it any other way!"-The Review

"You will have a hard time putting this book down. It is amazing! This emotional story is told beautifully, with vivid descriptions, and it’s full of hope and full of dreamers. Read this book" -Overstuffed Princess Reviews

"The narrative, setting of the scenes, the tone, characters, dialogue, were all wonderful. All of these drew me into the story from the first page to the last. I was a part of the story!" -Impressions in Ink Reviews

"I loved the way the authors were able to create such a vivid recount of those times and create a story which is so multi-dimensional with many characters and views."
-A Life Through Books Reviews

"The writing is so good, the characters jump off the page and feel so real. This is a wonderful, yet intensely emotional story." -Must Read Faster Reviews

"Wow, these authors really did an amazing job of bringing the 1900’s to life through one family and several generations." -My Reading Addiction Reviews

"The imagery and detail really took me back to the time (1900's). [I] really did find myself connected to the characters and everything that happened to them." -Texas Book Nook Reviews

"With a surprise twist added to the mix, Forty Years in a Day is an unforgettable book and a testimony to the perseverance of the human spirit." -The True Book Addict Reviews

"This book is easy to read in that the writing is beautiful and the story plot interesting." -Shut Up and Read Review

"I loved the story. I loved the tone and the way it sounded just like someone telling their family story to their children. It is a lovely book. I especially enjoyed how the Epilogue tied up loose ends and even revealed a few family secrets." -A Book Geek Reviews

"A moving family saga with an incredible and entirely unexpected twist, Forty Years in a Day is a pleasantly emotional story. The format may have left me wanting, but the plot is one of those most creative I’ve ever encountered, debut or otherwise." -Flashlight Commentary Reviews

"A good read that shows, once again, that we are all the same, all have our hidden family secrets and all have to go through life dealing with them." -Bookpleasures Reviews

"The authors depict the daily existence within the confines of poverty and menial job opportunities quite well. The forty-year time period is depicted with excellent word-imagery, and with sensitivity to the family situations of assimilation and identity." -Book Diva Reviews and News

"Forty Years In A Day so brilliantly illuminates the hardships and tribulations of a family coming to America in the 1900's. " -Laura Terry, author of Intertwined

"The stunning array of characters that parade through the twists and turns of several generations is amazing. " -Patrick O’Sheen, author of Dreamer

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Family, Drama, New York

390 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 22, 2017

Reviews

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forty Years in a Day by Mona Rodriguez and Dianne Vigorito is a family saga of an Italian family through several generations.
Victoria and her children emigrated from Italy to America in the early twentieth century.
They have a hard life living in Hell's Kitchen and try their best to make a living.
This is a sad story of endurance, poverty and hardship.
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Aditi · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”

----Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, an English author and journalist

Mona Rodriguez and Dianne Vigorito, the two American cousin sisters, enchanted and deeply moved our hearts with their debut novel, Forty Years in a Day that revolves around a best-kept-hidden-family secret and how its revelation disrupts lives from generation after generation.

Synopsis:
The story begins in Italy, 1900. After years of torment and neglect, Victoria and her four small children immigrate to Hell's Kitchen, New York, to escape her alcoholic, abusive husband. On the day they leave, he tragically dies, but she does not learn of his death for several years—a secret that puts many lives on hold.
Quickly, they realize America's streets are not paved with gold, and the limits of human faith and stamina are tested time and time again. Poverty, illness, death, kidnapping, and the reign of organized crime are just some of the crosses they bear.
Victoria's eldest son, Vincenzo, is the sole surviving member of the family and shares a gut-wrenching account of their lives with his daughter during a visit to Ellis Island on his ninetieth birthday. He explains how the lives of he and his siblings have been secretly intertwined with an infamous Irish mob boss and ends his unsettling disclosure with a monumental request that leaves Clare speechless.

The thirty-sixth president of The United States of American, Lyndon Baines Johnson, had once quoted very remarkable about "immigrants":
“The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources--because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.”

And this is the one thing that I love most about America. Anyways, this is not a story about immigration and the boons of it, instead the story revolves around a family which have immigrated to New York from Italy along with a baggage full of hidden family secrets. Inspired from her very own family sage and the pains of immigrating to another new country, Mona Rodriguez along with her cousin sis, Dianne Vigorito, spun this devastatingly beautiful family saga through various generations. This is a story that provokes us to see the story of our ancestors from their eyes, and that's what Mona and Diane did with theirs!

This is the story of Vincenzo Montanaro narrating his own life story to his daughter Clare of how he immigrated to America on the year 1900 from Italy, and how the mistakes of their family secrets ruined few lives and how blood relations are really not thicker enough to hold them together, till the period of Great Depression in America!

Both Diane and Mona excelled over one another in every possible way from narrative style to writing style to story-telling. This story is set across the city of New York and the authors take us on their time-machine to show us what New York was like back in the 1900s and surprisingly, we get a striking taste of the old New York, felt more like taking a trip down to the memory lane on the streets of NYC.

In the story, this particular Italian immigrant family felt that America was the land of hopes, dreams and endless opportunities, but soon their thoughts shattered when they the hard reality of life struck this family, and thus begins their struggle to keep the Montanaro family afloat amidst of poverty, gang warfare, difficulties in getting education for an immigrant child, heath industry, labor, gambling, kidnappings, murder etc.

Told from Vincenzo's perspective, we move along with the rhythm of his forty years of family saga. It was overall an emotional roller-coaster ride for me, that enraptured me with the deepest pain felt by the Montanaro family, and that's why I said that the book is devastatingly beautiful. Moreover, I could feel what my ancestor went through when to immigrated from East Pakistan back in those times when there was so much rage and anger lurking in the air. The author have brilliantly featured their struggle for education, employment and health brilliantly in this story, and their evocative narrative style kept me glued till the very end. Also not only this, there are lot of twists and turns that changes the fate of the Montanaro family that enlightens us with the fact that it is very much necessary to pass on any family secrets from one generation to another, to avoid conflicts among their own blood. Moreover, the authors narrated the story with a compassionate and sensitive voice, thus provoking our thoughts about the issues and the struggles faced by the Montanaro family.

Now about the characters- there is a vast pool of different types of characters, and I agree to the fact that there was not much enough space for each of the important characters to be featured in the story, thus this is where the only flaw of the book lies. All the characters in this book hold an important role to play and if this is a family saga, then the characters must be very intricately detailed, since with a hazy sketch of their demeanor, we will not fall for them, moreover, we won't capture their value in this story. So that is what was lacking from all the characters- depth! The story moved in a fast pace, thus leaving us out to understand completely with the characters' own lives and struggles.

In a nutshell, I would like to say the plot is exceptionally fantastic, and the author not only takes us back in time and era, but also takes us to our favorite city in the world- New York and they have captured New York very vividly with their exquisite words and visual way of story-telling!

Verdict: A thought-provoking family saga set in New York in the 1900s, which is so good that it will pull you into its deepest core of pain, love and grief!

Courtesy: Thanks to both the authors, Mona Rodriguez and Dianne Vigorito, for giving me this opportunity to read and review their debut novel.

[Lisl · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is a fascinating mirror and perhaps none is more so than the people who lived through it. Adding to the layers of intrigue are oral traditions passed down within families that lend new angles of perception and understanding to previous events, not least of them being the awareness that these are one’s own people.

I’ve been fortunate recently to have made the acquaintance of several books written about authors’ relatives and ancestors, amongst them Forty Years in a Day, a family story told to one woman by her immigrant father on his 90th birthday. Having journeyed to Ellis Island, scene of so many immigrant beginnings on our shores, the pair pass through the interior of a building that “exploded with thousands of personal stories of hardship and hope.” Clare sees her father’s face in those lining the walls, these images reflecting the “disquietude of an era.”

She understands already that the comfortable life she lives now is in debt to those who came before, including her father, Vincenzo. His childhood journey from an Italian village to New York's Hell's Kitchen was marked with a near-death experience and instances of degradation his mother, Victoria, tried to pass off as ordinary in the hope he would forget. Whether Vincenzo recalls those earliest instances or retrieves them from his mother's diary is not articulated, but Rodriguez and Vigorito lay out an understanding for Clare to absorb that is much larger than any of it, suggesting that even had Vincenzo remembered, he is beyond it. As father and daughter sit outside the island’s museum, silently taking in the beauty of the crisp autumn afternoon, Clare remarks on the beauty of the day.

“My father simply replied, ‘Clare, every day you’re alive is a beautiful day.’
Throughout his life, the phrase ‘it’s a beautiful day’ had become his mantra. I had always thought of it as cordial chitchat used to fill the uncomfortable gaps of silence in conversations, but only now did I comprehend the depth of his penetrating words.”

As they sit on the bench, Vincenzo Montenaro tells his daughter Clare the story of his life and his family, more precisely that of his mother, forced to leave an abusive husband and board a ship alone with several small children. The language is straightforward and accessible, but never simple, and the authors clearly work well together, possessing a talent for relating details that elapse over a long and arduous period of time, without overburdening the reader. We get a clear sense of how awful is the journey and its inherent pains, terrors, humiliations, discomforts, even cruelties.

This, in fact, is the style of the entire novel—many years encapsulated in much the same way the elder Montenaro would have done when taking only a single afternoon to describe forty years of his life. It is part of the authors’ craft that one never really knows for sure whether each individual segment is shortened by necessity or because suggestion is more powerful than a full-on witnessed account. Indeed, certain details are too wrenching to lay openly on the table, so to speak, and in fact would not do them justice. Some things, as is oft repeated, are best left to the imagination.

Vincenzo takes Clare—and us—through his mother’s story, her journey with the children to America and the years in which her life is essentially on hold because she mistakenly believes the husband she fled lives on. As time moves forward, Victoria, and her family as well as society, experiences growth and the awkward, inspirational and even ordinary moments informing and directing decisions pertaining to children, careers, dating, friendships, recreational activities, marriage and children, crises, illness and death, war, struggle, failures and triumph, and looking towards the future while remembering dreams of the past.

Somehow the myth pertaining to this era’s more “innocent” time has managed to stay afloat in our own society, though Rodriguez and Vigorito attempt no such fluff. Life at this time was difficult, even nightmarish for some, though there were opportunities as well. New York City in the first half of the 20th century was no playground: Irish mafia wars rivaled disease and poverty and though many emerged intact, very few escaped at least some contact with both.

But, like life in any era, there existed also the beauty of the ordinary, perhaps what Vincenzo, even in childhood, reveled in the most as he passionately embraced his appreciation for life:

Victoria knew the smell of the fresh baked bread and sauce simmering on the stove were ones the children looked forward to six days to Sunday. The minute she and [sister-in-law] Genevieve left the kitchen to ready themselves for church, Vincenzo would rip a loaf of the warm bread into pieces, dunk them into the sauce, and dole them out to his cousins and siblings. By the time Victoria returned, washcloth in hand, one of the loaves would have inconspicuously disappeared. Smiling to herself, she would casually wipe away the residue of red that rimmed their lips, pretending she was unaware of their weekly ritual.

Perhaps one of the novel’s greatest strengths is the manner in which it balances understanding of one realism within history: from the beginning human beings have always loved to be told stories, and it is no accident that our own histories resonate so deeply within us. The series of stories told throughout the book, as Vincenzo and his siblings—and the enlarging cast of characters—journey though teen years and young adulthood, as they enter into middle age, these stories satisfy a need to know about life for others and at other times, told by two with the eye and instinct of keen storytellers who know exactly when to divulge, when to pause and hold onto secrets and twists. They also embody the mirror image of those who love to be told a tale by fully displaying the seeming human satisfaction in telling one. Effortlessly weaving through time and connections within the characters’ own era, neighborhood and circles, they also touch our own.

So much happens in this novel, really a memoir of sorts--beginning in first person and shifting away as Vincenzo picks up--but readers are moved forward, perhaps a reflection of Vincenzo's own perspective and the manner in which he habitually looks forward, rarely dwelling on past events Here, too, the authors, who are in fact cousins telling their own family's story, bring us to witness exactly how much the patriarch values the future and those who will occupy it. Like Clare who learns so much that afternoon, readers will be "exhausted and inspired from the journey[,]" and wouldn't have it any other way.

[Erin (Historical Fiction Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find this and other reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....

Drawing inspiration from their own family history, authors Mona Rodriguez and Dianne Vigorito, created Forty Years in a Day, the story of the Montanaros and their experience as an immigrant family in the early twentieth century.

Fictional though it is I love that the foundations of this piece come from something so real and personal to the women who wrote it. Despite having no connection whatsoever to the authors, I felt a real sense of nostalgia emanating from these pages and think the book offers up something very special and rather unique to its readers.

My admiration aside, I will admit to having some difficulty with this piece. The multiple point of views and the rapidity of the story’s timeline made it hard for me to relate to either the characters or their experiences. In finishing the book I found myself wishing the story had incorporated more direction and emotional depth especially when Vincenzo’s final admission comes to light.

A moving family saga with an incredible and entirely unexpected twist, Forty Years in a Day is a pleasantly emotional story. The format may have left me wanting, but the plot is one of the most creative I’ve ever encountered, debut or otherwise.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Forty Years in a Day" follows the story of an Italian woman who leaves her abusive husband to make a new life with her children in America. The premise is that the story is being told through Vincenzo to his daughter at the end of his life.

I love immigrant stories. Many of my ancestors came from Ireland and Ukraine in the beginning of the 20th century and I have always enjoyed reading the accounts of other immigrants to this country. I really liked that book from this aspect. Victoria and her children come to Hell's Kitchen in NYC and are able to carve out a life and I loved reading about how they were able to do that. There was a lot of really good detail that really pulled me in and made me care about the characters.

This book went by way too quickly for me. This is both good and bad. I understand that the book is told from the point of view of Vincenzo (although all of the historical parts were told in third person omniscient point of view) and that he had a day to go through the life of his family but I felt like the narrative glossed over a lot that would really been interesting to explore a little bit more. Also, because the book was told in third party omniscient, I kept forgetting that Vincenzo was the one that was telling his daughter this story, which is sort of important for the ending of the book.

I was also sort of lost with the timeline of the book. Every once in awhile there would be some sort of mention of a time marker (talking about a specific historical event or something) but I wish they had been more frequent to give greater context to the book.

Overall, the writing in this book is very promising and I would love to see what these writers come up with in the future.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book enhances a family history from roots in Italy to the present era. It is told by a daughter who takes her father at 90 years of age for one last trip to celebrate his birthday. Their day together expands into the lives of their ancestors.
The stunning array of characters that parades through the twists and turns of several generations is amazing. The story is reminiscent of tales told by most older relatives. Family secrets and gossip are opened to the reader's view.

This is a very well written story that flows at a good pace throughout. I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical fiction.

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't you love finding a new author (or in this case authors?)I found one! The voice in this novel is melodic and takes you right from the hills of Italy and pulls you into New York City streets in the early 1900's. You'll want to sit down and enjoy a Sunday meal with the entire family.

"Forty Years in a Day" shows how the choices one person makes filters down through generations. It's a novel about the complexities of family and relationships, entwined with mystery and history. It is a great find for any reader. I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed!

[Debbie Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

My family members came from Italy. It was interesting to hear about the perspectives of those who came here and worked hard for their dreams.

[Jenny Q · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giveaway @ Let Them Read Books!

3.5 Stars. Forty Years in a Day is based on a true story and begins with a father-daughter outing to Ellis Island, where immigration exhibits spark memories, and the story of a family's tragic roots is finally told. The tale begins with the young, beautiful, and idealistic Victoria at the turn of the twentieth century and follows her as she flees Italy with her small children for a new beginning and a better life in America. Victoria quickly realizes how hard it is to make a home for her family in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York, but she finally finds her place, and though times are tough, her children have a loving, happy home to grow up in. The focus of the story shifts to each of her seven children along their paths to adulthood and highlights choices made (both good and bad), the whims of the human heart, the capacity of the soul to be by turns generously loving and relentlessly cruel, the senselessness of tragedy, and the joy of triumph.

Forty Years in a Day is a quick read, entertaining, with lots of ups and downs and dramatic moments as Victoria's children grow up and live their lives, but I felt as if the real "meat" of the story was missing. It covers a lot of time and a lot of people, and so the story naturally lends itself to more telling than showing. There's a good bit of exposition on what's happening in America and the rest of the world at the time, but no real connection is made to how it affects the family. There are some very interesting characters in the large cast, but they each only have a few moments to shine, so we never really get to know most of the characters beyond what we're told about them. It reads more like a narrative with some dialogue thrown in here and there, and what I love so much about historical fiction -- that deep emotional connection that links the characters and the experience of the times they lived in to me as the reader -- was mostly missing. While I thought the story lacked the depth I look for in a great historical fiction novel, I can still recommend it as a worthwhile read for shedding some light on the lives of the millions of people who came to America in search of something more, and the hardships and limitations they faced while reaching for their dreams.

[Lorrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Italian immigrant novel mildly comparable to Angela's Ashes only because of the new world hardships & triumphs. The saga spans four generations with similar family problems and triumphs as most all families: physical and verbal abuse, alcoholism, illness, jealousy, illiteracy, mobbery, adultery, love.... There were terribly sad moments during the story that you wonder how families/parents go on but then somehow we just do. The story did show how families came to the USA and built themselves up into the intricate economic spider webs that they now are spanning the country. The ending was a little surprising but unexpectedly good....very, very good.

It was interesting to read the authors' blog and see that the women are real life cousins who have spun this tale from family stories, memories as well as research.

This story has to simmer, marinate, and work its' way into your conscience.

[Cami Hensley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, these authors really did an amazing job of bringing 1900's to life through one family and several generations.

This is the kind of story that makes you think of the elderly who talk about their past and what they have gone through in life. I personally don't have anything to compare it to, but it really did make me feel like I was a part of the story and their trials and tribulations.


There are many twists and family problems throughout. It will definitely keep your interest until the very end. Very well done.

[Ileana Renfroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story! It sucked you in from the very beginning. Very well written this is a story you should read. Thanks to the author for doing such a great job.

[Ruth Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drawing from their own experiences, the authors have created a historical narrative around an Italian family over several generations. This family saga was an interesting read, but I found it a little slow at times. It was a sad story regarding hardship and poverty but I felt a bit of a disconnect with the characters - the book moved on quickly to the point where I felt no emotional connection to the characters. This made it hard to become invested in the book and in the family and their dynamics.
On the plus side, I feel like the book is filled with clear historical accuracy and I found that aspect very believable.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Mary Yarde · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Clare, every day you’re alive is a beautiful day…”

Clare had grown up hearing that, but she had never really understood the meaning behind the words until she found herself sat on a bench with her ninety-year-old father. It was then that she dared to ask him a question — one that she feared he would not be able to answer because memories fade, as memories do. Clare asked him to tell her the story of his life.

Vincenzo Montanaro may well be old, but he remembers everything. Every detail. But his story did not start with his birth. His destiny was tied with that of his mother’s and his brothers and sisters. It was a story of those who he had loved and those he had lost. It was a story of a dream that at times had turned into a nightmare. It was the story of a new beginning, a desperate hope. Vincenzo Montanaro's life had been both a blessing and a curse.

From a terrible confession to the desperation of a man torn between his lover and the woman he still loved, Forty Years In A Day by Mona Rodriguez and Dianne Vigorito is the story of one family as they reached for that all illusive American Dream.

With a sprawling stirring narrative and almost lyrical prose, not to mention a plot twist that I most definitely did not see coming, Forty Years In A Day is one of those books that grabs your attention from the very beginning and takes you on a beautiful voyage of discovery. This novel is simply unputdownable. It is enthralling, beguiling and utterly engrossing. When Historical Fiction is written in such a way, then there is no such thing as too much.

There is a vast cast of characters in this book. Rodriguez and Vigorito give their readers insight into not only Vincenzo's perspective but also many of the secondary characters as well. This is an approach that carries a great deal of risk, for a reader can easily become confused, but in the case of this book, it added a richness to the story that would have been terribly difficult to obtain from a single viewpoint. It also gives the reader an intimacy towards the characters and the situations they find themselves in. The natural rhythm to this tale meant that not once did I feel bewildered as to who was talking and what part they played in this dramatic family drama.

There are so many characters in this story, but one of my favourite characters has to be Vincenzo “Vinny”. Vinny forms a friendship on the boat as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and it was a friendship that would endure for the rest of his life. Vinny and Tony grew up together and then later became business partners. They are kindred spirits who both embraced the idea of the American Dream, but instead of waiting for it to fall onto their laps as many did, they set out to find it and make the dream their own. Even from a young age, these two endearing boys are determined to make some money for their poverty-stricken families. Their determination to start at the very bottom and work their way to the top sets them apart. Vinny and Tony’s dogged determination never to give up made them incredibly appealing characters. Of course, this story is not just about Vinny’s successful business ventures, but it is also about the man himself, one who knows what he wants but occasionally stumbles along the way. Vinny’s character was very authentic in the telling, and of all the characters in this novel, Vinny is the one I adored the most.

Santo Carnavale, Vinny’s half-brother, was another character that fascinated me. Santo is a child who was born in an era where neurodevelopment disorders were not understood. Santo is quite a destructive child who finds ingenious ways to get out of school. There is an incident with a toilet that is incredibly amusing. However, this incident shows this young boy’s intelligence — he would have made a good engineer! Santo is a character whom I thought was wonderfully portrayed. His depiction was candid in the telling, but it was also sobering for what chance did he have in a world that was not equipped to deal with the health issues that he had? Santo’s escalating spiral of decline when he reaches adulthood was incredibly hard to witness, but it did bring a lot to this story, and it demonstrated how different children, who had exactly the same upbringing, could be.

Like Santo, Louise is a character who struggles with her mental health with devastating and unforeseen consequences. Louise came across as very confident and boisterous. She is one of those people who light up a room just by entering it. But underneath this bubbly personality is a young woman who is, in fact, terribly insecure. I thought Louise’s depiction was fabulous.

There are scenes in this novel that are terribly distressing — from incidents of domestic violence, deaths, and the brutalities of the mob. At times there is an essence of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather about this novel, but I think that is what makes it such an exceptional read. It is an incredible journey that Rodriguez and Vigorito take their readers on.

Rodriguez and Vigorito’s attention to the historical detail has to be commended. The hours of research that must have gone into this book is staggering. They have captured the very essence of the 1900s in both Italy and America. Rodriguez and Vigorito’s depiction of the desperate disappointment of the immigrants as they stepped off the boat and realised that the American Dream was just as it said, a dream. The streets were not paved with gold. Instead, they were paved with disease, despair and poverty. This is a story that spans two generations and, through the eyes of this remarkable family, we watch as history is made. The roaring 20s was particularly well depicted, especially the speakeasies. The despair of The Wall Street Crash was also exceptionally well-drawn. This is a tale of a family who endured hardship and suffering, but it is also one of boundless hope and love. Rodriguez and Vigorito have penned a book that is a work of exceptional scholarship and one that could so easily be adapted for the small screen. This is a story that is as mesmerising as it is detailed. In all ways, Forty Years In A Day is a Historical Fiction triumph!

Forty Years In A Day by Mona Rodriguez and Dianne Vigorito is a poignant voyage of discovery and one that mesmerised me from the opening sentence to the final full stop. This is a book that really had it all — it is an honest and painfully truthful depiction of one family as they navigate a forever changing world. This book is definitely worthy of a place on your bookshelf, but more importantly, your heart. I could read this book over and over again and never tire of it. It is, in all ways, a real gem.

I Highly Recommend.

Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.

[Sydne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will just start with what I think about this book since you can already see the summary above. I really loved this book. I enjoyed learning about each of the characters and throughout the story I felt like I was part of the family. There were so many things in the story that really caught me off guard, mostly towards the end of the book though. The plot was really good, not in a suspenseful kind of way, but more that it was just really interesting. I would recommend this book to everyone!

[Gr8Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

REALLY enjoyed this story - despite the sad times the family kept going through - but that's the life can be. Although this story was about an Italian family coming to America, it could have been about any immigrant family. Enjoyed the togetherness of the family. BIG surprise at the end!!! Really got me! Well written!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book held my interest. It told of hardship these people went through.

It was tragically sad, but very happy at times.
I found it very interesting to find out who was behind all what was happening.

[Kelly Klasen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Forty Years in a Day," tells the story of an Italian woman who left her alcoholic and abusive husband and immigrated to Hell's Kitchen, New York. The authors did a wonderful job exploring life as an immigrant in America and portraying the hardships and challenges they faced.

[Casey Sitze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic story that chronicles a family from 1900 in Italy to present day America. Great characters. Tragic parts but surviving parts. Loved it!

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Calvano, Italy, in the early years of the twentieth century, Victoria is married to Salvatore and their children: Vincenzo, Francis, Gennaro, Catherina and Gabriella. The marriage is turbulent, and soon Victoria flees to America with the four children, where she finds refuge with her brother and his family who live in the tenements of New York City's lower East side.

These four children lead disparate lives, they grow up, they marry, they are involved with the mob, they deal with Francis's sudden death.

Victoria marries Lorenzo. Their son, Santo, grew to develop a penchant for gambling that accelerated through his teens. Vinny, on the other hand, quits school at age 11 and slowly but surely becomes a successful businessman in partnership with his friend Tony.

And so, we follow this family through the First World War, Depression and Prohibition,and the years flew by.

In 1991, Clare comes to New York to celebrate her father's 90th birthday. They sit, looking at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and Vinny tells his story. Clare says that Vincenzo Montanaro's "wisdom had left an imprint on my mind, and his love had left an imprint on my heart. I was both inspired and exhausted from the journey we had just taken through his life, and I imagined he was also."

A thoughtful read with a surprising ending.

I read this EARC courtesy of Net Galley and Books Go Social pub date 03/09/17

[Alison Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The story is compelling (especially if you love New York City) and hauntingly beautiful. I loved the premise, the characters, learning about the immigrants' plight, and what it might have been like to enter through Ellis Island and try to make a go at life in New York City so long ago. There are gut-wrenching moments and beautiful scenes, and the story was presented with compassion and tenderness.

At times the story moves very quickly, but there are a lot of characters and a lot of ground to cover. With that kind of a story, it's a tough call to know if an author should do a longer book, or a shorter book that flows more quickly. I'm not much of a "saga" reader, and long books tend to turn me off unless I know a lot about the author or the subject matter. In this case, I was glad for a shorter book with a faster flow, and I personally felt the tempo of the story was appropriate for the story.

Thank you to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. #fortyyearsinaday

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, a lot can happen in 40 years. Italian siblings immigrate to America and the family experiences one tragedy after another, including domestic violence, murder, gang affiliation, alcoholism, drug use, mental health trauma, adultery, grief, and broken hearts.
I did enjoy learning new details about life in New York City during the first half of the 20th century. The writing seemed a bit like a textbook at times, though, with little emotional connection to the characters and a “tell” rather than a “show” feel.
Overall, I enjoyed reading “Forty Years in a Day” and would recommend it to readers interested in history, life in New York City, gang interactions, family dynamics, and brave, strong female leads.

[Mona Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forty Years In A Day begins in 1900 and follows the incredible journey of a young mother and her four children as they escape from Italy into the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, New York. That woman was my grandmother. The story ends with a woman who knows the father of her children is living a double life with another, but she loves him so much that she overlooks the arrangement rather than forfeit the man. Those were my parents. In between are the stories that I had heard from family members who had lived through an era that we can only read about, intertwined with a twist of fiction and sensationalism.

Forty Years In A Day is more than an immigration story about an Italian family; it epitomizes the immigration experience and coming to America in the early 1900s. It reignites curiosity and admiration for what our ancestors had endured and accomplished to make our lives better.

[Cherene · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read this and other reviews at Shut Up and Read

This book lets us hear the "story" that Vincenzo tells his daughter on a bench, much like the cover, on his 90th birthday. It's much like the story we all wonder towards the end of our grandparents or parents lives - but who were you, really?

This book follows an intricate web of the family dating back to the early 1900's.

This book is easy to read in that the writing is beautiful and the story plot interesting.

Of course, we can then understand the title, this is an entire lifetime of history (40 years) in one day.

My regret is that I wish the span of time could have gone slower - become more detailed. Perhaps, a 600 page book? I'm not intimidated by thick novels though.

You need to read this book!

[Clive Mccartney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free ARC of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I've given this book 3 stars and I'm not sure why not 4, maybe just because it's a fairly simple linear tale of an Italian immigrant family through the early years of the 20th Century, and it's not my usual murder mystery/sci-fi/fantasy type of book. This is well written, although with a few syntax & spelling errors that indicate a need for some extra editing. Starting slowly and gathering pace, the story wields powerful messages of love, loss, grief, passion and more. I enjoyed this excursion into an unfamiliar genre.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a perfectly pleasant light read, based on the authors’ own family experiences, and an historically accurate account of life for an immigrant family in New York over the first half of the 20th century. Nothing much else to say, really. A good editor should have picked up on mistakes in vocabulary, which, as a pedantic reader I found irritating, and as the characters are not explored in any depth, I wasn’t able to engage with any of them, but I stuck with it and was glad to find out what happened to them all in the end.

[Nancy Devlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful story

I was totally engaged in the lives of this family and got a glimpse into what it must have been like for immigrants back then. my own grandparents are immigrants from Ireland. Their lives were quite different but both tell the stories of loving families who
wanted better lives for themselves and their families. An enjoyable book.

[Bdiz Ziemer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just poor writing

Poorly written schmaltzy melodrama. No real character development. No actual plot line. Fractured grammar. Any number of anachronisms. Serious infringement on the first commandment of storytelling; “ show, don’t tell.”

Not really a good use of time.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice easy read that kept my attention.. lots of twists and turns that seem a bit underdeveloped though.

[Jennifer Grimm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Laborious reading. There was too many unneeded adjectives and adverbs in the way of the story. It left no room for any feelings for the family.