Mount Allegro: A Memoir of Italian American Life

by Jerre Mangione, Eugene Paul Nassar (Foreword by), Dorothy Canfield Fisher (Introduction)

Mount Allegro is an extraordinary memoir, a celebration of Sicilian life, an engaging sociological portrait, a moving reminiscence of a fledgling writer’s escape from the restrictive culture in which he grew up. Jerre Mangione’s autobiographical chronicle of his youth in a Sicilian community in Rochester is one of the truly enduring books about the immigrant experience in this country. Family squabbles, soul-nourishing food, and the casting of evil eyes are only some of the ingredients of this richly textured book, although they must all take second place to its unforgettable characters. As Eugene Paul Nassar writes in the book’s Foreword, “ Mount Allegro . . . gave a literary visibility and identity, amiable and appealing, to a poorly understood ethnic group in America, and did so at a very high level of artistry.”

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, History, School, Italy, Italian Literature, Travel

309 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[Sinuhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic memoir of growing up in a Sicilian community in Rochester in the 1920s. This hits close to home for me as I'm Italian/Sicilian on my father's side; my great-aunt married into this community (or, well, what was left of it; by that time it had dispersed).

It leaves me somewhat depressed, as this world (like the worlds in all older memoirs) is totally disappeared, but so close to us generationally. Mangione was able to go back to his parents' hometowns in the 1930s and meet their friends and relations, and see firsthand why they left. Today my Italian relatives are likely third cousins at best and would probably have no stories to share of my great-grandfather and great-grandmother. I have no stories of them passed down in the family - as a third-gen child, my father couldn't even communicate with his grandmother.

It does leave me curious as to the experience of girls on the writer's generation. Minimally educated, expected to marry close to home, and held to a strict standard of propriety, they would have had a very different life. I can't imagine a Gerlanda going to Sicily in the 1930s to gather material and write.

[Gabriela Valle · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is my second reading of italian literature this year and again i thoroughly enjoyed it. this book was a memoir about the italian american experience, specifically, sicilian americans. it was easy to get lost in their big family and all the personalities described throughout. overall, i enjoyed the book and it gave me the chance to learn more about the history of italian culture.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good Italian book

[Dena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a wonderfully written memoir of growing up as a first generation Italian-American. He delves into many cultural issues. Highly recommended.

[Eleni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful memoir by Jerre Mangione about his Sicilian family and early life in Rochester, NY in the 1930s.

[Anna Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last October a friend asked me to help staff a booth at the Cugini di ROC Italian Heritage Day at Rochester's Public Market. I'm not Italian at all, but I know regional wine history, so my task was to try to collect family histories of home winemaking. In the process, I got a crash course in the history of Italian immigrants in Rochester- mostly poor, mostly Sicilian or rural Southern Italian, and mostly arriving in the US between 1890 and 1920 or so.

When I stumbled across a reference to Mount Allegro in an article about local immigration history, I jumped on it. It's a charming memoir with some hard edges, since most of the narrative is relayed through the naive but honest voice of a child. It's done quite believably, and adult readers infer the deeper issues (like domestic abuse, unwanted pregnancy, and anti-immigrant norms) quite clearly from observations made from a kid's point of view. The characters are vivid and engaging, and I found myself heading to current and historic maps of the city to grasp the geography. The last bit of the book, when Mangione travels to Sicily as a young adult in search of family history and writing material, shifts to a more mature tone, but one still full of wonder and interest.

I happened to be reading a compilation of historical news reports concurrently with this book, and I was struck by the contrast between the media's portrayal of Italian incomers and the way Mangione's family and friends thought of themselves. This dichotomy was touched on only lightly in the book, but some incidents stuck out vividly. That Papa Mangione forbade his sons from carrying even pocket knives, for instance, because Sicilians were reputed to be hot-tempered fighters who would stab someone over the smallest slight. That a Canadian neighbor was unhappy with Italians moving into their neighborhood, because they were dirty foreigners. And that members of the Sicilian community wouldn't call the police (or even talk to them) if they suspected a criminal targeting them was also Sicilian, because they had their own way of settling lawlessness, and it wasn't a system that American cops could operate in. That last bit, especially, provides interesting insight on Italian-American crime family operations in general, as well as the intense pride that Italian-Americans feel in their community ties. After decades of pronounced 'othering' by Anglo-Americans, their lack of trust makes a lot of sense.

Excellent memoir for all the right reasons- entertaining, charming, excellent local history and sociological exploration. Highly recommended, especially if you are interested in the immigrant experience in the early 1900's or in western NY history.

[Vincent Lombardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third or fourth time that I have read this book. I still love it, and it still moves me.

My parents were Sicilian immigrants who came to this country after World War II, and Mangione's descriptions of his Sicilian immigrant relatives ring quite true for me, as does his ambivalence towards his family. But his discomfort being a hyphenated American dissipates as he ages, as did mine, and he comes to appreciate his relatives and the culture that he grew up in more, as I did.

[Anna Exford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my favorite of the immigration books I read for my class (besides Greencard Youth Voices). However, I know there are more memorable immigration books out there that we could have read instead.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this semi-autobiographical "fiction" which is very true-to-life! The insular nature of many immigrant groups and families--settling in areas where they are among "like" peoples, is broken up with time by living in the United States, but lately there has been little time for them to absorb "United States" culture before they are expected to act as though they have lived in a republic all their lives. The children fare better if they attend schools which work on the tenets of democracy, but too often they are subjected to bullying because of "differences." It is something that the United states could do better--the integration and the welcoming of diverse peoples. In this case, the families and people were from Sicily and many customs of the Old Country were expected to be followed, even though the children were also expected to become "Americanized." A cultural tightrope to walk!

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jerre Mangione has written a memoir of his childhood in Rochester, NY, growing up in a Sicilian family. It is remarkably innocent, comic and folksy. Similar to Saroyan's memoirs. Mangione was a contemporary of my father's and, while nationalities are different (Irish versus Sicilian), many of the experiences are similar. It is interesting reading about his parish church, St. Brigit's, which was my father and grandparent's as well. The finale, written later, in 1980, describes the destruction of the neighborhood, including St. Brigit's.
My Catholic high school was dominated by Sicilian girls. I didn't know this at the time and it wasn't until I met my Northern Italian husband that I learned the difference. This memoir is an interesting record of that culture.
Side note: The author is the uncle of the musician Chuch Mangione.

[Erin Heffernan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a memoir by the son of Sicilian-American immigrants and was written in the 40s (I think! At any rate, many decades ago). In it, he explores his family, Americans/America and Italy/Sicily, among other things. The majority of the book is light-hearted and a description of anecdotes and stories from his childhood as he seeks to remember his childhood and his relatives. The memoir culminates in his own voyage back to Italy. He provides interesting insight into how immigration (how immigration affects both the first and second generations) at a different time in American history, as well as on "Italian-American" culture. Although there were parts in the middle where the book dragged a bit, I think that the book as a whole was both entertaining and valuable. His insight and conclusions at the end are particularly interesting and bring a whole new color to the entire book.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another reading that was required for my "Immigration Experience in Literature" class that I took for my Masters Degree. Another good one, this time reflecting the Italian-American immigrant experience of Jerre Mangione, whose family settled in Rochester, New York.

I think this is an important book to read when considering the Italian immigration experience, especially since so often this experience is inaccurately stereotyped by the likes of the fictional mafioso Tony Soprano. Instead he stresses such issues as the irony of the American Dream as well as the unique Americanization process experienced by Mangione and his family.

[Mlerro]

I loved it - It brought me to a place I had forgotten. A place where grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles all contributed to a fabric of memories that would define me. Its a great read with no pressure except to enjoy. No message except to appreciate your origins; understand those who went before you; and appreciate the unique experience of those raised with emigrants around them. Doesn't matter where your family came from, just that it was not originally here.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book felt like a manual for my beautiful crazy family also hailing from Sicily and southern Italy. A humorous and light hearted page turner, Mount Allegro serves as a lovely example of the quote: "there are two types of people in this world, Italians and those who want to be Italian." Bravo, Mangione!

[Shelley Alongi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't tell sometimes if he was telling stories of Italian culture or his personal family stories. But I liked the book and at the end I knew of course he ws talking about his family. I think I definitely would have wanted to escape such cloistering relatives and yet he appreciates them, too. I don't detect any bitterness or resentment. It was definitely worth reading.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mangione writes a personal story of family and community. His description of life as an Italian American is heart-warming and hilarious, but not without loss and sadness. As I read some of his accounts, I felt like he was describing my own life growing up in an Italian family.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent study of an Italian American family in Rochester New York in the mid twentieth century. Although the book is neither fact nor complete fiction it delivers a realistic depiction of the lives of immigrants in the Western New York.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The memoir aspects with lots of family, uncles and aunts around, and the children's shenanigans, reminded me of A Child's Christmas in Wales. Very engaging.

[Nikita Dolese · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're Sicilian, this book will explain why you and your family are the way you are.

[jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea why this book is not more popular. I loved it. It really captured Italian American family life. Maybe I'm partial because I'm Italian and from Rochester, but this book was amazing.

[K T · Rating 2 out of 5]

family stories

[Amy Discenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[K T]

Family stories

[Sonja Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic--a wonderful memoir of early city of Rochester, and of Sicilian immigrants in the US.

[Barbara Adams]

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