Infertility Rites

by Mary Melfi

Mary Melfi's first novel explores the emotional trauma of infertility and its resulting marital conflicts. It is an intimate account of one woman's agonizing experience to carry a pregnancy to full term. Through Nina DiFiore's numerous miscarriages, Melfi analyzes how much women's self-image is linked to their fertility; for Nina, an artist, this is even more acute as she is of Italian origin, a culture which idolizes the role of the mother. Infertility Rites focuses on the difficulties for an Italian-Canadian woman in reconciling her alienation from aspects of her traditional immigrant past with her dislocation from mainstream Canadian society, embodied in the tensions within her marriage.

182 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful experimental writing with a strong sense of character. Reminds me of Atwood in the best ways.