Advice For Italian Boys

by Anne Giardini

Anne Giardini’s first novel, The Sad Truth About Happiness , garnered international praise for its beautiful story and rich, complex characters. Now, Giardini returns with a warm and witty novel about a young man discovering the difficulties and joys of finding his own way in the world. Nicolo Pavone is the middle son in an Italian-Canadian family. His younger brother is a law student on the path to a brilliant future. His older brother is married and hides secret ambitions. Nicolo, however, still lives at home, working as a trainer at a gym, saving his money and respecting his parents and his nonna, Filomena. But he knows that this easy living can’t last forever. Life beckons—if only he knew which direction to take. Everyone, it seems, either has advice for Nicolo or needs advice from him. Dad advises university; Moms says marry and settle down. His brothers, his friends and his clients have their own ideas. But Nonna believes she alone discerns Nicolo’s true heart and nature, and that her advice is all the guidance her grandson requires. By mining the collection of sayings and proverbs she has brought with her from the old country, Nonna believes she can ward off all evil from descending upon her brood. As she dreams, and schemes, she begins to discern what each member of the family needs most, including, finally, herself. Anne Giardini explores our most significant relationships and decisions—how we choose our families, friends, work and partners—and how we choose to live in the world. A deeply rewarding book about the life-long process of understanding ourselves, Advice for Italian Boys explores the delicate balance of what we are born into and what we eventually become.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Literary Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2009

About the author

Anne Giardini is an author, lawyer, and the eldest daughter of late Canadian novelist Carol Shields.

Giardini is licensed to practice law in both Ontario and British Columbia. As a journalist, Giardini has contributed to the National Post as a columnist. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband of more than 25 years and their three children. She has written two novels, The Sad Truth about Happiness (2005) and Advice for Italian Boys (2009), both published with HarperCollins. With Random House Canada, Giardini will be releasing (as editor) Startle and Illuminate: Carol Shields on Writing in 2016.

She is currently serving as the 11th Chancellor of Simon Fraser University.

Since 2008, Giardini has been president of Weyerhaeuser Company Limited, a subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Company in the forestry industry. Prior to her role as president, she joined Weyerhaeuser in 1994 and became Canadian vice-president and general counsel in 2006.

She is an active volunteer and on the board for a number of local Vancouver organizations. She is a board member for the Vancouver Board of Trade; chair of the board of the Vancouver International Writers Festival; member of the board of directors for UniverCity at SFU; deputy chair of the board of governors at Simon Fraser University; supporter of Plan Canada, volunteer for Vancouver YWCA's Women of Distinction Awards, and Young Women in Business.

Giardini was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in January 2013 for her fundraising efforts for Plan Canada’s “Because I’m a Girl” campaign, which supports females in Tanzania.

Reviews

[Tiff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes I wish the GoodReads' rating system were a little more complex. Two stars for "it was OK" sort of describes how I felt about parts of this book, but not all of it. Some parts were quite intriguing while others were downright dull. The structure of the book lends itself well to this kind of judgment, as it's almost written like a book of inter-connected short stories, with a little more of a cohesive narrative flow.

Some notable points:

In the beginning, before I settled into the author's writing style, enormous run-on sentences distracted me from getting to know the characters and their surroundings. This style is consistent throughout, meaning I can understand why an editor wouldn't just hack at the run-ons with a butcher knife. Nevertheless, I didn't enjoy having to take up a sentence a second time in order to understand its full meaning.

The third-person narrator sounds like that of the movie "Vicky Christina Barcelona." When I saw that movie and suddenly heard the narrator's voice, I was startled by its intrusive nature as it described every little thing possible. When a narrator is your only tool for understanding the story in a book, it's pretty detrimental to find out you despise that voice.

There are some interesting parts of the story, but they're never fleshed out. For example, it is revealed near the end of the book that the main character's first two sexual encounters were of the same-sex persuasion. But this is simply mentioned in passing and never explored, which was disappointing because it would have provided the book with some much-needed conflict, considering the main character comes from a very traditional, Italian-Canadian family. Also near the end of the book, it's mentioned that Paola, the main character's mother, is now pregnant at 44, after having already raised three grown sons. It would have been interesting to read about the reactions of her family, the community, etc., but again, it's never mentioned after that one time.

All things considered, it's an OK story about an Italian-Canadian family and their traditions. But there were no surprises, nothing to really be learned.

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
Most of this book, I wasn't feeling at all. It was just a story to me, until we got to Zoe's part about 200 pages in, and I was interested in something.
Don't get me wrong, it has the most beautiful, descriptive writing. It's just that the story doesn't really go anywhere. These characters live,eat, sleep, work, go to school, love, just like we do. It still didn't work for me though. I felt like the story was missing something.
It kind of sucks that smaller character had a bigger impact on me than the main character of the book's focus.
I did like the 'old country' proverbs. Especially with both English and Italian translations for each one. Those alone were worth reading the story for. Each one was quite deep and thought-provoking.
So while this wasn't my cup of espresso, it may be more to your tastes. It's one of those cases where you can't knock it till you try it.

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel explores the life of an Italian family who are now living in Vaughan, a community north of Toronto. The narrative focuses on Nicolo the son of Paola and Massimo Pavone, who is in his mid twenties and still living at home with his parents. Nicola has two brothers, both nicknamed Enzo. The older brother is married and has a family of his own, the younger works part time and attends law school. The family also includes Filomena, Paola’s mother-in-law, who helps in the house and dispenses advice through the “proverbi” or traditional sayings she gives to the family. She knows that passing on the old ways to her grandsons is a waste of time and that little of it will be of any use to them in their complicated modern lives. But she has sensed that Nicolo is the exception. He listens and even understands some of it.

Nicola is a likable figure. He works as a personal trainer at Carouso’s gym and leads a quiet life, attending church a few times a week, a ritual that still brings him comfort. He also meets every Saturday morning at the local bakery with his childhood friends Paul, Mario and Frank, where they talk about sports and cars and share the neighbourhood gossip.

Nicola is unsure of what he should be doing with his life, but he constantly observes his family and the world around him. There are so many bewildering choices -- what studies to take, what work to do, who to marry and whether to marry at all. He knows he wants a family much like his own, centered in the traditions of the Italian culture and seated with a fixed moral code.

Nicola learns from watching his clients at the gym, observing the loving interactions of his parents, the experiences of his brothers and the decisions they have made. Along the way, he is advised by his Nonna Filomena, the matriarch of the Pavone family, who dispenses advice in what sometimes seems like riddles.

There is little action in this book, it is more a quiet reflective study of an immigrant family, their relationships and struggles as they face the challenges life presents them. The characters are beautifully portrayed, especially Filomena the Nonna, who sometimes shares her memories of her life as a young woman in Italy.

This novel is well written and easily engages the reader.
An enjoyable read.

[Barb]

I cannot say that this book held me attention throughout. I found myself skimming through pages. It was disjointed in parts, and the ending was odd. I did like the Nona and her adages, and simply put, think the book could have been about her and not the grandsons. But that is just my two cents.

[Purple Osprey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry and unimaginative.
My biggest problem with this book is that it reads like a compilation of loosely connected little stories. Seems like the author just put all of whatever material she had into the book without putting much work or talent into it.

[Doris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had many missing gaps I found. The story would go one way and then trail off. Characters were semi developed and their was no flow.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrative was not continuous - you follow Nicolo's adventures with his various clients that he trains at the gym, as well as the lives of different members of his family, but they are all disjointed stories, as pointed out by other reviewers. Also, who would take their personal trainer to Las Vegas with them if he/she is not a celebrity? Seriously. The brothers were all too neatly wrapped up and sent into old Italian age in the abrupt ending as well. I like Mrs. Giardini's debut novel, The Sad Truth About Unhappiness, better, because despite also containing unbelievable elements, it had a main storyline.

[Gail Reichert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too slow and mundane for my tastes.

[Krista Festarini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. But it didn’t strongly grab me. Reading about an Italian immigrant perspective is always interesting. But if that isn’t something you enjoy it might not be the book for you.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Canadian/Italian I loved the references to the culture, but it was a slow read.

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicolo Pavone is a twenty-something Italian Canadian who still lives at home with his parents and his nonna who peppers his life with old Italian proverbs and adages. Nicolo is on the brink of making important decisions about his life and is constantly receiving helpful advice from his family and friends. In the end Nicolo makes his own thoughtful choices and decisions – balancing his old Italian values and his modern Canadian dreams. The book is a nice easy read and you become very attached to Nicolo and his family.

[Esraa]

A book about advice. Revolves around a young Italian man, Nicolo,who still lives with his paretns, does not know when to get married, pursue higher eductation, or what to do whith his savings from his full-time job as a gym trainer. He is responsive to advice given to him by his grandma, Nonna, and others who try to sway him to their ways of life. A pleasure to read. What is inspiring though is the detail and insight the author gives and the fact that she acquired all these details from her husband`s family. Moral: use every experience to your advantage and your ouw self-advancement.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book that takes us into an Italian family living
in Toronto. Niccolo , the middle son , is the central character
in the novel.The advice comes in the form or maxims or proverbs from his Nonna(grandmother).Coming from an immigrant family, I see a lot of similarites and find the book very true to life.

A very nice effort from the daughter of celebrated canadian author Carol Shields.

Recommended as a light and enjoyable read.

[Michael Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

The middle son of an Italian-Canadian family has trouble figuring out what to do with his life. Not much of a plot, really, but I loved the book anyway. So what if nothing much happens. I loved spending time with Niccolo, his two brothers, his superstitious Nonna, and the assorted friends in their landfill-burdened neighbourhood. I can see why some readers think this book is boring, but for me it was a real joy to read.

[Suze · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Nice” – there’s a safe opinion that says little. It was a light read with a fairy tale ending, too neatly tied up. I thought Nicolo was a two-dimensional character – no flaws. “Nicolo is a good boy” (p.275) pretty much sums him up. Giardini uses meticulous detail (too much). However, wonderfully fresh imagery – she can really handle language beautifully.

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The character building of Nicolo was wonderful. The story brought so many everyday things that could happen to people living today and contrasted these things with what the relatives of these same people went through in old world Italy. Some of the proverbi was pretty funny too.

[Lisa]

Boring boring boring. I hate the narrative and the characters. Nicolo sounds like a mamma's boy who really needs to get laid. I don't think I'll be able to finish it.

[edit: I did finish it! The rest of it was just as horrible.]

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deeply rewarding book about the life-long process of understanding ourselves. Advice for Italian Boys explores the ways that each of us seeks a balance between what we are born into and what we eventually become.

[Genni Gunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great complex characters. An inside look at an Italian-Canadian family, with its generational conflicts and joys.

[Vionna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed the story of the dynamics of an Italian family. Story focused mainly on youngest son whodoesn't know what to do with his life. Story flowed very well and was well written

[Roxy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved 'The Sad Truth About Happiness,' so I'm excited to get into this book. She writes with a quiet, lyrical style that evokes her mother, Carol Shields...

[Lynn Bornath · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book with interesting characters, an engaging story, and a satisfying ending. Read the full review.

[Fibrelady · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle story that takes a bit to get involved with the characters. I fell in love with the members of this Italian family and wish I knew them.

[Beverley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice, slow and sweet book. I think it will grow as I reflect on it.

[David Swan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant gentle read. Not brilliant but good. Great Italian quotes.

[Suzanne Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another of her books was recommended to me but I was unable to find it at the library.
Borrowed this one instead; just ok