Big Night: A Novel with Recipes [Paperback]

Joseph Tropiano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1996

Set during the early 1950s, this story of love and linguini, purity and compromise--soon to be a major motion picture from MGM--takes a poignant and pointed look at Old World vs. New World values and provides a rueful assessment of the American Dream. In a New Jersey town, two Italian immigrant brothers stuggle to keep their restaurant afloat. Includes recipes.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Big Night was the loveliest cinematic surprise of 1996, a small, delightful comedy about two brothers who hope to turn their new Italian restaurant into a successful business. Joseph Tropiano, who co-wrote the movie, has not written a conventional screenplay or a standard "novelization." Instead, he has turned his story into a compelling novel. Narrated by the brother-protagonists, the book is a wonderful companion to the movie, but also stands beautifully on its own. As a special treat, Tropiano introduces each of the novel's eleven chapters with a recipe for one of the dishes that appears in the movie!

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (September 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312148445
• ISBN-13: 978-0312148447
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed in recipes chosen for the book, August 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Big Night: A Novel with Recipes (Paperback)

Purchased the book because of the promise of each chapter beginning with a recipe for one of the dishes from the movie. While technically this was true, I was disappointed in the recipes included in the book. Was expecting to have the recipes from the Big Feast - especially a recipe for the famous Timpano. It was glaringly missing as were recipes for just about all of the dishes served at the Big Night. On the plus side, since a book needs "a lot more words" than the visuals of a movie, there was much description of what was occuring while preparing the meal. Still, that did not make up for the lack of the recipes.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Small., November 24, 1997

By 

Example: Mark Twain (Up and down the coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Night: A Novel with Recipes (Paperback)

"Big Night" was a wonderful movie. This book, purporting to be a novelization, is about as compelling as Cliff Notes. Moreover, it's promoted as having recipes from the film. Yeah. It includes a recipe for the scrambled eggs they cooked the next morning, but where's the recipe we really want, for the Timpano?

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars TIMPANO, January 21, 2002

By 

daryl whitley (kenmore, wa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Night: A Novel with Recipes (Paperback)

I have not read the book, however; the Timpano is in a cookbook by Tucci and Tropiano among others titled "Cucina & Famigila"