The Book of Saints [Paperback]

Nino Ricci (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1995

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Canadian Governor General's Award for Fiction

Set in a small, golden village nestled in folds of the Italian Apennines, The Book of Saints is a deceptively simple novel of startling power and mythic dimension. Young Vittorio Innocente is the pampered son of Cristina, a women whose husband has left Italy for work in North America. Beneath her placid surface, Cristina yearns to escape the restrictive village; and, one day, Vittorio is startled to find her in the family's stable, her ankle swelling from a snakebite. But what really happened to Cristina that day becomes the center of this tale—a story of passion and superstition beneath pastoral calm, a mother's secret life witnessed by a child. The first novel in a trilogy that follows Vittorio to adulthood, The Book of Saints is Ricci's acclaimed debut.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A bestseller in his native Canada, Ricci's first novel concerns the highly superstitious ways of a small Italian community in 1960.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This first novel of Italian-Canadian writer Ricci is the story of a seven-year-old Italian peasant boy, aptly named Vittorio Innocenti, and his loss of innocence as he tries to piece together the shadowy clues to his mother's mysterious affair and his family's loss of favor in the tiny Apennine village of Valle de Sol. The characters--the boy, his mother, his grandfather, the villagers--and the storyline are predictable, but the atmosphere, seen through the eyes of the boy, is obscure and occasionally disturbing, revealing the inbred, pre-Christian darkness of supposedly modern Italian village life. Recommended.
- Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, Ore.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Picador (August 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031213441X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312134419
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,808,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nino Ricci was born in Leamington, Ontario, Canada in 1959 to parents from the Molise region of Italy. His first novel, Lives of the Saints, published in 1990, garnered international acclaim, appearing in seventeen countries and winning a host of awards, including Canada's Governor General's Award and England's Betty Trask Award and Winifred Holtby Prize. It began a trilogy that was completed by In A Glass House and Where She Has Gone and that was adapted as a miniseries starring Sophia Loren and Kris Kristofferson.

Ricci is also the author of Testament, a fictional reimagining of the life of Jesus, and most recently of The Origin of Species, which earned him his second Governor General's Award. According to the Toronto Star, it is "Ricci's masterstroke to date . . . . An ambitious, thrilling novel that resists encapsulation and takes not a single misstep."

In 2006, Ricci was the winner of the inaugural Alistair MacLeod Award for Literary Achievement. He is a past president of the Canadian Centre of International PEN.

You can find out more about Nino Ricci by visiting his web site, http://ninoricci.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book of Saints brings a small Italian town to life, November 8, 1999

By 

Agata De Santis (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Saints (Paperback)

On my recent trip to Italy I decided to bring one reading book...I chose Book of Saints. Relaxing on a hot afternoon in my parents'hometown in southern Italy with Book of Saints in my lap, the story simply came to life; the small town, the people, the traditions, the gossip. It's the story of a woman who's husband left for Canada to seek employment. Left at home with their son and her father, she tries to stay happy. But certain situations put her in a bad light and soon the townspeople begin to avoid her and gossip about her. Subborn and proud, she refuses to make amends with the townspeople, which only serves to isolate her even more. Her choices affect her father and son as they too suffer the wrath of the townspeople. The choices that she will finally make will surprise you. Let's just say that she's a very strong and independent woman. I'm looking forward to the rest of Ricci's trilogy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Immigrant Literature, September 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Saints (Paperback)

The story is poetically written. It is an immigrant literature piece, outlining the realities of moving from your home country to the unknown. It does end abruptly, and is not a "fluffy" story. However, Ricci does reveal the truths of his own life in the novel, serious and sad. Not for the faint of heart, but very well done.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars it came to an end too quickly..., August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Saints (Paperback)

The book reminded me of Angela's Ashes - if you liked one then try the other. The story, set in 1960, centers on a young boy, Vittorio at the age of seven. He lives in a small Italian village with his mother, Cristina, and his grandfather, the mayor of the town. His father, now in America has been gone for 4 years and his mother has been less than chaste while he's been gone. Vittorio learns to feel the disapproval of the town as his mother's situation brings shame to their household.

As with Angela's Ashes, the book is told from the boy's perspective - his understanding only expands from listening to the whispered conversations of the adults and the taunts of the older school boys. Also, like Angela's Ashes the story ends before things are entirely resolved. The book's notes indicate that Lives of the Saints is the first of a trilogy so I certainly look forward to the next installment.l