Buried Caesars, and Other Secrets of Italian American Writing (Suny Series in Italian/American Studies) [Paperback]

Robert Viscusi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2006 | Series: Suny Series in Italian/American Studies

Examines the forces that have shaped Italian American writing, from the novels of John Fante to the musings of Tony Soprano.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Robert Viscusi takes a comprehensive look at Italian American writing by exploring the connections between language and culture in Italian American experience and major literary texts. Italian immigrants, Viscusi argues, considered even their English to be a dialect of Italian, and therefore attempted to create an American English fully reflective of their historical, social, and cultural positions. This approach allows us to see Italian American purposes as profoundly situated in relation not only to American language and culture but also to Italian nationalist narratives in literary history as well as linguistic practice. Viscusi also situates Italian American writing within the "eccentric design" of American literature, and uses a multidisciplinary approach to read not only novels and poems, but also houses, maps, processions, videos, and other artifacts as texts.

"Avoiding the jargon that often accompanies treatments of language, form, and meaning, Viscusi admits personal experience as well as analytic skill into the toolbox he uses to explore particular texts and social issues. The result is a book that is not only an important look at the role of language in creating and sustaining both the tie to Italy and American self-construction, but also an astute meditation on how cultures can be connected through language." — Josephine G. Hendin, author of Heartbreakers: Women and Violence in Contemporary Culture and Literature

"Viscusi’s ability to interpret Italian American literature through the lens of classical rhetoric, Greek myth, Dantean vernacular eloquence, and Freudian psychology increases our appreciation of the links between European and American literary cultures." — Mary Jo Bona, author of Claiming a Tradition: Italian American Women Writers --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Robert Viscusi is Professor of English and Executive Officer at The Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York. He is the author of many books, including Max Beerbohm, or, The Dandy Dante: Rereading with Mirrors and Astoria: A Novel, winner of a 1996 American Book Award. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (May 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791466345
• ISBN-13: 978-0791466346
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,025,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Buried Caesars, April 11, 2008

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This review is from: Buried Caesars, and Other Secrets of Italian American Writing (Suny Series in Italian/American Studies) (Paperback)

Robert Viscusi's Buried Caesars is a collection of penetrating essays on Italian American writing. Viscusi is informed and detailed, but never pedantic. This isn't a book for intellectual wimps. The author employs all the surgical tools of current critical analysis, but always with his own unique - and at times unsettling - insights. A glance at the table of contents, which this Amazon site makes available, suggests the range of Viscusi's mind. On any page of any essay the reader might find references to, say, Dante, The Godfather, Henry James's Portrait of a Lady, an analysis of the connotations of the name Napoleon, and Francesco Crispi's political ambitions. The reader need not agree with Viscusi any more than a chess player needs to agree with the strategy of his opponent. But he should be prepared for a vigorous intellectual encounter.