Based on a true event... In 2001, while researching the online archives of her hometown newspaper for a client, freelance writer Rita Schiano stumbled upon archived stories about her father s murder and the possible mob connections that led to his death. This brief visit to her past inspired her to look deeply into the heart of her childhood. The journey she embarked on was nothing she could have ever anticipated. Rather than place her work into the harsh scrutiny of memoirs, Schiano developed her story through the eyes of a fictional character, Anna Matteo. It is the story of a stolen childhood, a family torn apart by the violence of mafia ties and one young girl s resilient spirit that allowed her to rise above the hardships and seek solace in the most unusual ways.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Painting the Invisible Man" is a courageous book by a courageous writer. --Anne D. LeClaire, author of "Listening Below The Noise" and "The Lavender Hour"
"Painting The Invisible Man" is both touching and even humorous at times. I found myself rooting for Anna, hoping she not only discovered who her father was, but found herself and her own happiness as well. Rita Schiano has proven herself to be a powerful, talented storyteller. -- --Shelfari Author Review Much like the character in the book, [Schiano] set out to paint this portrait of [her] father...the story is a personal journey, it encompasses universal themes of forgiveness, atonement and redemption." --Pamela Sacks, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Rita Schiano, like much of the country, watched the series finale of "The Sopranos" on HBO last night. But unlike most of the country, Schiano probably had a better idea of what was going to happen. That's because she's lived it... -- The Southbridge Evening News Schiano's novel...leads the main character on a heart-wrenching personal journey into her family's hidden past, a journey that abounds with gangland murders, dangerous hitmen, and long-buried family secrets. --Brendan Berube, The Baysider
Rita Schiano, like much of the country, watched the series finale of "The Sopranos" on HBO last night. But unlike most of the country, Schiano probably had a better idea of what was going to happen. That's because she's lived it... -- The Southbridge Evening News Schiano's novel...leads the main character on a heart-wrenching personal journey into her family's hidden past, a journey that abounds with gangland murders, dangerous hitmen, and long-buried family secrets. --Brendan Berube, The Baysider
"Painting the Invisible Man" is a historical fiction novel about an ordinary writer drawn into conducting research on the world of father, a man murdered in a gangland-style hit more than two decades ago. The deeper she immerses herself in the painful and unresolved past, the more obsessed she becomes with uncovering the truth about her father, whom she thinks of as The Invisible Man. Written with razor-sharp wit, "Painting the Invisible Man" is an absorbing tale that smoothly blends the quest for truth with the complexities of a self-portrait. ----Midwest Book Review
Rita Schiano's novel is, unfortunately, based on her father s 1976 murder. Boasting a conversational prose style spiced with 1970s allusions (Jethro Tull, Muhammad Ali, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ), Schiano's story flows smoothly even as she swings rhythmically from present-day action to flashback. The use of italics to denote either flashbacks or inner thought is especially effective in keeping readers on track. While the gangland rub-out drives the book, it's less a mystery and more a coming-of-age story, Rita's own. She's represented here as the novel s narrator, Anna Matteo. We get to know the youthful Anna, a wiseacre who talks back to her teachers, carries a pellet gun in a shoulder holster under her school jacket and reads books such as "Compulsion." And we get to know the 21st century Anna who, due to a computer-era twist of fate, finds herself reliving the whys and wherefores of her dad's untimely death two decades past. With its finely drawn characters, snappy streetwise dialogue and suspenseful action running through Italian neighborhoods, churches, restaurants, schools and police stations, "Painting the Invisible Man" is both readable and rewarding.
----Russ Tarby, Eagle Newspapers
"Painting The Invisible Man" is both touching and even humorous at times. I found myself rooting for Anna, hoping she not only discovered who her father was, but found herself and her own happiness as well. Rita Schiano has proven herself to be a powerful, talented storyteller. -- --Shelfari Author Review Much like the character in the book, [Schiano] set out to paint this portrait of [her] father...the story is a personal journey, it encompasses universal themes of forgiveness, atonement and redemption." --Pamela Sacks, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Rita Schiano, like much of the country, watched the series finale of "The Sopranos" on HBO last night. But unlike most of the country, Schiano probably had a better idea of what was going to happen. That's because she's lived it... -- The Southbridge Evening News Schiano's novel...leads the main character on a heart-wrenching personal journey into her family's hidden past, a journey that abounds with gangland murders, dangerous hitmen, and long-buried family secrets. --Brendan Berube, The Baysider
Rita Schiano, like much of the country, watched the series finale of "The Sopranos" on HBO last night. But unlike most of the country, Schiano probably had a better idea of what was going to happen. That's because she's lived it... -- The Southbridge Evening News Schiano's novel...leads the main character on a heart-wrenching personal journey into her family's hidden past, a journey that abounds with gangland murders, dangerous hitmen, and long-buried family secrets. --Brendan Berube, The Baysider
"Painting the Invisible Man" is a historical fiction novel about an ordinary writer drawn into conducting research on the world of father, a man murdered in a gangland-style hit more than two decades ago. The deeper she immerses herself in the painful and unresolved past, the more obsessed she becomes with uncovering the truth about her father, whom she thinks of as The Invisible Man. Written with razor-sharp wit, "Painting the Invisible Man" is an absorbing tale that smoothly blends the quest for truth with the complexities of a self-portrait. ----Midwest Book Review
Rita Schiano's novel is, unfortunately, based on her father s 1976 murder. Boasting a conversational prose style spiced with 1970s allusions (Jethro Tull, Muhammad Ali, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ), Schiano's story flows smoothly even as she swings rhythmically from present-day action to flashback. The use of italics to denote either flashbacks or inner thought is especially effective in keeping readers on track. While the gangland rub-out drives the book, it's less a mystery and more a coming-of-age story, Rita's own. She's represented here as the novel s narrator, Anna Matteo. We get to know the youthful Anna, a wiseacre who talks back to her teachers, carries a pellet gun in a shoulder holster under her school jacket and reads books such as "Compulsion." And we get to know the 21st century Anna who, due to a computer-era twist of fate, finds herself reliving the whys and wherefores of her dad's untimely death two decades past. With its finely drawn characters, snappy streetwise dialogue and suspenseful action running through Italian neighborhoods, churches, restaurants, schools and police stations, "Painting the Invisible Man" is both readable and rewarding.
----Russ Tarby, Eagle Newspapers
From the Publisher
Based on a true event. Fans of "The Soprano's" and this genre will find "Painting The Invisible Man" intriguing. Schiano reaches deep into the depths of her emotions to offer an inside look at what it's like to grow up in different kind of family.
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More About the Author
Rita Schiano is a freelance writer, resilience coach, and the author of "Live a Flourishing Life," "Painting The Invisible Man," and "Sweet Bitter Love." She has written two full-length screenplays, and one television pilot. A former jazz and nightclub singer, Rita is a published songwriter and member of ASCAP. She is currently at work on a new novel, "From Hell to Heaven in Five Hail Marys."
Follow Rita on Facebook and Twitter.
Follow Rita on Facebook and Twitter.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absorbing tale that smoothly blends the quest for truth with the complexities of a self-portrait.,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Painting the Invisible Man (Paperback)
Painting the Invisible Man is a historical fiction novel about an ordinary writer drawn into conducting research on the world of father, a man murdered in a gangland-style hit more than two decades ago. The deeper she immerses herself in the painful and unresolved past, the more obsessed she becomes with uncovering the truth about her father, whom she thinks of as "The Invisible Man." Written with razor-sharp wit, Painting the Invisible Man is an absorbing tale that smoothly blends the quest for truth with the complexities of a self-portrait.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Picture Perfect Painting,
By
This review is from: Painting the Invisible Man (Paperback)
In Painting the Invisible Man, author Rita Schiano introduces us to Anna Matteo, a writer of Italian descend whose father was assassinated by Mafia affiliations when Anna was just a kid. Due to a simple mistake years later, a wrong key stroke while researching on the internet, Anna accidentally uncovers the unpleasant trail of online-newspaper snippets from the trial of her father's killer; a man Anna had known in her youth and whose acquittal had never given Anna piece nor her dead father justice.Guided by the invisible hand of her muse, Anna finally delves deeper into the investigation of her father's death until she not only finds the courage to see the assassin eye to eye, but also bares free her own inner turmoil of forgiveness and self-acceptance. With Anna Matteo, Rita Schiano created an extremely realistic character. Anna's thoughts and feelings are expressed in a way that the reader can't help but simply sympathizes with her past. Schiano's style is honest and direct. She lets Anna cuss like a truck driver and love like a daughter. I enjoyed the snappy changes between past tense, where Anna leads us back into her childhood which was enlightened by her mother's love to music and darkened by her father's affiliations and infamy -- and the present tense, where Anna is battling a one-sided battle with her muse and to come up with the courage needed to do the right thing. Painting the Invisible Man is an entertaining novel of truth, self-discovery, and the deep urge to find inner piece. I've laughed out loud and shed a tear while this story lingered with me long after I turned the last page. Rebecca Lerwill, author of Relocating Mia
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read,
By
This review is from: Painting the Invisible Man (Paperback)
I enjoyed this book so much I have given it as gifts to many of my family and friends. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down until I finished it. The fact that it is fiction based on fact made it all the more interesting. The way in which the main character learns about her father is most intriguing. How many of us know the whole truth about our family background?I would recommend this book to anyone.
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