Straddling the Borders: The Year I Grew Up in Italy [Paperback]

Martha T. Cummings (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

Jo, an Italian-American woman, moves to Italy to connect, on a spiritual level, with her nonno, the grandfather she never knew, along the way, she experiences an Italy that romps inside and outside the guidebook descriptions of the land -- an Italy that forces her beyond the lines of her well-ordered life. Italy's boot kicks with humour, fear, loneliness, love, and unparalleled friendship, until Jo finally learns not to kick back.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Now a retired school teacher, Cummings spent a very special year in Italy, getting in touch with her heritage, when she was 27 years old. Referring to herself as "Jo," she explains that, as the youngest in her family, she was the only grandchild never to see her maternal grandfather, a Sicilian who came to the U.S. in the late 1880s and died before she was born. Determined to learn Italian before trying to meet her Sicilian relatives, Jo registered for classes at the University for Foreigners in Perugia. With great warmth, she describes the friends she made during this time, including Max, a young German classmate who took her on a trip to his homeland, and "Mamma," the landlady who taught her how to make pesto. While in Perugia, Jo was nearly a victim of date rape, but this unfortunate experience was happily overshadowed by a later love affair with a young Sicilian. After her classes ended, Jo traveled throughout Italy with her sister and later took her mother to visit their relatives in Sicily. Cummings has the ability to evoke the mouthwatering tastes and vivid sights of Italy, a country she clearly loves. This memoir of her Italian days is by turns touching and humorous. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Martha Cummings

Product Details

• Paperback: 221 pages
• Publisher: Branden Pub Co (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0828320365
• ISBN-13: 978-0828320368
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,931,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Visual, Intellectual, and Gastronomic Feast!, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Straddling the Borders: The Year I Grew Up in Italy (Paperback)

Gifted writer Martha Cummings, in her first novel, invites her readers to explore several of life's Big Questions through the experiences of Jo, the 26 year old Italian-American protagonist. On one level, the novel appears to be Jo's entertaining account of her year-long adventure in Italy. The story soon unfolds, however, to reveal a journey about much more than geographical displacement. Jo travels to Italy in order to learn more about her maternal grandfather, who died before she was born. Family, which maintains a central importance throuhgout the novel, serves as one of Jo's anchors during her journey of self-discovery. Jo finds herself required to straddle not only geographic borders; she also pushes beyond the confines of her pre-Italy perceptions in the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual realms. In seeking connection (another theme at the heart of Cummings's work), Jo is confronted by boundaries of time, space, language, gender, race, age, and ethnicity. As she struggles to make sense of her own position in this unknown territory, she discovers truths about herself that might not have been revealed in the relative comfort of the world she left behind. Cummings' clean, crisp prose facilitates the flow of this cohesive narrative. Each well-drawn character, detailed description, and carefully chosen word all serve to underscore Jo's awakening. Another outstanding quality of Cummings' writing is her ability to inject humor into her narrative at opportune moments, without compromising the integrity of the novel's more serious message. Jo's antics are sometimes outrageous enough to elicit audible laughter (at least from this reader). Straddling the Borders - The Year I Grew Up in Italy is a profound first novel whose messages linger in the hearts and minds of those who read it. In telling Jo's story, Cummings provides her readers with the opportunity to confront some of life's universal concerns, and gently offers a mindset through which the reader can piece together her/his own answers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very moving and very funny book!, January 21, 2000

By 

Robin M. Beaupre (Narragansett, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Straddling the Borders: The Year I Grew Up in Italy (Paperback)

Straddling the Borders brings the reader on a young woman's spiritual journey via connecting with a grandfather that she never knew. It's a very moving book but also extremely funny. I couldn't put it down. The stories of her life in Italy are so funny and she conveys them with such candid and dry humor! She also gives the reader a wonderful glimpse of Italy in beautiful detail. I have visited Italy myself and after reading Straddling the Borders I feel as though I've missed so many wonderful details. Martha has inspired me to return to Italy one day and when I do, it will be with a much greater and deeper appreciation. Anyone with ancestors from another country who sacraficed much to immigrate to this country will truly appreciate Martha's spiritual journey. This book is an absolute delight!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful journey through life and Italy, July 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Straddling the Borders: The Year I Grew Up in Italy (Paperback)

While this book probably wasn't meant as a "read-aloud", my daughter and I shared Jo's experience together as we drove from New England to Miami. Martha Cumming's unique literary style made us laugh, cry, and think about what the word family really means. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Italy through Jo's eyes and our hope is that Ms. Cummings puts her pen to the paper again very soon.