Mount Allegro: A Memoir of Italian American Life (New York Classics) (Paperback)

~ Jerre Gerlando Mangione (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This memoir celebrates the Sicilian life in America, while providing a sociological portrait of the immigrant experience in the US. The author reminisces about his experience as a fledgeling writer trying to escape from the restrictive Italian American culture in which he grew up.

From the Publisher

"One of the best books yet published in its field--a book in which you will learn more about the making of an American than in the most solemn or fictional volumes that purport to tell you all about the subject."--San Francisco Chronicle --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 309 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press; 1st Syracuse University Press Ed edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815604297
• ISBN-13: 978-0815604297
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #614,720 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lovingly told vivid memoir of a colorful family., February 27, 1999

By	Henry Cataldo "milhank" (Winnetka, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Jerre Mangione's writing is so vivid that reading it brought back my childhood years in the 20's and 30's. His Mt Allegro (NY) was my Silver Lake (NJ). His parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors were mine with similar names. His family gatherings were mine, too. In this land of immigrants, each era has its own stories of growing up in America. Mangione tells his with the greatest affection, bitter-sweet nostalgia, and tender humor. Recently,I gave a copy of Mt Allegro to my Aunt Angie for her 87th birthday. She plans to pass it along to her older sisters.

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of "Mount Allegro", August 8, 2009

By	Michelle A. Sullivan (Boynton Beach, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had to review it for a seminar in grad school. It reminded me of stories I have heard from my Italian grandmother.

A wonderful read for anyone with Italian roots!

5.0 out of 5 stars The most entertaining book on Italian-American culture, July 4, 2009

By	Nicole Borello - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is by far the most entertaining book I've read on Italian-American culture so far. The author has a unique way of speaking about the good, the bad and the ugly part of the Sicilian culture and experience, but he does it without offending anyone. I can't count how many times I burst out laughing at the behavior of some of his many colorful characters. I am not Italian but I am married to a Calabrese and I felt like I was reading about many of my in-laws. Now that I am done reading it, I am passing it on to my husband. I told him it was a must read for him and everybody in his family. He would relate to it more than me, but even if you are not Italian or Sicilian or even married to one, this is definitely a book to read just for entertainment purposes. Though many of the stories are hysterical they are very well written. I don't think the author was trying to be funny, he was just writing from the heart and his experiences growing up stuck between two cultures and that's about as funny as it gets.