A Kiss from Maddalena

I finished AKFM last night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was my incentive to get to bed early for several nights, and it kept me up too late each time! I want to go to Santa Cecilia and the olive grove and I want to eat some of Celestina's soup. Standing under chestnut trees has a whole new meaning for me now. Vito, Maddalena, Carolina, Buccio, Concetta--I can't get over how many characters the author developed and how the story remained true to their time and circumstances. Not just a love story, but a painless history lesson, a celebration of place, and an examination of the power of both passionate and familial love. The prose is cooked just right: al dente, with plenty of rich dialogue on top. This is a novel where you get your money's worth.

Much to my delight I have just finished reading A Kiss from Maddalena. It was like taking a journey through time and place where one continually experiences life in a sensual and realistic fashion. The author has created a wonderful story of family that is woven into the tapestry of a small village in war ravaged Italy. The characters remind me of my aunts and uncles and stories told over a big bowl of pasta. Bravo! A wonderfully engaging story that invites the reader to feel the passions and struggles of life and love.

Christopher Castellani has written the tale of a love that is haunted by fate. His hero, Vito is, a quixotic young man who has remained at home during wartime to care for his ailing mother. He is a bit of a misfit, a somewhat awkward, goofy, gangly romantic. The story starts with a scheme he comes up with to get Maddalena, whom he has loved forever to kiss him. The scheme doesn't work out the way he planned, but he does get to kiss most of the girls in the village. Maddalena does come to fall in love with him, although she knows that her family will never accept Vito as a husband for her. She is their treasure, the youngest and most beautiful of their daughters and they want her to make a good marriage. The destitute Vito does not qualify as an eligible suitor. Vito's mother, in her lucid moments, feels resentment for Maddalena's family because of their condescension toward her son. Nevertheless, both Maddalena and Vito feel that they are destined to be together, that love will find a way. And Vito really tries to find a way. When Maddalena's family leaves the village for the country to escape from the fleeing German army, Vito remains behind to care for his mother, and in a sense, save the village. They make plans to communicate during Maddalena's absence and to keep their love alive. A series of fateful events overtake the lovers, culminating in a surprising ending to the story, that is really fitting if you think about it. An unforgettable story that will haunt you with the unexpected twists of fate that affect the lives of all the people whose lives touch those of Vito and Maddalena. You will want to read it again to pick up clues to the ending. Maddalena's fate is also a reminder of the position of a woman in 1940's Italy whose life decisions were largely outside her control and that great beauty does not always provide a path to happiness.

Christopher Castellani's debut novel is a love story in a time of war. Castellani's gift is for storytelling, and his prose is so precise you can smell the dusty air of Santa Cecilia in every sentence. He's so at ease telling the story of Vito's love for Maddalena, that you fall in love with both of them. Castellani has a great sense for story and a great ear for rhythmic prose. I couldn't help wishing against all my 21st Century common sense, for love to work out. This is writing that will stand the test of time. A Kiss From Maddalena, from the title to the conclusion is as measured and suddenly surprising as life itself. If you are a reader who loves to be lost in the tale, here's the first book on your new list.

I love to read, but I am a full-time grandmother and I don't often get the time.My girlfriend told me I HAD to read this book and so I ordered it a few weeks ago. I just got it this week and I already finished it! I could NOT put this book down! I have never been lucky enough to travel overseas, and the most Italian thing in my part of the country is the Olive Garden, but this book really made me feel like I was IN Italy. The stories about WWII in the book made the war now seem more real, like I could see how much it can destroy people's lives and at the same time bring them closer together too. I won't give the ending away, but I was crying my eyes out. I wish movies were this good!