This was a great story and I learned some new Italian swear words and insults so that's kind of a bonus. I didn't find anything formulaic about this book maybe because it was based on her family stories. I had never heard of the Black Hand before and found that fascinating. I thought the relationships were well developed between the main characters. I wish I knew more why Nonna had such problems with her daughter but maybe that's for another book? ( )

This was a very interesting book, and I think what added to its interest is that it is based on the Author’s own family history.

Because of this the character are very real, and with that comes all the traits the human species carries with it. There are people the reader will love, and those they will hate; decisions made will either have the reader applauding or booing and getting ready to throw fruit where needed. Due to the fact that these characters are based on real people it is impossible to comment on whether the Author did a good job on their development, as to do this the reader would have to personally know those mentioned in this books pages, to be able to base their decision on. It is for this reason that I have chosen to not comment on development; I don’t know these people personally, and feel that to make any judgement on their development as the novel progresses would be doing them, and the Author, a disservice.

Having a family background through marriage of the Italian immigrant, I found this book very informative and learnt what is was like to be subject to meeting bureaucracy as the immigrants came through Ellis Island; having to make themselves understood in a country they hoped would provide them with a better life and, in some cases finding out that it really didn’t care. Not only does the reader find out about life in New York’s Italian community and how they survived through extortion and other tragedies that came there way, the reader also learns something of Italian history and the motivation that drove so many to weather the seas to come to the US. It is apparent from reading this book that the Author took great pains in making sure the historical details were right on the mark, as well as making sure they told the story of these immigrants with compassion and understanding; something that is so often lacking in other books on this topic.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who, like our family, is here because of immigration particularly from Italy; those who are interested in the history of New York at the turn of the 20th century, and also anyone who is looking for an engrossing and different read.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/03/13/review-elizabeth-street-a-novel-based-on-t...




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
( )

A good book about an interesting topic. I love that is was based on the lives of the author's family. A great historical novel about early crime among Italian immigrant population in America. ( )

This was a very interesting book, and I think what added to its interest is that it is based on the Author’s own family history.

Because of this the character are very real, and with that comes all the traits the human species carries with it. There are people the reader will love, and those they will hate; decisions made will either have the reader applauding or booing and getting ready to throw fruit where needed. Due to the fact that these characters are based on real people it is impossible to comment on whether the Author did a good job on their development, as to do this the reader would have to personally know those mentioned in this books pages, to be able to base their decision on. It is for this reason that I have chosen to not comment on development; I don’t know these people personally, and feel that to make any judgement on their development as the novel progresses would be doing them, and the Author, a disservice.

Having a family background through marriage of the Italian immigrant, I found this book very informative and learnt what is was like to be subject to meeting bureaucracy as the immigrants came through Ellis Island; having to make themselves understood in a country they hoped would provide them with a better life and, in some cases finding out that it really didn’t care. Not only does the reader find out about life in New York’s Italian community and how they survived through extortion and other tragedies that came there way, the reader also learns something of Italian history and the motivation that drove so many to weather the seas to come to the US. It is apparent from reading this book that the Author took great pains in making sure the historical details were right on the mark, as well as making sure they told the story of these immigrants with compassion and understanding; something that is so often lacking in other books on this topic.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who, like our family, is here because of immigration particularly from Italy; those who are interested in the history of New York at the turn of the 20th century, and also anyone who is looking for an engrossing and different read.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/03/13/review-elizabeth-street-a-novel-based-on-t...




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
( )

This engaging read tells the story of an Italian immigrant. ( )