Were You Always an Italian?: Ancestors and Other Icons of Italian America

Maria Laurino sifts through the stereotypes bedeviling Italian Americans to deliver a penetrating and hilarious examination of third-generation ethnic identity. With "intelligence and honesty" (Arizona Republic), she writes about guidos, bimbettes, and mammoni (mama's boys in Italy); examines the clashing aesthetics of Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace; and unravels the etymology of southern Italian dialect words like gavone and bubidabetz. According to Frances Mayes, she navigates the conflicting forces of ethnicity "with humor and wisdom."

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 06/17/2001
ISBN: 9780393321951
Pages: 219
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.70d