Mount Allegro: A Memoir of Italian American Life

xiii, 309 pp. The fourth publication of the work first released in 1942 as a book for adults, and reissued in 1952 and 1963. This new edition for teenagers includes a new introduction by Maria Cimino. Mount Allegro is an extraordinary memoir, a celebration of Sicilian life, an engaging sociological portrait, a moving reminiscence of a fledgling writer's escape from the restrictive culture in which he grew up. Jerre Mangione's autobiographical chronicle of his youth in a Sicilian Community in Rochester is one of the truly enduring books about the immigrant experience in this country. Family squabbles, soul-nourishing food, and the casting of evil eyes are only some of the ingredients of this richly textured book, although they must all take second place to its unforgettable characters.