My Villa in Calabria

by Vincent Romeo

Overview

IN THIS HEART-WARMING AND TANTALIZING STORY, the middle-aged narrator sets off on what he thinks will be a very simple journey of returning his father's remains for burial to his hometown in the south of Italy. And while doing that, he hopes to enjoy all the wonderful art and architecture of Italy, on this his very first trip. But as is often true in these stories, the leading character is actually on a different journey than he thinks. Once in his father's hometown, he begins to unravel the mystery of his father, a stern and withholding man with whom he had a very uneasy and difficult relationship, and the mysteries and the secrets he uncovers are not only surprising but also shocking. And they lead him to a more accepting and kinder knowledge of himself. And he discovers, with a sensitivity and also a wonderful sense of humor, that we do indeed "travel to achieve an inner change."

MY VILLA IN CALABRIA by Vincent Romeo

"....an emotionally charged work of fiction...tells the story of Tony Romeo...

who returns his father's ashes to his ancestral home in Calabria."

-Kirkus Review

"In the most compelling storyline in the book, he strikes up an unlikely

friendship with an eccentric, English-speaking painter named Artemis, known

in town as a "pizza," or crazy, for gathering in traditional costume."

-Kirkus Review

"An admirable...novel about the importance of family roots."

-Kirkus Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781737043584
Publisher:	Proisle Publishing Service
Publication date:	07/15/2021
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

Vincent Romeo graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University's drama department and promptly launched a long and varied show business career. He has been seen on Broadway, off Broadway, in regional theaters, and on television dramas and movies.

Romeo currently lives in New York City, where he was fortunate enough to study privately with the one and only Lee Strasberg.

Editorial Reviews

2014-08-22
A son's journey to his late father's hometown in Italy turns up surprising revelations in this first novel.In an emotionally charged work of fiction, the actor and memoirist Romeo (Behind the Store, 2011) tells the story of Tony Romeo, an aging actor on daytime soaps, who returns his father's ashes to his ancestral home in Calabria. In seaside Lirò Marina, Tony encounters old friends of his father's as well as a large extended family that speaks as much English as Tony does Italian (not much). Despite his ongoing frustration with the language barrier ("I want a discussion—a dialogue," he laments at one point), Tony finds his cousins to be hospitable hosts and excellent tour guides, even if he struggles to understand some of the nuances of their culture, such as their sometimes apathetic attitude toward the past. He also learns that his father had quite a storied reputation in town and a mysterious nickname Tony had never heard. As he tries to reconcile himself to the loss of his distant, sometimes-abusive father, whom he never felt he understood, Tony finds joy—and a newfound closeness with his late parent—in his efforts to fix up the farmhouse where his father spent much of his childhood. In the most compelling storyline in the book, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric, English-speaking painter named Artemis, known in town as a pazza, or crazy, for goatherding in traditional costume. The two bond over the challenges and pleasures of the artist's life, their similar philosophical outlook and the immediate spark between them, but Artemis' troubled past and Tony's father's secrets soon challenge their budding relationship. Unfortunately, not all of the Italian characters are as well-developed as Artemis, and Romeo is not quite a consummate writer. Early on, he slips distractingly in and out of past and present tense, and he occasionally falls back on stilted, overstated lines like: "It was beginning to dawn on me that not only was I going to learn about my father on this trip; I was also going to learn about myself."An admirable but uneven novel about the importance of family roots.

Kirkus Reviews