Document Type
Book Review
Publication Date
8-16-2022
Publisher
Iter Press
Abstract
Sicily’s island status and centuries of conquests and foreign rule have molded the identity of Sicilian people and culture in unique ways. Reflecting this diver-sity, Sicilian literature has long occupied a distinct place within Italian litera-ture. Likewise, in The Heart and the Island, scholar Chiara Mazzucchelli argues that Sicilian American writers have produced a substantial body of literature that, although traditionally subsumed under the broader domain of Italian American literature, manifests “a distinct Sicilian Americanness” that she terms “sicilianamericanita.” Following on the footsteps of scholars like Edvige Giunta and Donna Gabaccia, Mazzucchelli presents an ambitious “intraethnic decen-tering project” that by embracing diversity and regional analysis aims to move beyond homogenous constructions of Italian American identity (often centered on Southern Italians’ marginality) and toward a wider exploration of the ties between Italian and Italian American literature.
Recommended Citation
Ferraro, E. (2022). Chiara Mazzucchelli, The Heart and the Island: A Critical Study of Sicilian American Literature. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2015. Italian Canadiana, 31, 177–183. https://doi.org/10.33137/ic.v31i.39186
Comments
Their work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise noted.