Eat Now; Talk Later: 52 True Tales of Family, Feasting and the American Experience Review

Eat Now; Talk Later: 52 True Tales of Family, Feasting and the American Experience is a memoir containing stories about the author’s grandparents in the years he and his father cared for them.The stories can be read before bed, on a lunch hour, or waiting in line. They can even be shared with friends who complain they have enough to read. Together they ask the question, “How do you make modern life run smoothly for grandparents who grew up when oxen were used for plowing, children left school after third grade to tend chickens, and polenta was eaten twice per day?”

This is not the usual immigrant-made-good tale. Tony and Desolina Vescovi were born on farms where life hadn’t much changed for hundreds of years. When they came to America, they passed through a time-tunnel that brought them face to face with the 20^th century, and they found themselves puzzled by banking, supermarkets, college degrees, voice mail, airplane travel, and the nuclear family. The tales in this collection chronicling their lives are poignant, hilarious, and bittersweet.

You can get more info and read an excerpt and view photos and recipes at http://www.eatnowtalklater.com/ or contact me via email.

BIO James Vescovi’s stories about his eccentric grandparents have appeared singly in The New York Times, Alimentum Journal: The Literature of Food, Creative Nonfiction, Newsday, Gazetta Italiana, and various anthologies. He is also author of The USS Essex and the Birth of the American Navy (Adams; 1999; 13,000 copies sold). His fiction and essays been published in Midwestern Gothic, The New York Observer, the Georgetown Review, and Natural Bridge.

My Review:

My Great Grandparents came to America on a boat from Italy. They could not speak English. I liked that this book was true to Italian immigrants and that the author also portrayed old country Italians truthfully. I laughed, and I was reminded of my loved ones as I read through this book. I also read some Italian that I heard my elders say before. The pictures were a nice edition to the book as well. What I liked most was the way that the author's grandparents were genuine, and willing to live the American dream. As an Italian, I liked the recipes as well. This is a great book about family, and heritage. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.