Over the course of this novel, the author vividly illustrates the sociopolitical distance that separates Palermo and New York; the former is effectively depicted as a stage of vanishing traditions and cultural mores, while the latter is shown to be a place of both unlimited opportunity and moral squalor. Mimi is a memorable protagonist; although her disease is all but a death sentence, shes still willing to take extraordinary risks to take full advantage of whatever time she has left. Samuels prose is straightforward and unadorned but impressively precise, and the tale she unspools offers remarkably nuanced ethical complexity.
A riveting and intelligent novel with a powerful message. Kirkus Reviews
In Samuelss impressive debut, an artist reckons with illness and loss while pursuing her career in early 1900s Sicily and New York City. In 1905, Mimi Ingleses talent as a painter has made her likely to become the first woman ever admitted to the Palermo Academy of Fine Arts. Mimi views the program as an opportunity to forge a life on her own terms, and hopes to emulate the mythological Persephone, who became the master of her fate after having been tricked into entering the underworld. That myth turns out to mirror Mimis story when she and her middle sister Rosalia contract tuberculosis, scuttling her plans to attend the academy. After Rosalia dies and her youngest sister, Caterina, gets engaged to a man living in New York, Mimi and her parents move there with Caterina. Mimi looks up her godfather, Zio, whod promised to be her patron, but instead he tricks her into joining his counterfeit currency scheme. She goes along with it, hoping that the earnings will secure her independence. Samuels makes Mimi a sympathetic figure even as she compromises her morals in pursuit of her interests, and the plot takes surprising turns. Readers will be satisfied by this nuanced character portrait. Publishers Weekly
