This was Ricci’s first novel, published in 1990. It is the story of Vittorio Innocente, told in his words in three novels of which this is the first. When we meet Vitto, he is a seven year old boy living in the small Italian village of Valle del Sol with his wildly independent mother Christina and his grandfather the mayor of the town. Vitto’s father Mario has immigrated to America to make a better life for them and meanwhile Vitto and his mother have been left at home.In our first encounter with Vitto he has just had a curious experience, catching his mother in the stable with a “blue eyed stranger”. As he witnesses this escapade, a snake, a feared Italian sign of sin and evil, bites his mother’s ankle and escapes from the barn. Vitto has no idea what he has witnessed or its implications.As a naïve young boy, he leads a simple life, going to school, spending time with his solitary friend Fabrizio and his grandfather, and all the while trying to figure out exactly what is going on. The villagers, aware of Christina’s affair scorns her and she becomes the victim of gossip and scandal. They consider her a whore who sleeps around while her poor hard working husband Mario sends her money from America. They also believe she must be shunned and that horrible things will happen to them if they interact with her. When Christina completely dismisses the existence of the snake’s “evil eye”, this makes things worse. She walks through the street with her head held high as if her neighbour’s ridicule and mockery does not affect her. This deepens their scorn as the villagers place great importance on their long held traditions. They believe Christina should go to confession or take the heart out of a chicken, burn the carcass and pray to God. Amidst all this gossip, turmoil and scorn, Vitto’s grandfather resigns as mayor and the rift between Vitto’s mother and his grandfather deepens to such an extent they no longer speak to each other. At this point Christina is living isolated in her own home and rarely if ever goes out.Gradually Vitto is able to make the connection between the snake, the blue eyed man, his mother’s sudden pregnancy, his school friend bullying and the family’s isolation. Finally, Christina, fed up with her neighbour’s ridicule, and believing she has ideals and beliefs that are very different from them, decides to emigrate to Canada to seek a better life. There are hints that she is not going to be with her husband Mario but instead will meet up with the “blue eyed” man. On their trip overseas, the boat is caught in a terrible storm. Christina goes into labour and dies in childbirth, but the baby girl lives. Vitto then meets his father once he has landed in Canada. I really enjoyed this beautifully written story and its wonderful characters. Some reviewers have criticized the inclusion of the Italian dialect sprinkled occasionally throughout the text, most of which is quite understandable although I admit some of it is not. It did not bother me as much, and actually helped to create the atmosphere of a small Italian village in my mind’s eye. Another criticism has been the voice of Vitto who has told the story using speech that is not consistent with a seven year olds vocabulary. I never thought the story originated from the mouth of a seven year old, but rather was a story told by an adult looking back and telling it through the voice of a young boy. There is a good description of village life as well as an understanding of small town politics, the importance of ritual and the vagaries of superstition and religion. Some feel that on the whole, the novel has too much description, but I believe that is part of its charm.I agree the story ends abruptly, but believe that is just an incentive to bridge us to the next part of the story in the second volume of the trilogy. To me it seemed a good place to end the first part and I will definitely read the next two. An award winner, including the 1990 Governor General’s Award. A highly recommended read.
Winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, the Smithbooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Bressani Prize. 4 ½ starsIn my opinion, Lives of the Saints is a much more enjoyable, tightly woven story than Ricci’s most recent Origin of the Species. This debut novel is told through the eyes of 7-year-old Vittorio Innocente. Vittorio lives with his mother, Cristina, and his grandfather, the town mayor. The story opens with Vittorio hearing a man’s cry from the stable. Young Vitto also sees a snake, which has special meaning for the villagers of Valle del Sole, Italy. Inside the stable, our protagonist next sees the blue eyes of a stranger in the darkness, but when Vittorio is questioned by his mother about what he saw, he claims not to have seen a thing, focusing instead, on her snake bite. And so begins the tale of Vittorio Innocente’s loss of innocence, and the strong, independent Cristina, and how her actions affect not only her own life, but also those of her son and father. That she had been bitten by a snake arouses age-old superstitions and fears amongst the villagers even though Vittorio later claims the snake was green, a good sign. It’s Cristina’s affair, well-known to all, that is hot gossip, and eventually results in her being shunned, not only by the hypocritical inhabitants of Valle del Sole, but also by her father. Her son’s struggle to make sense of it all eventually leads him to understand certain truths about human nature. Ricci has a good story to tell, and his writing is very descriptive: “‘Like dogs, that’s how we live,’ Maria said from the doorway, ‘wash the clothes, haul the water, make the bread, feed the goats, per l’amore di Crist’ let me rest my limbs for a minute.’And so saying she moved into the stone coolness of the kitchen and set her tub on the floor, then dragged the chair way from the table halfway to the door and straddled it backwards, the way young men did at Di Lucci’s bar. She rested her thick arms on the chair’s back and extended her legs before her, her bulging veins leading like purple highways to the high lands of her hips. Her flesh, its tremors receding, came to uneasy rest, her breasts and belly pressing against the chair back like a cliff wall.”I am a stickler for over-usage of certain phrases, and per l’amore di Crist’ was used too often for my taste. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Ricci had relegated the phrase to one character, but it was uttered by many throughout the book. And if this was a stand alone novel, I would have considered the ending far too abrupt.Those minor criticisms aside, Lives of the Saints is great immigrant literature. I am glad I do not have to wait three years to read the second in the trilogy, and then another four years to read the third. Instead, I can continue reading the story of Vittorio Innocente without interruption. I have already turned the first few pages of In a Glass House.
What do You think about Lives Of The Saints (1994)?
In the first novel of Nino Ricci's famous trilogy we are introduced to Vittorio Innocente, a seven year old Italian boy living with his mother (Cristina) and grandfather in the quaint city of La Valle Del Sole. They have a simple life; Vittorio goes to school, his mother tends to the farm and his grandfather looks over the town as mayor. But it does not remain simple for long. In no time at all, due to a few mistakes, their pleasant lifestyle takes a drastic turn for the worst. tTheir close knit community, set in their religious ways, is suspicious when Cristina is bitten by the ominous snake (symbol of sins and evil) and unforgiving when she is impregnated by a man unknown. No longer respected or cared for; Cristina lives in seclusion, imprisoning herself in her own home. Vittorio, being young and oblivious, doesn't notice things transpiring. He fails to make a connection between a blue-eyed man he'd previously seen with his mother, her all of a sudden pregnancy and the isolation that his family has come to endure. It isn't until his mother stops talking, his peers begin to bully him and his grandfather resigns as mayor that he finally comes to his senses. He realizes his family's unfortunate predicament and goes to extreme lengths to fix it. tNino Ricci's portrayal of Cristina was entertaining and somewhat thought-provoking. She bravely shares her beliefs and opinions with a sense of carelessness. Even though how she acts and what she says is “wrong” and “unacceptable” in her community, she does it anyway, as if there are no consequences. It was interesting to read of someone who was so willing to go against society. tBesides the unusual characteristics of Cristina, not much else in this novel was captivating. Although many strange incidents occur, none of them were gripping. This book is suitable for an age group that can fully grasp and appreciate the underlying meaning behind the life story of Vittorio (Ages 40-up).
—Sarah Spencer
Meh. I'll give this two and a half stars, because the story did pick up in the final chapters of the book. Several things were wrong for me. First off, I'm not sure I like stories set in post-war Europe too much, which admittedly is not the author's fault. But I found the constant interjection of Italian phrases irritating. I don't speak Italian, and I don't want to read my books with a dicitonary beside me. I can see a smattering here and there, but every few pargraphs, no thanks. Just my humble opinion. I wanted to get to know Vittorio's mother better, but much of her life remains a secret, which makes sense, because the narrator is a seven year old boy, and of course he doesn't understand much of what goes on in his mother's world. But for me, it left too much unsaid. Will I read the next two installments in the triology? I'm not sure. Probably if I find them in a used book store per chance, but I won't go out of my way to look for them.
—Erika
A beautifully written book I enjoyed for the language and for a glimpse into the life of a child in a small Italian village in the 1940s. Ricci creates a world so vivid I can see clearly every place the child inhabits. As a writer, I also was interested in how the author handled point of view. The story is a first person account about what happens to a seven-year-old boy but the voice has the perspective of an adult looking back on himself as that boy. It works well. I look forward to reading the rest of this trilogy.
—Tricia Dower
