The Homecoming Party
The Homecoming Party by Carmine Abate, published by Europa Editions in 2010, is a poignant exploration of family life set against the backdrop of Christmas Eve. This edition, available in English and spanning 171 pages, presents a narrative where a father and son share stories while sitting on the steps of their village church, illuminated by a bonfire. The father reflects on his experiences as an emigrant from Italy, caught between his homeland and France, while the son grapples with the impact of his father’s long absences and the idyllic memories of his childhood.
Readers will find a rich tapestry of emotions as the story unfolds through alternating first-person perspectives. The narrative delves into themes of love, loss, and the harsh realities that compel many southern Italians to seek better lives abroad. As the father and son confront a long-buried secret related to a mysterious man and the boy’s sister, the novel reveals the complexities of their relationship and the struggles inherent in their lives. The Homecoming Party, translated by Antony Shugaar, offers an intimate look at the challenges of saying goodbye and the enduring bonds of family.
Official synopsis Publisher
It is Christmas Eve. Sitting on the steps of the village church in front of an enormous bonfire lit in celebration of the season, a father and his son exchange stories. The father speaks of life as an emigrant from Italy, in perpetual limbo between departure and return, between France and his home. The son tells of a life marred by his father’s long is absemces, but also of an otherwise idyllic childhood spent in a vivid, enchanting land. Each hides an awful secret concerning the fate of a mysterious man whose affair with the boy’s older sister changed their lives. On this night of nights, a shared truth that has long been buried in the hearts of both men will finally emerge.
Set in an Arberesh town in southern Italy and told in alternating first-person voices, The Homecoming Party is simultaneoulsy a coming-of-age novel, a love story, and a heartfelt cry against the atrocious standards of living that force so many southern Italians to seek a better life elsewhere.
In Antony Shugaar’s masterful translation, The Homecoming Party is an intense and moving novel about the difficulties of saying goodbye from one of Italy’s greatest storytellers.
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