Birds of Passage, An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story

LOCAL AUTHOR

Birds of Passage is a book that held my attention from the beginning to the end. Leonardo, the main character, immigrated to New York City from Italy. The author did an excellent job of describing the journey across the Atlantic, and also what Leonardo had to go through to enter America. The author, Joe Giordano, seemed to have a good understanding of how the early Italian immigrants were treated at the entry point of the USA, and also how they lived in the ethnic neighborhoods of New York City. This was a plus for me.

The characters were developed really well in this novel. In addition to Leonardo and his struggles, there were also Carlo and Azzura. Of all of the characters in Birds of Passage, Azzura was my favorite. She didn’t want to conform to what was expected of an Italian young lady, who now lived in America.

This is an excellent story to read that can be enjoyed by many audiences. There were also a few surprises towards the end, which were worth waiting for.