Every family has a history, and in the novel Forty Years in a Day by Mona Rodriguez and Dianne Vigorito, readers are taken through one family's history, spanning two continents from 1900 to the 1930s.
In the beginning of the book, it's 1991, and a woman named Clare takes her father to the newly opened Ellis Island museum. She knows her father and his family immigrated to America from Italy in the early 1900s, and they passed through Ellis Island with millions of others. But Clare doesn't know the circumstances that drove her father's family to come to America, and on that day, her father is willing to tell the whole story.
It's a story filled with drama, romance, betrayal, heartache, lies, sickness, and death. Readers go from Italy to New York City and experience what it was like to be an immigrant in America and how the family coped with the changing cultures and times.
There are a lot of characters in this book. So many, in fact, that there wasn't a lot of time for detail. The book is almost like a series of vignettes. You're transported from scene to scene and are left wanting a little more detail and development. Much of the book is just telling instead of showing.
This might not bother some readers who will like the fast pace of the book. And overall, it's an interesting story of a family history. If you like shows such as Who Do You Think You Are? or are interested in family genealogy, then this book may appeal to you.
Forty Years in a Day is published by Tate Publishing. It is available to purchase now. I received a free review copy for my honest review.
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