It is very refreshing to see that there are still writers who are able to touch us and getting us involved in their imaginary world without offering tales of violence and sex. The Spaghetti Set is a powerful novel, written in a soft and distinct style, which will please both the Italian American reader who is looking for a story to identify with and the average American reader who is looking for intense feelings without gore or foul language. The characters are all intertwined by destiny in what seems to appear as an average Italian immigrants’ community, but just as in every social group, there are individuals who shine and rise above the crowd, while others fall in the gutter where they belong and try to slither through their lives without regard to feelings, family ties or duties. The magnificent work done by Rose Marie Boyd (don’t let the name fool you, she is full bloodied Italian) on the characters’ development shows through the fast pace of the narrative, which is more than inviting. At times you feel as part of one family or the other (this is the story of two families tied by a common bond), but you cannot ever be detached and ignore the growing pains, the elations, the sorrows, the spiritual contortions of the main characters, who by the end of the book become as part of your memories as your own uncles, aunts and cousins…
Teresa , the heroine of the story, is a young woman who becomes the joining link between these two families. She is the seed of renewal that is needed in a somewhat static society of a fictitious Little Italy, where she brings her enthusiasm, intelligence, wits and desire to succeed, allowing the love of her life Mack, the other main character, to find himself and overcome the physical impediments that made his life miserable. Through love the novel soars, but it is not only love that drives the story. The dominant instincts of life are all present and fighting for prevalence. Greed fights honesty, while lust fights purity, but underneath it all stands tall the love for the family, so strong among Americans of Italian descent, and their deep belief that work will bring success.
The author has done an outstanding job at building a fictional world that will definitely absorb the attention of the reader. There are many Italian expressions in the book and most often they will bring a smile to the readers’ lips for their simple sense of humor and their ability to recreate the characters in a credible manner. Personally, I could not put the book down without knowing how it ended, and that is what every writer should aim at: the attention of the reader.
