Jane McCulloch

I was immediately drawn to this story because it takes place just a few miles from where I grew up. I'd never heard of the Brini Boy, and I wanted to learn more about what seemed to be a compelling story.

As I started reading, I was initially thrown off by the storytelling style. I'd expected a nonfiction account of the events, but instead the author took a lot of creative liberty in this story. The basics of the events here are all true, but the story attempts to capture the feel of a mystery/suspense novel. The real people become characters of a sort. We spend time with the Brini family, in their daily lives, with conversations and actions that might or might not have happened as written. No one could possibly know exactly what was said or exactly how the family felt during this time.

For me, the story straddles the nonfiction/fiction line too much, not really committing to either. This isn't totally nonfiction, but it's also not fiction based on real events.

The other problem I had is that the author uses British terms and spelling. This story takes place in Massachusetts, with the people being either American or Italian immigrants. The occasional British slang is out of place and wouldn't be used by Italian immigrants or by Americans. And the spelling should have reflected the US setting, particularly when referencing things like "defence" funds and such.

The real story of Trando Brini and Bart Vanzetti is a powerful one. The way Italian immigrants were treated by both society and by the legal system is appalling. In a perfect world, we'd say we learned from our history and that this type of thing won't ever happen again. Sadly, that's not the case. I couldn't help but draw parallels to Mexican immigrants today and Japanese immigrants in the 1940s. As soon as one culture successfully assimilates, it seems we aim our prejudice at the next to arrive.

*I received an ebook copy in exchange for my honest review.*… (mehr)