Life is tough and brutal for Cetta Luminita at 14 , living in southern Italy in poverty , so she runs runs away with her infant son and does whatever she has to in order to get passage to America. And it continues to be a tough life for her as a prostitute doing whatever she has to do for her son , Natale who in America is now called Christmas. It's a tough life for Christmas too . Amidst the violence of Italian and Jewish gangs , it is this young boy's imagination and story telling abilities that save him.

I almost put this book aside . There are such violent scenes and I just didn't want to read these but I did . There are explicit sexual scenes and I'm certainly not prudish but in some places they just did not add to the story . Yet the story held me. I was drawn to Cetta and Christmas and their hopes and dreams and I was heartbroken for Ruth and so I kept reading. In spite of its length , it moved fairly quickly and it was definitely the characters that held me. Besides Cetta , Christmas, and Ruth , there are other characters that will steal your heart - the big seemingly heartless Sal, who is caring even though stubborn at times , the ever loyal friend Santo , and even the big man gangster Rothstein , who gives Christmas the gift of getting him off the streets. There's also the despicable Bill whose actions will chill you to the bone and Ruth's mother who is just plain heartless and selfish .

The backdrop is America from 1909 when Cetta and her infant son embark on their journey to America through the late 1920's . A view of the Immigrant experience moving from the lower east side of New York City to Hollywood . It could be confusing if you don't take note of dates on chapters as the story moves around in time . The gangs and violence of New York , the impact of radio, the making of movies, Broadway , the American Dream - it's all there . I also found characters who were persistent and strong in the face of adversity, what it means to be a family, friendship and love .

I loved that Christmas told stories, wanted to tell them on the radio so Ruth would find him . I loved that Sal wanted to take care of Cetta and I loved that Cetta was strong in spite of it all and did not let go of her dream for her son.

Sometimes when I read a translation, I wonder if I've lost something in the language change but I didn't feel that way here . Maybe it was a little long and maybe a little predictable but I enjoyed Christmas' journey from boyhood to manhood and seeing the realization of his dreams.

Thank you to Bastei Entertainment and NetGalley.
netgalley-26 s Bü?ra Öztürk510 168

o kadar uzun süredir okuyorum ki sanki karakterlerle birle?mi?, onlar?n oldu?u ortamda onlarla birlikte ya?am?? gibiyim. ?yi insanlar?, kötü insanlar?, suçlular?, fahi?eleri, pezevenkleri, suç çetelerini, siyahileri,beyazlar? herkesi herkesin gözünden anlat?yor Rüya Da??tan Çocuk. Yürek burkan, sonra kalbimizi k?ran ard?ndan hiçbir ?ey olmam?? gibi kalbimizi tamir eden ve içinde büyük bir umudu bar?nd?ran bu kitap san?r?m hat?rlad?kça beni gülümsetecek.. Her ?eye ra?men var olman?n bu kadar ac? bir yolculu?u oldu?unu bilmiyordum.


NOT:Christmas Luminata sen harika bir adams?n :')2018 favoriler kitapl???m24 s Dar vien? puslap?397 589

Oi kaip seniai skai?iau kažk? panašaus. Didžiul? storul? knyga, kupina ?vyki?, kurie veja vienas kit?. Laca di Fulvio tikrai sugeba rašyti. Šioje knygoje telpa visas gyvenimas: skausmas, meil?, išdavyst?.

Jaunut? ital? ?eta b?ga ? savo svajon? - Amerik?. Ne šiaip Amerik?, o pat? Niujork?. Merginai nesvarbu viso to kaina. Ji nepagail?s nieko, kad tik jos naujagimis s?nus tur?t? visas galimybes tapti tikru amerikie?iu ir pasinaudot? motinos suteikt? šansu ? kitok? gyvenim?. Kas yra tas "viskas", k? motina pasiruošusi padaryti d?l geresnio gyvenimo, j?s galite tik ?sivaizduoti. Luca di Fulvio jums parodys plat? ?etos galimybi? diapazon? ir didžiul? ištverm? siekiant savo tikslo. Krismas, ?etos s?nus, yra visas jos gyvenimas. Tai išskirtinis berniukas. Jo vaizduot? neapr?piamo platumo, iškalba išskirtin?, o geb?jimas kurti istorijas ?ia ir dabar pribloškiantis. Šie sugeb?jimai neleidžia berniukui pask?sti Niujorko gatvi? klampyn?je. Na ir paskutinis akcentas šioje istorijoje - Ruta, mergina, kuri? Krismas išgelb?ja ir kuri amžiams pakei?ia jaunuolio gyvenim?. Vaikinas pasiryž?s padaryti visk?, kad jo ir Rutos pasaulis tapt? vienu.

Nepaprastai jaukus Fulvio pasakojimas. Kaip jis d?lioja žodžius, kaip jo istorija skleidžiasi - tiesiog nuostabu. Pasakojimo dinamiškumas neleidžia nuobodžiauti, nes vienas ?vykis kei?ia kit?. Beje, n?ra taip, kad pask?site ?vyki? virtin?je lik? be emocinio kr?vio. Vidiniai veik?j? pasauliai itin turtingi. Rutos išgyventa prievarta niekaip neapleidžia merginos visose jos gyvenimo srityse. Labai sunkiai sekasi atsikratyti praeities šeš?li?. Patirtas smurtas trukdo pasinerti ? nuostabias gyvenimo bei meil?s dovanas. Krismas, kuris bando iškilti, tapti kažkuo daugiau nei eiliniu gatv?s berni?kš?iu - koks didžiulis jo užsispyrimas, atkaklumas ir noras. ?eta - tikras stipryb?s pavyzdys. Ši moteris parodo, kaip vidin? stipryb? neleidžia pasiduoti net sunkiausiomis aplinkyb?mis. Ji visur mato švies?, g?r? ir grož?. Ypa? savo s?nuje. Na ir Bilis, juodoji šio pasakojimo ašis. Kiek tamsos gali tur?ti savyje neišmyl?tas vaikas.

Pabaiga visiškas happy ending, bet nieko kito ir nenor??iau. Po tiek išgyvent? dalyk? su knygos veik?jais, norisi tik vieno - kad viskas baigt?si laimingai.

Puiki, graži, jautri ir ?traukianti knyga. Neišsig?skit didžiul?s knygos apimties ir b?tinai paskaitykit.

23 s Vitalija|Vivija Books49 74

Nuostabi knyga. Likau sužav?ta ????2019 romanas turiu-savo23 s Justina Neliubšien?282 39

Kokia puiki knyga,??kiek daug joje visko telpa nuo meil?s, šeimos, stipryb?s ir tvirtyb?s siekiant geresnio gyvenimo iki nesuvokiamo žiaurumo, li?desio, pyk?io, nevilties ir agonijos.20 s Liepa136 17

Netik?ta, labai netik?ta,bet tik stipriai vidutiniškai. L?kes?iai buvo per dideli. Net nedr?su rašyti, bet ko vertas atsiliepimas, jei jis bus nenuoširdus
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