Island of the Nightingales

Ellen Pilon is a library assistant in the Patrick Power Library at Saint
Mary’s University in Halifax.

Caterina Edwards’s fifth book, a collection of six short stories,
reflects her love of Italy. Some of the stories are set in Italy, while
others are set in Canada and are about Italian immigrants.

In “Prima Vera,” Maria, who immigrated to Canada with her husband
Cesare, yearns for the familiarity of her home country, especially now
that she is in the final term of her pregnancy. It is an ominous time.
The baby, Maria comments, is “feeding off me, sucking out my bones …
By the time it’s born, there’ll be nothing left of me.” Maria, who
is so fat she can hardly move, is told by her doctor not to eat so much
spaghetti, and although her English is minimal, she understands some of
the nurses’ unkind words. Yet, in the end the baby represents
Maria’s connection to the new land.

A mother–daughter relationship is depicted in “Everlasting
Life.” Patrizia is visiting Augusta, her 88-year-old mother who lives
in a private nursing home. Augusta is extremely demanding and believes
that “a child owes [her] parent unquestioning obedience.” For her
part, Patrizia has difficulty relating to her mother’s “heavy,
shapeless flesh ... the mottled back … the crusted feet.” But
eventually Patrizia is sharing cannoli, and laughter, with her mother
and the other nursing-home residents.

The other stories are just as powerful and beautifully written. This
absorbing collection of stories will appeal in particular to readers
with an interest in the Italian or Italian-Canadian experience.