Introduction

Some in Santa Cecilia think that a rich, beautiful girl like Maddalena Piccinelli wouldn't look at Vito Leone if he were the last boy on earth. But it is 1943, and Vito is nearly the last boy in the village-and in a few months, after he turns eighteen, the soldiers may come for him too. For now, he is determined to win her. And he is beginning to get past her self-contained reserve and melt her stubborn heart. But as forces from the world outside-including an American stranger-begin to invade their quiet refuge, Vito will face challenges far more daunting than coaxing a kiss from Maddalena.

Christopher Castellani is a first-generation Italian American. A graduate of Swarthmore College, he received an MA in English from Tufts University and an MA in creative writing from Boston University. Born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, he currently resides in Arlington, Massachusetts, where he works as the head instructor at grub street, inc, Boston's independent creative writing center. A Kiss From Maddalena is his first novel.

"[Castellani] produces a memorable first 'Kiss.' Well-conceived and...well-researched. How a writer makes sense of his ancestors' experience, then synthesizes that understanding in his fiction, has a value of its own. Certainly his parents (or grandparents, and so on) might be the best candidates to tell their own stories, but Castellani's story has its identifying marks-and, in turn, could only be his. [He] moves his novel swiftly and smoothly, with credible characters and convincing dialogue. The ending, like the book, is subtle and satisfying."
-Jules Verdone, The Boston Globe

"Castellani's description of the small Italian towns makes me want to go there even more. The story brings the reader into the lives of those just trying to survive the war and illustrates how hard it was not knowing what was happening to their loved ones. It will keep you guessing until the end."
-Dina Matson (for BookSense 76)

1. Mothers are often the central figures in Italian families, and this novel features two pivotal mother-child relationships: Concetta-Vito and Chiara-Maddalena. What influence does each mother have on her child?

2. The book has been called a love story, but each character seems to have a different idea about love and marriage. How do those ideas affect their lives, especially the women?

3. At the beginning of the novel, Maddalena predicts that Vito "won't grow up" (p. 58), and Vito himself thinks that all he has to offer Maddalena is his humor. No one—including his best friend and his mother—sees him as a "catch." But what positive qualities does Vito display in these early scenes, and how do they eventually lead not only Maddalena but Carolina to fall in love with him?

4. The novel is divided into six sections, each titled with a mode of transportation: the bike, the tank, the carriage, the procession, the car, and the boat. Discuss the theme of transportation in the book, especially as it relates to the idea of campanilismo—the Italian philosophy that warns you never to move so far away from home that you can't hear the church bells ringing.

5. The theme of betrayal runs throughout A Kiss from Maddalena—especially at the end—but who is betraying whom?

6. "That doesn't sound like love to me," Maddalena says (p. 274), when Chiara tells her of their plans to marry her off to Antonio Grasso. How do you reconcile Maddalena's parents' apparent cruelty with their devotion to her?

7. "Who loves you makes you cry; who doesn't, makes you laugh," Chiara tells Maddalena (p. 274). What does this traditional Italian expression mean—both in the context of the characters and in life?

8. Late in the novel (p. 314), Maddalena admits to feeling that she has little power, and that she "played such a small part in her own life." Do you agree with her statement? What is the primary force acting upon her to make her feel so powerless?

9. Carolina is arguably the most controversial character. How do you feel about her? Discuss her decisions in regard to herself and Maddalena, especially after the arrival of Antonio Grasso.

10. Answer the narrator's question at the end of the novel: "Was [Maddalena] so different from any other bride? If you were a girl from Santa Cecilia, standing at this moment in the church beside a boy you'd known for twenty years, someone maybe who'd gone off to war and come back safely, would you know any better than Maddalena Piccinelli what waited for you in his house? Doesn't every wife learn a new language and forget little by little the one she spoke when she was young?" (p. 333). How do Maddalena's decisions at the end of the book affect your sympathy for her?

11. How does the town of Santa Cecilia change from the beginning of the book (May 1943) to the end of the book (October 1946)?

12. If you were going to write a sequel to this book, what would you want to see happen to the characters—both in Italy and in the United States?