The Witch of Little Italy (32 page)

“There was Elizabeth and George the twins, and Bonita who was, like her name, very beautiful … there was Filomena your great-grandmother and not forgetting Fiona or the boys, Enzo, Franco, and Dante, all lost in the war. And let’s not forget the magical Greens, Faith and Margaret and Ephraim. And then there was Carmen, and me and now … you. You are our redo. Everyone deserves a redo, don’t they? Sure they do.”

Discussion Questions

  1. Facing what seems like an impossible situation, Eleanor decides to leave all that she knows and return to her estranged family in the Bronx. This decision was hasty, but all of her instincts were telling her to go. Would you have made the same choice? Were there any other options that may have taken the story in another direction? How often do you trust your own instinct (instead of logic) when making a decision?

  2. The bond that Mimi, Itsy, and Fee share is a strong one. How do you think the loss they suffered together as young women helped define their relationship?

  3. Mama, Margaret Green, is the keeper of all the wisdom in the family—but she has many flaws. What are some moments when Margaret was “less than perfect”? Did her flaws diminish her relationship with her children? Why or why not?

  4. Many young women suffer from domestic abuse in romantic relationships. The signature of these relationships is that they are difficult to leave. Yet Elly seems to be able to walk away from Cooper without too much internal questioning. What do you think helped her to overcome the abuse so quickly?

  5. Though the women in this novel consider themselves witches, what kind of magic do they practice? Is this very far from the traditions, habits, and superstitions that can be found in almost every family? What were some “magical” traditions that you remember from growing up (examples: “Step on the Crack, Break Your Mother’s Back,” black cats, the number 13…)? How do you think these superstitions or traditions can bring people, especially family, together?

  6. Anthony is very sure of his love for Elly. How does he know her so well? He knows her better than she knows herself, and he helps her rediscover the memories that hold the key to her entire personality. In many ways, their love story is the stuff of movies. Has there ever been anyone that you loved, no matter what? How do you think a love like that shapes you? How do you think it shaped Elly?

  7. Throughout the novel Itsy has a secret that she holds very dear—a secret that, had her family known sooner, might have changed many things. How do you think their lives might have been different if Itsy had, at the time, added to the Amore tragedies, but in a sense, freed herself of the weight of her secret?

  8. Mimi and Carmen have a complicated relationship. Mimi never took care of Carmen emotionally when she was a child because The Sight told her that Carmen would leave one day. Do you think if she had, things might have been different? Or would Carmen have left anyway? Was it in Carmen’s nature to be cold and leave, or was that her nature because of her lack of nurturing?

  9. Elly changed significantly from the first page to the last. Do you think this was because she recovered all her memories or because she learned what real love—both familial and romantic—is? Could she have become whole with only one or the other? Discuss.

10. There is an unwritten element of the adage “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” with regard to Mimi and the aunts. Do you think this a purposeful theme added by the author, or did it occur organically? And, how does this theme play into the events of the story?

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Praise for
The Witch of Little Italy

“An enchanting debut, Palmieri’s plot makes for a wickedly good read!”

—
MELISSA DE LA CRUZ
,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Blue Bloods series

“
The Witch of Little Italy
had me spellbound from the very start. Suzanne Palmieri has created a poignant, beautiful tale of love, magic, history, and family, where all are deeply connected and interwoven.”

—
JOANNE RENDELL
, author of
Crossing Washington Square
and
The Professors’ Wives’ Club

“A mystical family secret hidden in a spicy Italian stew.”

—
KELLY SIMMONS
, author of
Standing Still
and
The Bird House

About the Author

SUZANNE PALMIERI is coauthor of the forthcoming
I’ll Be Seeing You
(as Suzanne Hayes), and her essays have been published online in
Life Learning Magazine
and
Full of Crow: On the Wing
edition. She lives with her husband and three daughters in New Haven, Connecticut.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE WITCH OF LITTLE ITALY.
Copyright © 2013 by Suzanne Palmieri. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

Cover design by Olga Grlic

Cover photographs: girl by Irene Lamprakou/Arcangel Images; street by John Halpern

ISBN 978-1-250-01551-8 (paperback)

ISBN 9781250015501 (e-book)

First Edition: March 2013