Household Saints

by Francine Prose

The setting is New York's Little Italy in the 1950s -- a community closely knit by gossip and tradition. This is the story of an extraordinary family, the Santangelos. There is Joseph, the butcher, who cheats in his shop and at pinochle, only to find the deck is stacked against him; his mother, Mrs. Santangelo, who sees the evil eye everywhere and who calls on her saints; and Catherine, his wife, whose determination to raise a modern daughter leads her to confront ancient questions. Finally, there is Theresa, Joseph and Catherine's daughter, whose astonishing discovery of purpose moves the book toward its unpredictable conclusion.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Italy, Novels, Adult Fiction, Family

253 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1983

About the author

Francine Prose is the author of twenty works of fiction. Her novel A Changed Man won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and Blue Angel was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her most recent works of nonfiction include the highly acclaimed Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, and the New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer. The recipient of numerous grants and honors, including a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, a Director's Fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, Prose is a former president of PEN American Center, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her most recent book is Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROSE: What a great author's name: quality name, quality product. I have yet to be disappointed by Francine Prose--heck even her "Reading Like a Writer" is an indispensable mini-manual for creative writing students everywhere. And it is hard, after a couple of novels, to even describe her brand of novels--but fully-rounded, or complete, seems to be fitting. They are complete stories (Mister Monkey, Blue Angel)--and WELL WELL written. Which is all we readers crave to have.

[Kilian Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've heard the phrase 'limpid prose,' but until I read this book by the aptly-named writer, I really didn't know what it meant. Now I think I understand. Absolutely nothing gets in the way between the reader and the story. No distractions of awkward wording, no jarring images to pull the reader out of the book, no awareness of how clever the writer is. Just pure, instant transfer of story from writer to reader. I lost awareness that I was reading a book. I was living inside the story. I knew the basics from seeing the wonderful movie adaptation with Vincent D'onofrio and Tracy Ullman, so I knew I would like it. When the book turned up on one of my bargain book deals, I took a chance. Ms Prose doesn't need any boost from me, but she get my vote for one of the best writers I've ever read. She is a marvel.

[Lucy Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a funny little book. absolutely loved the descriptions of 1940s little italy. made me want to become a regular at my local butcher. second half took a sharp and surprising turn toward being exclusively about one character’s undying devotion to god, which I didn’t fully dislike but did find random. It was like in the first half of one of the characters was New York City, and in the second half that character was replaced with Catholicism. Disappointing for a New York head such as myself but at only 200 pages it wasn’t too bad.

[Harriett Milnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finishing Household Saints made me think about being brought up as a Catholic.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the story of the couple's "accidental" marriage and how it grew into more. It was a pretty straight-forward story of an Italian-American family--a pleasure to read. But the ambiguity at the end added something more to it.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this for about 2/3 of the way through, 5 stars worth. And then came the daughter's story, which was deeply disturbing for me. That changed it all for me.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written, quick read. Quirky, but such great characters and a well told story. I really enjoyed it and will look into some of this author's other titles.

[Linda Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

What better start to a story than, Joseph Santangelo, the butcher, wins his bride, Catherine Falconetti, in a pinochle game with her father and brother. During a heat wave, Joseph bets a walk into the meat freezer and Lino bets his daughter's hand. A bet is bet in the close knit Italian neighborhood in New York City. The next day Catherine is told to buy the best cut of meat and cook a meal for Joseph and his mother, an introduction of sorts. A cook, she was not, the meal a disaster, and Mrs. Santangelo leaves dismayed by the whole idea of this girl becoming her daughter-in-law.

And so their married life began as an unlikely pair. They became the butcher who puts his finger on the scale for a few extra pennies and his wife, who spends her days under the watchful eye of her mother-in-law learning the fine art of sausage making. Soon, a daughter, Theresa, comes along and everything they thought they knew, changes. Theresa felt very early on that her calling was to the convent and to God and nothing her parents did could change her.

I love Francine Prose for her beautiful writing and her quirky stories. I'm a big fan of Blue Angel, another novel by Prose which I've also written a review. The thing that always strikes me is her ability to write male characters so realistically. Joseph and Catherine's father, Lino pop off the page as if I was sitting beside them eaves dropping on their conversations. Catherine, Mrs. Santangelo and Theresa are equally as interesting but Ms. Prose is one of the few writers I know who can give each of the sexes equal footing as characters.

What I learned from Household Saints is that all of us may feel we are living an ordinary life, but within each of us lives a little piece of God. Never underestimate the power of a good gossiping grapevine. And under every roof lives a saint. Who is the saint in your household?

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fits within that mode of Marilynn Robinson and Alice McDermott that I love so much of using extremely mystical (often, specifically, religious) description and prose to describe the mundanity of life. How a pinochle game can take on the quality of myth. How a young, ill, girl can be a saint. Frequently very funny, frequently very sad, but full of life. I liked thinking, a bit, about my family while I read it. My grandparents and great grand parents, who were probably very similar, and very different, from the characters in this book.

Also, of course, it made me miss my Dad's gravy.

[Sariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first 2/3 of this book and only liked that last 1/3. It's well-written, and I enjoyed the characters a lot, especially at the beginning. I loved how Joseph "won" Catherine in a card game (funny side note... my own NYC-born and raised, Italian Catholic grandfather supposedly won a bet from a card game and had to take my grandmother on a date...) and while she didn't want to get married to him, it turned out to be a happy and successful marriage. I cried at the still-born birth and cried as I read of her obvious PPD. I really loved all the stories of this couple, but once we started learning about their daughter, Theresa, I got frustrated. It's so hard to watch someone go absolutely crazy and there is nothing you can do. Even when it's a fictional character. Heart-wrenching for me. Anyway, I honestly didn't expect it all to end the way it did. So yes, it was enjoyable (mostly) and well-written and actually a pretty quick read.

[Debi Cates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francine Prose has a perfect name.

Her Household Saints is both a delight and a heartbreak. (I'm reminded of Our Town by Thornton Wilder.)

I loved vicariously living in this book, in NY's Little Italy as a devout Catholic starting with the years right after WWII. I loved being a young woman who falls in love with her husband on her wedding night, living with a wise but smart aleck and superstitious mother in law, and eating delicious Italian homemade food, especially the sausage (I'm actually vegan now).

So different from my real life, but it was so recognizable as how life is and how sometimes we need a household saint sitting on a dresser just to make it through.

I loved the humor. I loved the richness of everyday life and the everyday struggles to find it meaningful. And I really loved the scene with Jesus and the red and white checked shirts. Quirky but heartfelt. Tender but profound. Joyful but serious.

Like life.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a last name for a writer!

I enjoyed Prose's 2006 Reading Like a Writer, a thoughtful meditation on the craft of writing. I also tried to read her novel Blue Angel, but couldn't get into it. Household Saints was more engaging: the story of an Italian-American family in post-WWII New York. Prose elevates the trials and tribulations of a humble family to something approaching legend.

Her style, though, is very dense, creating a sense (for me) of claustrophobia. And the ending was so disappointing that I was almost sure there must be a third section in the e-book.

[Tris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I loved this book. It's one of those "go with it" books, when it's necessary to suspend belief (a la Alice Hoffman or Margot Livesey), but well worth it for the sake of the story. The descriptions of the characters and places that make up Little Italy in the 50s are beautifully rendered, and Francine Prose's dry humor plays perfectly. This was also a decent movie, which followed the book very closely.

[Sybil Noss · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's writing is flawless and her characters came to life right from page one. I was 75% through and had been cruising along, enjoying the book and then... There was a few jolts and the ride began to sputter and jerk and I tried to hang on to the last page, hoping that it was going to be alright. When I finished, I had been shaken up and left wondering...Why?

[Karen Schild · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very engaging story at the beginning. Very sad and disturbing ending. Definitely not a feel good story.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly loved this book. It reminded me of my family and definitely depicted the Little Italy that I grew up hearing about from my mother and grandmother. From the food, to life at home, to arranged marriages and even Catholic superstition. This book was so descriptive.

I see that many people didn't like the second half of the book, when Theresa becomes a saint. However, I did like it... I found myself wondering if she was crazy or actually seeing what she said she was seeing. My only complaint was how fast the book ended and how little her miracles were discussed after Theresa's death. In fact, the miracles are even made to sound like rumors.

Besides that, this is a fantastic read and a great book to study with learning about American-Italian culture. I'll definitely be reading this again in the future.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Might be interested in reading some of the author's other books. Interesting story about a Catholic family and all the everyday guilt and belief's belayed by her mother in law. The younger son - local butcher wins his wife at a game of pinochle from the local radio repairman. Story about how 2 people can learn to love one another over time and difficulty in raising their daughter who becomes a fanatic about following the church's teachings based on one of the saint's.
Sad ending - in a way....

[Scott Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sausage and pinochle and God

I saw the movie thirty years ago and remembered it last night when I couldn’t sleep. I downloaded the book and read it straight through today. A beautiful book about ordinary people, ordinary love, and how we see God’s invisible hand only later…and then we can be grateful even in the sadness. These are characters you will care about, and remind you of the real people you care about. If you want miracles, don’t look for the supernatural. It is all around us. This book is like a parable that way.

[Carmen Petaccio · Rating 4 out of 5]

"That night, Theresa vowed to spend the rest of her life repenting and, like so many eight-year-old pentents, decided to begin with her homework. From that night on, she studied with the zeal of a fanatic. No medieval monk transcribing the Holy Writ could have taken his job more seriously than Theresa recopying her math problems till the columns hung straight as plumb lines, Theresa drafting a wall-sized map of Italy with colored pencil on the regional boundaries, a little green star for Rome and big gold one for the Vatican. Meanwhile, she asked herself: Is this enough? Is this enough?"

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Household Saints offers an engaging slice of Italian-American life, with its thick layer of Catholic guilt and superstition. I was intrigued by how fate, or perhaps divine intervention, played a part in Joseph winning his wife Catherine in a card game. The tension between old-world traditions and modern life is vividly depicted, especially as Catherine contends with Joseph’s superstitious mother. While I enjoyed the unique storyline, I found the pacing a bit slow at times. Still, the novel provides a fascinating look at family dynamics and faith.

[Katherine Satchwill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really very entertaining and actually believably descriptively not hurtfully mean about Catholic/New York/Italian’s stereotypical stories. The “devotions”, the card playing, respect (but misogyny) for the somewhat ridiculously hysterical religious women… and their families’ men, children and neighborhood gossip. BTW oh my I was so totally aware of the whole Bernadette Our Lady of Fatima secret…and yes, my class of St Lawrence school walked in processional Catholic school lines all the few blocks down to a special showing of that movie.

[Lorraine Tosiello · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read for me, especially since my family comes from Little Italy, NYC and the details are a wonderful nod to the culture and beliefs of my grandparents. Francine Prose is a wonderful writer. I think the book lacked a central focus, though, as it vacillated from one character’s arc to another, the voice somehow not quite omniscient. It’s a lovely query about the fine line between superstition and delusion, religious fervor and insanity.

[Lara A · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts off as a charmingly quirky slice of life in post war Little Italy, but the second half of the book is much gloomier fare. It is reasonable to mark a book down because the author didn't tell the story you wanted them too? Clearly the writing was good enough to make me care for (most) of the characters. I guess I'm just puzzled by the shift in tone. It makes me ponder the entire purpose of the story.

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've liked some of Prose's other works, but I couldn't get past how the whole premise is based on misogyny and lack of consent. Sounds like another tale perpetuating myths about how people got together in the past, totally eliding how women felt, how they were made to feel, and how their first night with the lewd local butcher was.

[Kimberly Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always loved the movie - Lily Taylor is a brilliant actress as is Tracy Ullman. The movie is very true to the book, I was impressed with how well the story translates to the screen. Francine Prose is a wonderful writer and I plan on reading all her books.

Household Saints is a lovely and touching story, and you never know where a pinochle game where lead you!!

[Linda Munroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the story of Catherine and Frank and the culture of little Italy in NYC. The writing kept me inside the story. Teresa and her religious obsessions did not make sense to me though. So, I think I missed the point.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not like any book I’ve read, unique storyline / style of writing. Fell off a little during the second half, but it came back around. Thought provoking. Well written. Excited to watch the movie and see how it compares.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just didn't catch my interest.

[Margaret L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it immensely up until the end.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very descriptive and well written, brings Little Italy in NYC during the turn of the 20th century alive in a very familiar way, even if you hadn't ever been there.