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The Sirens’ Song
Author Interview
Mediterranean Mothers: Masters of Guilt shares with readers the entertaining stories of Mediterranean matriarchs and their families in a memoir children (of all ages) can relate to. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Maria: My entire life, anyone that knew me and then met my family was left with mouth agape and the utterance: you have to write a book about your family – it will be a sitcom success. Not sure it’s a compliment.
Nick: As my partner said, the book essentially tells the story of our heritage and, more particularly, our moms and aunts. And, yes, the stories are all true.
What were some of the ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
The complex relationships in families are related to culture, generation gaps, gender roles, and regionalism. The conflict between indoctrination of familial ties with asserting the independence of ideas and values is mania-inducing – yet these obligations pull you in like the Sirens’ song, unable to escape inevitable doom.
What Is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were younger?
Don’t worry about what other people say; take your shot when you have a chance to do something you want to do.
…and, beware of Greeks, with or without gifts…
What is one thing readers take away from your story?
Every day gives you a new chance to smile.
Maria and Nick know that only too well. The two teachers swap stories about their respective mothers and aunts, who have employed tears and sorrow the way a surgeon uses a scalpel. They gift their tormentors a trip to California, but ironically the ladies wind up on the same flight, where they become instant friends, and the world suddenly gets turned upside down.
If you have kids, if you were a kid—whatever your ethnic background—you will laugh, sigh, and shake your head as you share this adventure with Maria and Nick and their Mediterranean Mothers!!
Mediterranean Mothers
Maria and Nick are skilled writing partners and colleagues. Their Mediterranean mothers have some skills all their own. When the two unknowingly send their mothers and aunts on a trip, they end up meeting mid-air, and hilarity ensues. Maria’s mother and her sister are old-school Italian, and Nick’s are Greek. Their meeting begins and ends in one biting quip after another. There are no sharper tongues than those that belong to Mediterranean matriarchs, and these four are living proof. While their mothers are off on an adventure, Maria and Nick are left to sort out both their work and their relationship.
Mediterranean Mothers: Masters of Guilt, by Maria Orlando and Nick Pappas, is the hilarious memoir of two sets of widows and the adventure they take across the country one witty comment at a time. Unbeknownst to their children, Maria and Nick, the women meet on their flight and become instant friends.
Orlando and Pappas nail the mother/child dynamic and leave no stone unturned when it comes to the retelling of strife within families. Cover to cover, I found myself shaking my head along with poor Maria and Nick. The worry–oh, the worry! The authors have done a fantastic job of portraying the panicked feeling an adult child feels when an older parent doesn’t answer the phone. This is just one example of the authentic scenarios found throughout the book.
Though guilt plays a huge role in the plot, there are countless innuendos and brief exchanges to which readers will easily relate. As much as I shook my head, I found myself laughing at the women’s dialogue with one another. I really enjoyed the build-up to all six making the connection. With each successive chapter, I just knew the bubble was about to burst and couldn’t wait to see the mothers’ reactions. Orlando and Pappas have created a page-turner, without a doubt.
Nowhere else will readers find more relatable family-oriented characters than in Orlando and Pappas’s memoir. I highly recommend Mediterranean Mothers: Masters of Guilt to anyone looking for a fabulous story centered around characters with wit, wisdom, and the willingness to tell it like it is–and do so regularly and with no remorse!
Pages: 191 | ASIN : B0BS9MVCQJ
LITERARY TITAN 