What Once Was Promised by Louis Trubiano

An immersive and emotional work of historical fiction about the immigrant experience in early 20th-century America, What Once Was Promised by Louis Trubiano is a brilliant multigenerational saga told over four decades. From his tiny village in Abruzzo, Italy, Domenic Bassini lands in Boston, a city heaving with both opportunity and unrest. Dominic, Joseph, and Ermino take very different paths as they try to succeed in the country, and Dominic must navigate his friendships amongst the political and social dangers of the city. Well-researched and beautifully written, Trubiano brings both character and setting to vivid life, unveiling both the promise and the failures of the American experience, for a story that gives commanding insight into the oftentimes fraught pursuit of the American Dream.