About the Books...
The Mezzogiorno Trilogy Iron Butterfly (January 2021) Autumn Crush (January 2022) Sarapiquí (January 2023) |
About the Author...
Andrew Eustace Anselmi was born in Livingston, New Jersey in 1965 to a household rooted in Italian-American ways. He has worked as an attorney in private practice for thirty years, during which time he has received extensive praise for his work in complex litigation and recognized for his charitable works. In 2017, Pope Francis bestowed upon him the title of Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. Drawing upon his career and experiences as a husband, son, and father, he has become a novelist. He seeks to have his readers travel with him the yet undiscovered terrain of the twentieth century American Dream, and the untold costs of an otherwise glorified voyage. His Mezzogiorno Trilogy tracks a fictional Italian-American family, the Bennetts, through the cultural conflicts and hedonism of the 1980s and 90s. The center point of the series is The Autumn Crush, his debut novel that will be republished by Level Best as the second installment. It is a murder mystery for which young Edward Bennett takes up the legal defense for his business titan father, recounting the first generation family’s odyssey to attain wealth, social distinction, and political power in a dizzying American present, while at once masking and celebrating Old World traditions. Iron Butterfly is a prequel that is a mystery of a different kind, weaving together a delicate past and present by exploring the functions of storytelling in crafting family identity. This time, however, Anselmi brings this dynamic into bold relief by having Edward break the fifty year silence of his mother to reveal the suppressed details of her childhood in wartime Italy. This novel also includes a psychoanalytic commentary by a third party whose identity will surprise the reader. Sarapiquí will be the last in the trilogy, depicting the existential struggles of a disillusioned Edward who, after his father’s trial in The Autumn Crush, accepts an invitation for exile in the jungles of Costa Rica. Andrew currently lives in Chester, New Jersey with his wife Soledad. They are the proud and loving parents of Gabrielle, Luke and Nicholas. News and Reviews...
Praise for The Autumn Crush, previously published... “For his debut, Anselmi has written an ambitious and downright old-fashioned novel.” – Kirkus Reviews “An epic story of pursuing the Great American Dream . . . Rich character development and lots of surprises kept me flipping the pages as fast as my eyes could read them.” - Luxury Reading “In a dramatic novel exploring the cost of assimilation . . . Anselmi examines grand themes of family, loyalty, wealth and devotion in a promising plot that reveals the hardships and triumphs pf twentieth-century immigrants.” – Clarion Review “Anselmi’s on-going commentary on racism...may make readers cringe, but it’s a realistic reflection of multicultural America.” – BlueInk Reviews |