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Gabriella's Book of Fire
At fifteen, Sam Capistrano is a normal Australian teenager. The object of his desire is Gabriella, the Italian-Irish girl next door. Then one day Gabriella disappearsabandoning Sam. Bitter and resentful, Sam moves on with his life: into the shady side of Brisbane. Over the next two decades, Sam and Gabriella will find their lives inextricably, painfully, and passionately linked.
- GenresFictionLiterature
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
75 people want to read
About the author
Venero Armanno
24 books49 followersVenero Armanno, the son of Sicilian migrants, was born in Brisbane. He has travelled and worked throughout the world. In 1995, 1997 and 1999 he lived and wrote in the Cité International des Arts, Paris. He is the author of Jumping at the Moon, a book of short stories (equal runner-up in the prestigious Steele Rudd Award) and eight novels, including The Volcano, which won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Best Fiction Novel (2002) and was short-listed for the Courier Mail Best Book of the Year. His work has been published internationally and he is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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June 20, 2020I've read a few of Venero Armanno's books, and they are reliably good.
Firehead is set in Brisbane over the course of several decades from the mid seventies to the late nineties, when the book was written.
It follows two families of Sicilian migrants, Capistrano and Zazo. 14 year old Salvatore (Sam) Capistrano's life is fairly ordered until Gabriella Zazo and her family move in next door.
She is the 'firehead' of the novel, red-haired, captivating and mysterious, but who passes out of Sam's life as quickly as she enters, leaving him unrequited, and with nothing but questions.
Why, and what happened, is the novel's central mystery, and Armanno reveals it gradually, right to the end.
Sam's life moves on and he deals with the frustration, the not knowing. The mid eighties in Brisbane of course was the time of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, and Sam gets caught up in this, through a former childhood friend who bears more than a resemblance to several well known 'identities' from the time.
Characterisation is good - Sam and Gabriella are quite finely drawn, and with Gabriella in particular, it's as much about what Armanno doesn't reveal about her thoughts and motivations, as what he does.
The fact the novel is set in places I know well, the inner city suburbs of New Farm and Spring Hill, and ends at a place literally only a street from somewhere I know VERY well and have visited many times, only added to the novel's realism and impact for me.
The changes in the city over three decades are mirrored by the changes in the characters themselves. This is a mystery, a love story, and a picture of changing time and place.
Firehead is set in Brisbane over the course of several decades from the mid seventies to the late nineties, when the book was written.
It follows two families of Sicilian migrants, Capistrano and Zazo. 14 year old Salvatore (Sam) Capistrano's life is fairly ordered until Gabriella Zazo and her family move in next door.
She is the 'firehead' of the novel, red-haired, captivating and mysterious, but who passes out of Sam's life as quickly as she enters, leaving him unrequited, and with nothing but questions.
Why, and what happened, is the novel's central mystery, and Armanno reveals it gradually, right to the end.
Sam's life moves on and he deals with the frustration, the not knowing. The mid eighties in Brisbane of course was the time of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, and Sam gets caught up in this, through a former childhood friend who bears more than a resemblance to several well known 'identities' from the time.
Characterisation is good - Sam and Gabriella are quite finely drawn, and with Gabriella in particular, it's as much about what Armanno doesn't reveal about her thoughts and motivations, as what he does.
The fact the novel is set in places I know well, the inner city suburbs of New Farm and Spring Hill, and ends at a place literally only a street from somewhere I know VERY well and have visited many times, only added to the novel's realism and impact for me.
The changes in the city over three decades are mirrored by the changes in the characters themselves. This is a mystery, a love story, and a picture of changing time and place.
March 19, 2012
It’s difficult to review this as a single book, because it is split into two very different stories—the first which I enjoyed very much and the second which didn’t quite meet the standards of the first.
The first part of the book follows two teens, both Italian immigrants living with their families in Australia. The boy, Salvatore, is hopelessly in love with his neighbor, Gabriella, a tough but alluring redhead who takes full advantage of the power she has over him. The book is full of rich descriptions of their traditional Italian cooking, so you can practically taste the savory meals being prepared in Salvatore’s kitchen. And there is a lot of heart in the family relationships and the difficulties they face as foreigners in an unwelcoming land. But after the surprising crescendo at the end of the first part of the book, the book loses a lot of its momentum.
The second part of the book fast-forwards in time to focus on the adult version of Salvatore who is caught up in his flashy (but not very interesting) lifestyle but still inexplicably obsessed with the memory of Gabriella. For the depth of characterization in the first book, the adult Salvatore is difficult to feel for. The author has a hard time convincing the reader that the memory of Gabriella could still be driving this grown man wild and turns too often to sex scenes to fill the void. There are a few interesting plot twists at the end, but by then it is hard for the reader to return to the pathos created for the characters in the first half. Thus, the gritty force of the first half of the book is somewhat lost in the transition as we reach the end.
The first part of the book follows two teens, both Italian immigrants living with their families in Australia. The boy, Salvatore, is hopelessly in love with his neighbor, Gabriella, a tough but alluring redhead who takes full advantage of the power she has over him. The book is full of rich descriptions of their traditional Italian cooking, so you can practically taste the savory meals being prepared in Salvatore’s kitchen. And there is a lot of heart in the family relationships and the difficulties they face as foreigners in an unwelcoming land. But after the surprising crescendo at the end of the first part of the book, the book loses a lot of its momentum.
The second part of the book fast-forwards in time to focus on the adult version of Salvatore who is caught up in his flashy (but not very interesting) lifestyle but still inexplicably obsessed with the memory of Gabriella. For the depth of characterization in the first book, the adult Salvatore is difficult to feel for. The author has a hard time convincing the reader that the memory of Gabriella could still be driving this grown man wild and turns too often to sex scenes to fill the void. There are a few interesting plot twists at the end, but by then it is hard for the reader to return to the pathos created for the characters in the first half. Thus, the gritty force of the first half of the book is somewhat lost in the transition as we reach the end.
July 29, 2019
First half was a coming of age story. Second half was not as engaging. Ending was contrived. I liked the author 's other book Volcano better.
June 8, 2014
In 1988 I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love In The Time Of Cholera" and it immediately became the standard by which I judged unrequited love novels. The wisdom, understanding of longing, and depth of relationships in that novel were profoundly moving. Twenty-six years later I finally found a novel to match if not surpass Marquez's insightful novel and that is the beautiful, passionate, poetic novel Gabriella's Book Of Fire. I cannot say enough good things about this novel: it touched me, it moved me, it affected me. The prose is beautiful and lyrical; the characters are rich and complex; and the honesty within the sometimes connected, sometimes failed relationships are so powerfully real that you come away from this book with a greater awareness of your own relationships - what they promise and how they at times disappoint. It's a book I will find additional copies of and gift to special people in my life.
October 20, 2014
I loved this book and came so very close to giving it 5 stars although I was afraid I might have been biased because it evoked for me so thoroughly my years growing up in Brisbane, where it is set.
The story is engrossing, at times electrifying and almost heart stopping. What begins as a childish love story becomes a baffling mystery with a strong dose of pre-Fitzgerald Inquiry Queensland police corruption and politics.
My senses awakened as I read of the heat, the dust, the fat summer raindrops, the rose gardens in New Farm Park and memories flooded back of the hills and houses, of Jacarandas and the winding Brisbane River and I found myself becoming nostalgic for the scorching summers that I fled to Tasmania to escape.
This story is so beautifully and lovingly written that even now, hours after finishing the last page, thinking about it takes my breath away.
The story is engrossing, at times electrifying and almost heart stopping. What begins as a childish love story becomes a baffling mystery with a strong dose of pre-Fitzgerald Inquiry Queensland police corruption and politics.
My senses awakened as I read of the heat, the dust, the fat summer raindrops, the rose gardens in New Farm Park and memories flooded back of the hills and houses, of Jacarandas and the winding Brisbane River and I found myself becoming nostalgic for the scorching summers that I fled to Tasmania to escape.
This story is so beautifully and lovingly written that even now, hours after finishing the last page, thinking about it takes my breath away.
February 21, 2013
I first read this book six years ago and have revisited it several times since then. The book is brilliantly written and evokes feelings I had no idea I could experience through written word. I have read several of Venero's novels and all are fantastic and paint a very vivid picture. This book contains mystery, adolescent romance and tragedy and the ending is just magnificent. Upon finishing this book, you feel like you have just been punched in the gut, yet want to stand up and ask Armanno to do it all over again. Highly recommended, just like all of his other books. I don't typically like Australian writing (despite being Australian myself), but bravo to Armanno for being that needle in a haystack I have been looking for.
February 4, 2021
I originally read this book when I was in highschool, and spent a fair chunk of the last seventeen years tracking it down.
Much like the story of Sam and Gabriella, but mine had a much less bittersweet ending.
This is a lusciously written novel, with language that perfectly captures the feeling hot Brisbane summers, teenaged pain and angst, the moral quandaries and stupidity we encounter as we grow into adults, and eventually finding a sense of purpose and belonging.
This is a story that sticks with you, and makes you focus on the small delights in life. The wonderful moments that make us who we are and force us to be real.
Definitely a novel I'll not let go of.
Much like the story of Sam and Gabriella, but mine had a much less bittersweet ending.
This is a lusciously written novel, with language that perfectly captures the feeling hot Brisbane summers, teenaged pain and angst, the moral quandaries and stupidity we encounter as we grow into adults, and eventually finding a sense of purpose and belonging.
This is a story that sticks with you, and makes you focus on the small delights in life. The wonderful moments that make us who we are and force us to be real.
Definitely a novel I'll not let go of.
September 24, 2012
Being set in Brisbane, in places I am very familiar with, made this book even more of a good read for me. I remember those times so well and admire the way that Armanno wove reality bites about people, places and events through his writing making it vividly real.
June 8, 2012
Couldn't put this book down. Best book I've ever read.
April 18, 2013
boeiende roman met een vleugje misdaad, maar zeker niet de thriller waarmee hij wordt aangemerkt!
April 12, 2014
*groan* why did I persist???
November 21, 2017
loved it up untill the last chapters...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews