Author finds inspiration in writing novel about her immigrant family

Published: 2006-01-06

INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- Researching and writing about her Italian immigrant family helped New York author Carol Faenzi gain new perspectives on life. "I received insights about my own life as I was writing their story," Faenzi told The Criterion, Indianapolis archdiocesan newspaper. "Their bravery and courage showed me I could change my own life. It led me back to my faith and a newfound purpose." Her fictionalized account of her great-grandfather's journey from the famed marble quarries of Carrara, Italy, to America and his struggle to make a living and raise a family in Indianapolis is titled "The Stonecutter's Aria" -- a tribute to her immigrant ancestor's occupation and his operatic tenor voice. The title also reflects the unique form of the story, narrated in the first person as a three-act opera in which the great-grandfather's spirit reaches out to the author and draws her back in time, with various other actors in the four-generation drama appearing on stage and fleshing out the narrative.

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