Review: Eat Now; Talk Later by James Vescovi

Title: Eat Now; Talk Later
Author: James Vescovi
Format: Ebook
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Publish Date: May 1, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the author; however, this did not affect my review.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Prepare yourself for a feast consumed in delicious bites. Stories in this collection can be read before bed, on a lunch hour, or waiting in line. They can even be shared with friends who complain they have enough to read. Together they ask the question, “How do you make modern life run smoothly for parents or grandparents who grew up when oxen were used for plowing, children left school after third grade to tend chickens, and meat was eaten only on religious holidays?

When Tony and Desolina Vescovi arrived in America,they collided with the 20th century. Born around 1900, they were stumped by telephones, banks, fast food, TV wrestling, and supermarkets. It was up to their only child, a son, to serve as their shepherd, and it wasn’t easy For example, how to explain that his job was taking him and his family 700 miles away when, in their day, sons stayed put to work the family farm? Or that it wasn’t wise to hide $10,000 in the bedroom? Or that the ice cream they just tried and enjoyed is called ‘Chubby Hubby’?"

My Two Cents:

"Eat Now; Talk Later" is a family memoir that James Vescovi wrote with his beloved grandparents at the center of it. These stories are bite size and many of them are only a few pages along. This would be a great book to consume a little bit at a time and really savor the stories (if you can help it and not devour it like I did). Because the stories are so short and really good, I kept saying to myself "Just one more" and would end up reading at least three more. No. Self. Control. If you like warm family stories and short stories, this would be a great pick for you.

I have a fascination with immigrant families. My own family has only been in the States since the 20th century for the most part and I love reading about families that came here with nothing and through a lot of hard work and in this case, a lot of family support are able to do some really wonderful things. You definitely get a sense of Vescovi's grandparents and how brave they must have been in order to give up some place so familiar in order to come to the States.

Perhaps you could tell from the cover but if you couldn't, the family at the center of the book is Italian and that, of course, means a ton of yummy food. The book even includes a couple family recipes at the back of the book, which was a touch that I really enjoyed. Another special touch is the family pictures that the author included!

And while this did not affect my review, I have to tell you all how much I like the cover of this book. It is really cute and definitely captures the title as well as all of the big family meals that appear in the book. This is a great cover!