Vincent N. Parrillo

Guardians of the Gate by Vincent N. Parillo is a historical fiction novel about Ellis Island between 1893 and 1902 as immigration to the United States increases, particularly from Italy and other non-northern European nations. Dr. Matt Stafford and his wife have moved to New York City and are living the high life with a very busy social calendar as he works at Presbyterian Hospital. After losing a child in a miscarriage, their relationship fractured as each seeks satisfaction in life through different means — Peg through social activities and Matt through his job as a surgeon and ultimately as a doctor at Ellis Island. Stafford is a likeable doctor and clearly cares about his patients and learning different languages and cultures, but his morals bend when away from his wife, who has an incurable ailment.

Meanwhile, nearly half of the book is spent with Ellis Island’s lead administrator Dr. Joseph Senner, whose heavy handed management style rubs personnel the wrong way, but endears him to his kindred German immigrants. Senner expresses his concerns about the operations at Ellis Island openly and sets about making changes. Senner is aloof and his German accent remains thick, even after 13 years in America. Parillo’s adherence to the use of “v” rather than “w” and other typical German-American accented English words continue to pull the reader out of the story and could have been phased out early on after the cadence had been well established.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/06/guardians-of-the-gate-by-vincent-n-parrillo....… (más)