The Goddess in Love with a Horse — Eugene Mirabelli

The Goddess in Love with a Horse (And What Happened Next) is about two entangled families one from the island of Sicily and the other from Calabria (the toe of the Italian boot) who immigrate to Boston where they marry and infuse their startling heritage into the New England culture. It begins like this -

The first time Ava saw Angelo naked was on their wedding night (11 May 1860) when he strode into their bedÂÃ,¬room, accidentally revealing to her startled eyes that from the waist down he had the hindquarters of a stallion.

So you know this is no ordinary novel. As prize-winning author Nicholas Delbanco says, "This book is a delight from first to final page. The Goddess in Love with a Horse marries the long reach of history to the present moment, the real to the surreal, the romantic to the workaday world--and does so with great grace throughout. Eugene Mirabelli crosses the Atlantic by sea and air and on a magic carpet woven out of language; his wit and passionate brio can transport us all. " Or, in the words of author and critic Albert DiBartolomeo "This is a book whose pages, glowing with sensuality, warmth, and a palpable sweetness, provide one delight after another. The Goddess in Love with a Horse is a joy to read.