An American Story: Pietro DiDonato’s «Christ in Concrete»

This text closely examines Pietro DiDonato’s classic novel Christ in Concrete from an historical, sociological and literary perspective. Louise Napolitano examines Christ in Concrete (1939) as a chronicle of the experience of Italian immigrants in the United States during the twenties and early thirties. The literary analysis involves a thematic and stylistic study, focusing on the work’s modern, realistic, naturalistic, romantic and classic qualities. In addition, this study places Christ in Concrete in both the American as well as the Italian American literary tradition.