Olive Branches Don't Grow On Trees

I wanted to like this book because the storyline sounded interesting, but the lead character goes over the same problems in her head over and over and over. She tries too hard to get her family together, but it sounds like most of them can't even stand each other, so why bother? I forced myself to finish this book, but in hindsight, I wish I had listened to the other reviewers and moved on to another book.

I really enjoyed this story. The main character really came alive. I could see her and feel her happyness. Great book. I Look forward to the sequil, discovery of an eagle. A real talented woman the auther is.

Hilarious? ABSOLUTELY! Crazy characters? CHECK! Entertaining? From the FIRST to the LAST page! But it appears some readers didn't see the forest through the trees. Although this novel centers on making peace within one particular family, the valuable & insightful lessons revealed are relevant to our world at large! Don't get lost in the details see the big picture read this book & extend a few olive branches today! KUDOS to the author for reminding us we all need to practice forgiveness peace & love!

A sense of humor is a very subjective quality, and while the good reviews for this book advertised iit as highly amusing, I did not find it particularly funnyand only read about a third of it. It never "grabbed me".

Inspirating book on the different types of people who make up a family. Interesting how the author brought out the personality of each member and how easy it was to see what personality you fit into. Also defines all the struggles with a broken family and how to work things out.

Boy, I could not disagree more with these other reviews. Admittedly, I stopped reading about a third of the way through, but clearly I did not expect much of anything to change from there. Once she started babbling on and on and on about where she had moved, where she could move, why she moved, why she hated where she moved, why bother to move.... I decided why bother reading any more.

The title of the book made me laugh, so I had fairly high hopes going into it. And I'm not adverse to charmingly cranky supporting characters, nor do I mind dysfunctional family stories. Maybe I'm just too old anymore for lost-my-way, what-to-do, meanwhile-I'll-just-live-in-my-childhood-room points of view. I might have enjoyed getting to know the family members and found heartwarming tales therein, but couldn't get past the lost-in-youth ramblings.

I loved this book! The characters are funny, endearing and vividly portrayed. I was sad to come to the end of the story and I hope the author writes a sequel. I'm sure that anyone will be able to identify one or two family members from the plot. I highly recommend this book. I actually laughed out loud at some of the crazy family situations in this story. A fabulous first novel! Disclaimer: This is an honest review. I was in no way compensated for my review.

Ms Mattioli has a wonderful story to tell and tells it in a captivating and convincing manner. It's too bad she didn't choose to hire an editor. The enormity of errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure shouted at me so loudly that I often could not hear the story. Unfortunately, this will preclude me from opening the cover of another of her books

The typos in this book and page break errors where the same paragraph is repeated make this book unreadable. I can't tell you anything about the story, because I can't even understand it with all the typos.

The plot is very thin--and improbable. A family that is this dysfunctional--wouldn't be so easily persuaded. The ending is too abrupt and anticlimatic. One evening together and now everything is better????? Not very real or convincing.

I really, REALLY tried to finish this book but it was so depressing I simply could not continue reading. It may be naive of me, but I simply cannot comprehend the level of numbing dysfunction exhibited by every single character - grandmothers, mothers, fathers, children. How they remain upright and functioning is beyond me. Sylvia simply wants to escape her entire existence...ugghh. Sorry I bought it.

This book tries for some kind of meanignful introspection on family and relationships, but is just boring and lame. The protagonist is meant to be quirky and evoke reader empathy, but she is just whiny and annoying, and you can't seem to really care if she gets her family reunion *SPOILER ALERT*, which is the only plot point in the whole book, nothing else happens and this family and reunion are completely uninteresting. Skipped over pages so fast just so i could get to the end before deleting this from my kindle.

This sounded like a great book. Then I started reading it, as soon as I got to the part about the "Occupy Movement" I quickly realised that this book was going to be nothing but trash. Removed it from my device and will be wary of reading this author in the future.

Middle sister Sylvia is the voice through which we are introduced to the Greco family, your average, slightly dysfunctional Italian-American family, living in New Jersey.

The fascinating coup that Ms. Mattioli has achieved is causing us to deeply care about these people – Frank, the father, an alcoholic; Donna, his tired ex-wife; and the kids. Cosmo is the strong silent oldest son who dropped out of college after two years. He wishes he could be somewhere else, but does not seem to want change badly enough to do something about it. Vince, the younger brother, is very bright, planning to go to Berkeley to study sociology, not because it is far away, but because he believes it is the best place. “I can’t just stand by and watch the world continue to deteriorate the way it is.” He is a bit awkward, a teen almost an adult in this family. His father will help him financially. Angie is the adventurous sister, and you want to worry a little about her.

Sylvia, who had moved too many times, has her degree in art, and true to their ethnic heritage, her father did not help finance her education. She has moved from place to place, never really feeling at home. She gets a job in a candy store.

Sylvia grew up in a family where the father yelled, the mother kept quiet, and the kids tried to placate both. She is young enough and idealistic enough to believe that if she repairs her father, the family will reunite and live happily ever after, though when they were together they were not too happy. Mother Donna calls her to ask about Vince, though never about Sylvia’s life, and encourages Sylvia to help Frank. Sylvia manages to get Frank to go with her to an AA meeting and immediately imagines what is could be life to be the savior of their family.

Sylvia always has an escape plan. She will leave this bunch, move as far away as possible (again), and have a life of her own. She will be whoever she wants to be. In the meantime, the Grecos bump up against one another, with Uncle Nick, Frank's brother, as “advisor” to play interference. They will celebrate; they will continue to try to make a good life, and they will help one another. Perhaps they will make life happier.

Enjoy this book, then move through the continuing story with part 2 of the trilogy, Discovery of an Eagle. Grace Mattioli is a wonderful storyteller, who celebrates people like you and me.

Olive Branches Don't Grow On Trees

A truly enjoyable read, Olive Branches Don't Grow on Trees is perfect for a cozy evening snuggling under a blanket, blocking out the world. With several short fiction stories under her belt Grace turned her attention to writing a book hitting a home run for a debut novel.

Meet Silvia Greco, she is the epitome of a starving artist trying to find herself having spent the last few years shuffling from state to state and job to job. One of the main reasons Silvia is so misplaced is being part of a highly dysfunctional family. Her parents have separated due to her father's alcoholic tirades, and her siblings haven't spoken in years. Her biggest challenge yet in her 23 years is to successfully pull together the family to celebrate the graduation of her youngest brother Vince; an undertaking that could very well be impossible.

Grace Mattioli has filled the pages with likeable characters and with an underlying message that will have the seasoned of readers realizing olive branches really don't grow on trees but with the understanding and compassion we show to one another. The sequences of Silvia's recollections into the past with her strong willed, born ahead of her time grandmother, the jobs she has held, and lost as it were, are nothing short of brilliant. I found myself laughing at the thoughts Silvia's mind chews on and the situations she inevitably creates on the quest of bringing the family together. There isn't a point in the book that is slow. It's entertaining and a quick read that crosses genres and simply is a great way to unwind after a long day.

Bottom line, go buy the book, you will be glad you did.

Disclaimer: I was given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for my review.

There is a phrase, with its origins in The Bible, which sprang very much to mind as I was reading this book, which goes something along the lines of .. `the sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the sons'.

We have a storyline, totally character driven, which in itself isn't very far reaching for the wider community at large, revolves around the inter-personal relationships of a single family and features only a handful of characters, yet is highly emotionally charged and where every player in the saga has an important and pivotal role to play in the end game.

The writing itself is very perceptive and intuitive, creating some moments of powerful and intense dialogue, between the disparate members of this totally dysfunctional `family at war', both with each other and often with themselves. Occasionally, lighter, almost humorous moments, occur spontaneously, usually almost without the characters even realising it is happening and times like this, you feel there is almost hope for some kind of reconciliation and a `cease fire' in the feuding.

Each character is well drawn and defined, complex, with instantly recognisable traits and attitudes, evoking strong emotions as I was reading, but still leaving me with an overriding feeling of loss and sadness, as they all search for a sense of belonging.

I have often heard it said, that in a family with multiple children, the eldest and youngest are invariably and generally, in an unpremeditated way, the most cherished and cosseted, with the middle siblings often having to band together to make their voices heard. In the Greco family unit, this is definitely the case and seems to constitute a genuine, if unspoken, cause of some of their problems. As the eldest and a girl, Angie is still `Daddy's Little Angel' and Vince, as the youngest, is most definitely `Mummy's Little Darling'. Cosmo and the main protagonist in the story, his sister, Silvia are the stereotypical `middle' children, the lost voices and invisible bodies in the crowd and although not necessarily the closest emotionally, they have an unquestioning acceptance of one another, which leads to a calm and peaceful atmosphere whenever they are alone together.

There is just a basic lack of communication and interpersonal skills, when all of the family are together, which makes them even more divided and alone, as they watch their hopes and dreams disappear, with the worsening situation, as the family unit starts to disintegrate.

Both the Greco parents, Frank and Donna, have responsible and respectable careers, yet their private lives are shambolic and chaotic, which has resulted in their recent acrimonious separation. When we are given an insight into both their own individual childhood experiences and family life, in a moment of quiet reflection by Silvia, a greater understanding of the present situation between them, is immediately apparent. Unfortunately these same strong and not particularly attractive traits are reappearing in the present generation of Greco children, where once again, you only have to look to the parents for the apparent cause of the distress and animosity which prevails.

The four siblings each deal with their worsening sense of isolation, both from their parents and each other, in totally different, yet seemingly equally self-destructive ways.

Angie has decided that she needs to break all ties with her disparate family, both physically and emotionally and has married out of the situation, but is she truly happy with her contrived and lonely facade?

Cosmo lives his own life, in exactly the way he chooses, however in doing so, he has become almost insular and reclusive, which of course doesn't fit easily with his parents' perception as to what he should be like and doesn't appear to make him happy either.

Vince as the youngest, is the main pawn in Frank and Donna's game and he is pulled from pillar to post, as they both vie to decide his future, with both of them using Vince as the proverbial stick to beat each other with. His open and focused honesty is refreshing in this household, yet even he is on the point of admitting defeat in trying to keep what is left of his family together.

Silvia, the main protagonist in this war zone, is the artistic member of the family and possibly the most misunderstood of her parents offspring. She has lived a rather bohemian lifestyle, unable to settle to any career and constantly on the move from place to place. She does seem drawn back to home from time to time, although Frank maintains that this is only when her money runs out and she needs a roof over her head. To some extent I could see Frank's point of view, however I thought that basically Silvia was the one most affected by the family feuding and that when her mother charges Silvia with the job of bringing all the family together, in an attempt to instigate some kind of reconciliation, she is secretly rather pleased and keen to succeed. She does go to great lengths to cajole and persuade the individual members of the family, that they are each the single most important part of the equation and without them nothing will be possible. Silvia's increasing feeling of desperation, as plans start to fall apart around her ears, is touching and poignant, especially when, to her absolute horror, it is her mother who begins to revel in her new found independence and freedom, when she has hitherto been the rock and stabilising influence for Silvia. Eventually, through sheer determination and not a small amount of good luck, her mission comes to fruition, so on neutral territory and all seated around the table, small seeds of Silvia's success begin to take root, although it is only through the catalyst of the next generation, that the present day members of the Greco family, begin to really realise the futility of past battles and feuds. They come to a silent and tacit agreement about the future direction they should take, both collectively and as individuals and although it is apparent that "olive branches certainly don't grow on trees" and reconciliation has to be worked for and earned, their story just goes to show what can be achieved when you have at least one person who really wants to see change occur and can make inroads into convincing others to make an effort.

Grace's intimate knowledge of her subject shows in her frank and open style of writing, which invites the reader into the lives of the Greco family, as though they were long lost friends and therefore there is no need to stand on ceremony, or pretend that things are not just as they are.

The question raised now, is one of just how much our childhood experiences influence our adult lives ... is there a genuine genetic trait, which in some way devoids us of responsibility for our actions, or is this merely an excuse, making it all too easy to cite previous generations for own continued behavioural patterns ... Are `the sins of the father visited upon the sons', or do we have the power and potential to shape our own destiny?

An amazingly perceptive, cleanly written and well told story, marks Grace Mattioli's debut novel.

...

This book was a review copy, sent to me as a Kindle download by the author, Grace Mattioli and as such, was free of charge.

This in no way influenced any comments I may have expressed about the book, in any blog article I have posted. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.

I personally do not agree with `rating' a book, as the overall experience is all a matter of personal taste, which varies from reader to reader. However some review sites do demand a rating value, so when this review is posted to such a site, it will attract a 4 out of 5.

...

This is the perfect book for readers who love large Italian families and all the drama that surrounds them--This family puts the D in dysfunctional. The story was very enjoyable and dramatic, but it seemed there was some excess dialogue and side plots that just didn't move the story along quick enough for me, but that might just be me. I would recommend this story to readers who love large families that thrive on drama with a little conflict thrown in.
I received this book from the author and World Literary Cafe for an honest review.

Easy read. The setting happens to be the area where I live,so I enjoyed the local references. The characters each had their own issues and were easy to relate o. Readable for anyone who enjoys family drama books.

This is a compelling book about an average family struggling with an alcoholic father. Sometimes you just want to put it down and pray for the family. All the while, you were rooting for them to work it out.

If spelling, punctuation, grammar and parallel-structure errors interfere with your reading pleasure, think twice about tackling this book. It needs an extensive edit. This is a superficial treatment of a very serious subject with a contrived resolution that might work for a play or a movie, but not for a book. The plot is unrealistic, outlining deep, entrenched problems in a dysfunctional family but offering a simplistic solution.