Sweet Pizza
G.R. Gemin
Nosy Crow
Sweet Pizza is Giancarlo Gemin’s second book. His first, the highly praised Cowgirl, won the Tir Na n-Og Award in 2015 and was nominated for many others. Giancarlo was born in Cardiff to Italian parents.
Sweet Pizza is about a South Wales valley café under threat; Joe’s mam is stuck in a rut – she’s down in the dumps, jaded by the daily grind and is beginning to accept that the café’s days are numbered. Her son Joe, however, has an entrepreneurial spirit like his immigrant ancestors; he is unwilling to accept that the café is a lost cause and has ideas to breathe new life into it and make it the centre of the community once more.
Maybe Joe’s mum is so weary because her dad (Joe’s Nonno) is so unwell – or maybe she’s tired of seeing the jobs, investment and soul being ripped from the valley. Joe is proud of his heritage, proud of his ancestors, and proud of the valley in which he lives.
Throughout the book, we learn more and more of how Joe’s family, like many other Italians in South Wales, came to settle in the area. Joe is getting his Nonno to record the family’s history before the inevitable happens.
The novel reads like a soap opera – a good soap opera, where you get a real insight into the family’s life, getting to grips with their relationships, their fears, their motivations, their triggers, their highs and lows. The characters are very real and you feel their frustrations as well as their joys.
There’s a lot of wit and humour in the book and I adored the depictions of the generous and charismatic people of the valley. The dialogue is full of verve and oomph – the valleys lilt and Italian-Wenglish dialects add to the appeal. More than anything, this book is a warm celebration of that diverse community, coming together to celebrate fellowship, identity and heritage.
Akin to home-cooked Italian food, the narrative is charming, comforting and made with love. But there is also great skill at work here – for something to appear so life affirming and tasty.