The Courtyard of Dreams

About the Book

This culturally rich first novel by Anna Monardo tells the story of seventeen-year-old Giulia Di Cuore, a first-generation Italian-American growing up in the 1960s. The young protagonist struggles with the old-world values of her father, who insists that she travel to Italy to visit her extended family. To her own surprise, Giula discovers there her place in the world as a daughter, as a woman and as an American.

"A novel of great beauty and perception."

—Pat Conroy

"An important novel which examines the metaphor of ocean crossings."

—Professor Teresa Picarazzi, University of Arizona

About the Author

Anna Monardo's work has been featured in numerous magazines and on NPR's Selected Shorts reading series. The Courtyard of Dreams has been translated into German, Norwegian and Danish. The author lives in Omaha, Nebraska, where she teaches at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.