Giuseppe Rocco

In a penetrating look at our national myth of rags-to-riches success Ronald Ruiz tells the gripping the rise, unification and decline of two very American families named Rocco and Martinez. Giuseppe Rocco, an Italian immigrant, raises himself from nothing to improbable wealth and political influence in northern California through his self-made scavenger business and a series of shrewd land investments. Rocco's money and power allow him to possess a bride of high birth and breeding. Although to her he will never be more than a garbage collector, it is through their loveless marriage that Giuseppe Rocco becomes the patriarch of a dynasty of three sons. Thirteen-year-old Sally Martinez abruptly becomes the matriarch of her family of six younger brothers and sisters when their drug-addicted mother disappears. Over the next several years, Sally manages to keep her family fed, clothed and unbroken through a steely determination equal to that of Giuseppe Rocco. When 19-year-old Sally elopes with 18-year-old Joey Rocco, Giuseppe's oldest son, Rocco's world undergoes a subtle change. But only as he gradually recognizes his daughter-in-law's considerable strengths does he begin to see her as a means to perpetuate his empire. The result is a subtle recasting of America's Horatio Alger myth by "a talented, painstaking and intelligent writer" (The Houston Post).