What Once Was Promised

He came for a better life, but it didn't turn out to be an easy one.

Sixteen-year-old Domenic Bassini sets out alone for America from his small village in Italy in 1914. He falls in love during a brief onboard affair with the beautiful Francesca, the wife of a man with Sicilian Mafia connections. But he loses her and arrives in Boston instead with an orphan stowaway named Ernesto Lentini in tow.

Domenic and Ernesto stay at the home of old family friends in Boston's Italian North End neighborhood, sharing a room with their son, Joe. Domenic becomes like a big brother to Joe and Ernesto, who become inseparable friends.

As the years and decades pass, youthful rivalries and fateful decisions lead to unpredictable and sometimes unsavory outcomes. Between moments of joy and great tragedy, the three friends' lives take very divergent paths amidst the turbulence of factions vying for power in the early 20th century Boston where the lines between politics, crime and policing are blurred.

But after all that has kept them apart, can Domenic, Ernesto, Joe and even Francesca, come together to settle the score with those who have spent a lifetime fighting against them?

These book club questions are from the publisher, DartFrog.

Book club questions for What Once Was Promised by Louis Trubiano

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

How effectively does Trubiano depict early 20th-century Boston, particularly the Italian North End neighborhood, and weave real people and events into the story?

How do the early lives and experiences of the four main characters, Domenic, Ernie, Joe and Francesca, influence the divergent paths they follow as adults. How do their relationships evolve throughout the novel

What do you believe were the underlying reasons that caused the relationship between Dommy and Martha to sever even though they remained in love? Who was more at fault?

All the characters faced some great adversity over the course of the novel. Who do you believe was the most resilient and effective in dealing with their circumstances, and who failed? How does the novel explore the theme of resilience in the face of adversity?

Discuss the importance of family ties in the story. How do the characters' family relationships influence their actions and decisions? Do you consider Joe, Ernie and Domenic a family?

Discuss the complicated relationship Domenic and Ernie have a throughout the novel.

The main characters all manage to achieve some level of success in their new country -Francesca is a well-respected businessperson and philanthropist, Ernie becomes a high-ranking Mafia leader, Domenic becomes an electrician and foreman at the shipyard, Joe is a successful politician – but are any of them truly happy? Do success and happiness go hand-in-hand?

Compare and contrast the two main female characters, Francesca and Martha. Although from starkly different backgrounds do they show similar strengths? How are they most different? Discuss how each approaches their marriage.

How do the various competing factions in the city such as the Boston Mafia, Italian anarchists, Irish political dominance, and Brahmin discrimination, effect the characters’ abilities to adapt and assimilate? Who succeeds and who fails in dealing with the challenges they present?

Dommy’s inner conflicts and demons are exacerbated by the external conflicts he encounters. Do you think his response to these external circumstances would have been different had he been on more secure internal footing?

What moral and ethical dilemmas do the characters encounter throughout the novel?

Discuss the moral and ethical standards of each of the four main characters. Who exhibits the highest and who exhibits the lowest moral fiber? Each one must make compromises that run contrary to their natural values, but who compromises the most? Do you consider Ernie a good person, a bad person, or both.

How do the characters' choices reflect the broader societal issues of the time in Boston?

Are the actions taken when the characters come together in the end justified?

What Once Was Promised Book Club Questions PDF

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