Sebastiano’s Vine

Sebastiano’s Vine is both a gritty urban story and a fresh re-telling of the immigrant experience. The novella moves back and forth in time as Michael Filo seeks to understand himself, revisits his childhood betrayal and guilt, and the curse of an ancient family wine made from a discovered grape in a once forgotten patch of land. The wine, the history of his family, the city of Winnipeg in the 60’s, and the large social forces of history (the Winnipeg General strike of 1919, the Calbarian earthquake of 1783, The Second World War) intermingle with the small gestures of family life as Michael seeks to understand his troubled past and lost love for Licia. Composed like a mosaic, the individual tiles or scenes come together to create a moving mediation on family, friendship and love, and a humorous retelling of history.