Memories and feelings from his years growing up in Buffalo River were the inspiration for Moreno Giovannoni's new book, 'The Immigrants'. The follow-up to his well-received debut 'The Fireflies of Autumn', which focused on the Tuscan village of San Ginese, Moreno's second title - subtitled 'Fabula Mirabilis, or, a Wonderful Story' - draws on the experiences of his family and the Italian community who lived in the Alpine region in the 1960s. However, Moreno stresses in the author's note at the start of the book, which uses fictional place names like Bafaloriva, Mitrefo and Monbafalo, that "it is told as I remember it, and it is therefore imperfect but nevertheless true". "I have not written a memoir, but simply a story based principally on memories of my childhood and youth in places that resembled the one where I grew up." Moreno, who spent time in Yackandandah while in the throes of writing the book, will be back in the region next month to speak about his new release at the Myrtleford Library from 2pm on 13 August and the Wangaratta Library from 6.30pm on 14 August - both visits hosted by Edgars Books and News. It will be a chance for locals - some of whom perhaps share Moreno's experiences - to hear about a book which has drawn positive reviews since its release on July 1. "One element that comes through in the reviews is that readers can feel the love for the people and places I'm writing about, and that's true; I feel I'm sticking up for them," he said. Moreno agrees that 'The Immigrants' is a 'warts-and-all' reflection on the life of immigrants to the North East in the '60s. "It may read like a memoir, but if I had done a proper memoir, I would have had to do more research; this is based on what I remember, on the work, on families and on moments of community, such as mass on Sunday, visiting the Golden Valley Café in Myrtleford, and going to the Italian cinema," he said. "I've tried to humanise it a bit through as much as I can remember about my family, and have put mention of the work in there as not many people can tell you about the work done in a tobacco paddock. "I also wanted to cover that idea of immigrating for a better life; if you asked many people why they came to Australia, it would be that they came for a better life. "But what if it isn't a better life? People don't talk about that. "I've tried to balance the sadness and tragedies with the celebrations, such as the hops and tobacco festival and the tobacco shed dances. "There is not just one story about migrants - everybody has their own story." Moreno had always wanted to be a writer, but instead carved out a career as a translator and interpreter before writing 'The Fireflies of Autumn', which was released in 2018. He said he had always been an observer of life. "I always liked to be one step behind everyone else and observing them, reporting on them and thinking about what they were doing," he said. "I got my dad to buy me a typewriter when I was 12 and sat up in the kitchen in Buffalo River writing little stories. Observing is something I've always done. "It was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to write a book one day, but as so often happens, life got in the way. "When the kids grew up and our mortgage was paid off, I thought, 'Why not?', so I wrote my first book." 'The Fireflies of Autumn' was the inaugural winner of the Deborah Cass Prize in 2015, and was picked up by Black Inc. Books, which has also published 'The Immigrants', a book which was Moreno's pandemic project. "Towards the end of writing it, I was stuck and didn't know how to push the story forward, so I rented a house in Yackandandah, took my two boxes of notes with me, and worked to get it done." Moreno said he had in mind how he would begin and end the story, the dramatic first chapter being drawn from his research in the state archives and forming one of seven 'grotesques' in the book, and the conclusion part of a short story reflecting on his boyhood, which had been published in a literary magazine in 2012. He is now working on his third book, expected to focus on his late teens, which he envisions forming the conclusion in a trilogy. In his unique storytelling style, Moreno has produced a book which will attract plenty of local interest among those with connections to the region's migrant experience. If you would like to hear Moreno speak about 'The Immigrants' and his writing process, book your place at either the Myrtleford or Wangaratta library by visiting either https://events.humanitix.com/moreno-giovannoni-myrtleford-event or https://events.humanitix.com/moreno-giovannoni-wangaratta-event
