Linda Decicco

The Fig and the Flower Linda Decicco

Immigrant stories abound in American literature, as we - the fortunate sons and daughters - document our family histories. The struggles and successes of those who arrived celebrate the American experience. But what of those left behind? What of those families torn asunder and separated by an ocean? What lies on the other side of the Promised Land? Such questions are addressed in The Fig and the Flower. At Ellis Island, people directed to the center staircase were sent back to the life they had intended to leave forever. The stairs to the left led to ferryboats to New York City; to the right, to rail stations to other American cities. But those sent to the center staircase were detained for reasons of insanity or sickness or politics, and they were more than likely deported. What became of those families separated at Ellis Island? What happened to the brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers who were denied passage through those portals at the Statue of Liberty? This novel attempts to tell the story of one such family in the early 1900s. Two sisters from Italy are separated when one is tested positive for trachoma, an infectious eye disease that was one of the leading causes for deportation.