Puzos classic story about the loves, crimes and struggles confronted by one family of New York City immigrants living in Hells Kitchen. Fresh from the farms in Italy, Lucia Santa struggles to hold her family together in a strange land. At turns poignant, comic and violent, The Fortunate Pilgrim is Italian-American fiction at its very best. The books hero, Lucia Santa, is an incredibly captivating character and based on Puzos very own mother - he describes, her wisdom, her ruthlessness, and her unconquerable love for her family and for life itself, qualities not valued in women at the time.