Writing in the New York Times Book Review in 1993, Gay Talese lamented the lack of "Italian-American Arthur Millers and Saul Bellows. James Baldwins and Toni Morrisons, Mary MCarthys and Mary Gordons, writing about their experiences." Camille Cusumano's first novel Camille Cannolt, begins to fill that gap. The Last Cannoli is a lively, fast-paced read in a voice that is fresh and powerful. It introduces the Donitella family, ordinary people with extraordinary tales to tell. Spanning four decades, the novel opens its mouth-watering tale in the '50s, when the father's ritual story-telling begins to take on the power of prayer amidst the cheerful cacophony of this large Sicilian-American family.