Looking for Alibrandi: Chapter 25 Summary & Analysis

Josie is confused, angry, and disoriented after what happened today at Mama’s birthday party. She tells the story of what happened: Josie is at Nonna’s with about 10 other family members. Josie’s cousins and Zia Patrizia argue and joke about when Nonna and Nonno must’ve conceived Mama. Nonna would’ve gotten pregnant around Christmastime, and Zia Patrizia says that’s proof that Nonno was a secret romantic—he was working up north at the time, so he would’ve had to come home a few weekends to see Nonna. Josie laughs with everyone else and then suddenly stops. Everyone else is still laughing and joking, but Josie notices that Nonna isn’t.

Josie stays after the party and watches Mama leave. Mama is gorgeous and seems to glow—Josie believes that Mama deserves everything. After she’s gone, though, Josie turns on Nonna and calls her a liar. Josie says that Nonna has policed the family’s conduct for years and even kicked Mama out when Mama got pregnant—and yet, Nonna slept with Marcus Sandford. Nonna goes white, but Josie says she knows it's true. Nonna told Josie herself that she was alone for four months in the summer, over Christmas. Mama couldn’t have been conceived on New Year’s Day with Nonno away.

Nonna sobs that Mama was premature, but Josie notes that Mama was nine and a half pounds at birth. Josie shouts that Nonna had nerve to kick Mama out when Nonna slept with Marcus as a married woman. And Nonna always goes on about how Australians don’t understand Italians and warns Josie not to get involved with them. By this point, Nonna is crying. Josie desperately wants her to say that Nonno did come home to conceive Mama, but Nonna says nothing. Josie shouts that she hates Nonna for what she did to Mama and from this point forward, she’s never visiting unless Mama comes too. And Josie threatens to tell Mama the truth if Nonna complains. Nonna begs Josie not to tell.

Josie pushes past Nonna and runs outside. She’s not totally sure why she hates Nonna and Marcus, especially since she once thought their story was romantic. But she realizes now that while their romance seems like a myth, Mama’s life was real. She grew up with Nonno hating her for Nonna’s transgression. Josie wonders what her life would’ve been like had Nonna married Marcus. Would Mama have not slept with Michael out of loneliness?

Suddenly, Josie’s illegitimacy seems insignificant compared to Nonna and Marcus’s affair. She knows if people were to find out, the family would be ruined. Josie suddenly doesn’t want to be rich and famous. She wants to be normal. But this is impossible: Nonna, Mama, and Josie are all living lies.