Looking for Alibrandi

by

Melina Marchetta

Nonno Francesco Character Analysis

Nonno was Josie’s tyrannical grandfather and Nonna’s husband; he passed away about 10 years prior to the start of the novel. He was 15 years older than Nonna when they married in Italy, and throughout their marriage, he was controlling and cruel to her. He decided to move them to Australia without consulting Nonna, and once in Australia, Nonna again had no choice as to where they settled down or what their lives looked like. Through the stories she tells Josie, Nonna implies that she didn’t think too much about Nonno’s poor treatment of her until she met the Australian man Marcus Sandford. Marcus, who was kind and gentle, made it clear to Nonna that Nonno treated her “like a farm animal,” especially when it came to sex. To make things even worse, when Nonna became pregnant with Marcus Sandford’s baby—Mama—Nonno revealed that he’d been lying to Nonna throughout their marriage. After having mumps as a child, Nonno knew he was infertile and couldn’t father children, so he beat Nonna for her transgression. But he agreed to raise Mama as his own, provided Nonna didn’t step out of line again. Mama grew up believing Nonno was her father, but she could never figure out why Nonno treated her so poorly. He kicked Mama out when she became pregnant with Josie and refused to meet Josie. Even though he’s been gone about a decade, Josie senses that Nonna is still afraid of Nonno.

Nonno Francesco Quotes in Looking for Alibrandi

The Looking for Alibrandi quotes below are all either spoken by Nonno Francesco or refer to Nonno Francesco. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

“Our circumstances are different, Josephine. I’ve never got on with her. When I was young she used to keep me at such a distance that I used to wonder what I could possibly have done wrong. My father was much worse and it was only after he died that she took a step toward me. By then I kept my distance. With you, it’s different. She’s always wanted to be close to you.”

Related Characters: Mama (speaker), Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi, Nonna Katia, Nonno Francesco, Marcus Sandford
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

“[Zio Ricardo] couldn’t take me in when I was pregnant with you. My father wouldn’t have let my mother see her sister again if he did. But he let Robert’s mother take me in, saying that he couldn’t govern who his daughter let into her house.” She looked pensive. “My father practically spat at me. Called me every name under the sun. A tramp, a slut. He hit me across the face and even hit my mother. Worse still, he never saw you, Josie. Never saw his own granddaughter. Tell me, what comes first? What other people think of your family, or love?”

Related Characters: Mama (speaker), Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi, Nonna Katia, Nonno Francesco, Zio Ricardo, Robert
Page Number: 235
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

I wonder about life if Nonna had married Marcus Sandford. If Mama had been Christina Sandford, daughter of Marcus Sandford, and not Christina Alibrandi, daughter of an Italian immigrant. Would life have been different for her? Would she have depended on Michael so much and would she have slept with him like she did, which was more out of loneliness caused by her parents than pressured sex?

Related Characters: Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi (speaker), Mama, Nonna Katia, Nonno Francesco, Marcus Sandford, Michael Andretti
Page Number: 261
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

“Oh, Jozzie, you still do not understand,” she sighed. “Could you imagine how life would be for me if I married Marcus? Could you imagine what life would be for my sister? People are cruel. They would make our lives hell. But mostly, Jozzie, tink of Christina. Back then, tink of the way my darling Christina would be treated. It is not like these times, Jozzie. She would have no one. No Australians, no Italians. People would spit at her and say she was nuting.”

Related Characters: Nonna Katia (speaker), Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi, Mama, Nonno Francesco, Marcus Sandford
Page Number: 264
Explanation and Analysis:
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Nonno Francesco Quotes in Looking for Alibrandi

The Looking for Alibrandi quotes below are all either spoken by Nonno Francesco or refer to Nonno Francesco. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

“Our circumstances are different, Josephine. I’ve never got on with her. When I was young she used to keep me at such a distance that I used to wonder what I could possibly have done wrong. My father was much worse and it was only after he died that she took a step toward me. By then I kept my distance. With you, it’s different. She’s always wanted to be close to you.”

Related Characters: Mama (speaker), Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi, Nonna Katia, Nonno Francesco, Marcus Sandford
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

“[Zio Ricardo] couldn’t take me in when I was pregnant with you. My father wouldn’t have let my mother see her sister again if he did. But he let Robert’s mother take me in, saying that he couldn’t govern who his daughter let into her house.” She looked pensive. “My father practically spat at me. Called me every name under the sun. A tramp, a slut. He hit me across the face and even hit my mother. Worse still, he never saw you, Josie. Never saw his own granddaughter. Tell me, what comes first? What other people think of your family, or love?”

Related Characters: Mama (speaker), Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi, Nonna Katia, Nonno Francesco, Zio Ricardo, Robert
Page Number: 235
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

I wonder about life if Nonna had married Marcus Sandford. If Mama had been Christina Sandford, daughter of Marcus Sandford, and not Christina Alibrandi, daughter of an Italian immigrant. Would life have been different for her? Would she have depended on Michael so much and would she have slept with him like she did, which was more out of loneliness caused by her parents than pressured sex?

Related Characters: Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi (speaker), Mama, Nonna Katia, Nonno Francesco, Marcus Sandford, Michael Andretti
Page Number: 261
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

“Oh, Jozzie, you still do not understand,” she sighed. “Could you imagine how life would be for me if I married Marcus? Could you imagine what life would be for my sister? People are cruel. They would make our lives hell. But mostly, Jozzie, tink of Christina. Back then, tink of the way my darling Christina would be treated. It is not like these times, Jozzie. She would have no one. No Australians, no Italians. People would spit at her and say she was nuting.”

Related Characters: Nonna Katia (speaker), Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi, Mama, Nonno Francesco, Marcus Sandford
Page Number: 264
Explanation and Analysis: