Published as a posthumous homage to the legendary writer and translator Norman Thomas di Giovanni, this design collection encompases some of his most beloved works of fiction, including What About Reb, Tillie and the Tailor and A Painful Duty. Each story capturing life in the Italian North End of Boston during mid-20th century, where family, religion and food are of equal importance.

What About Reb follows a young man who after receiving his call-up papers to fight in Korea tries to find a way to fulfil his duty while staying true to his father's anarchist spirit. Tillie and the Tailor, tells the story of a young man who sets out from the family home to become a writer, based on the author’s own experiences. His last book, A Painful Duty, features a series of short stories written as a tribute to the workers, laborers, drunks, women running family homes and children playing in the streets that Di Giovanni grew up with.

Direct observation and personal experiences are the backbone of Di Giovanni’s stories. Surrounded by the sights, smells and sounds of a busy city suburb, he writes sketches of local history and of the many characters who populate his life. Using images sourced from mid-20th century advertising and reproduced using stock photography, each of the cover designs display literal vignettes that capture glimpses of the world the author frames out of his own reminiscences and personal experiences.