The Schwa Was Here

The motif of food informs the novel’s themes of identity and family. To the Italian American Bonano family, food is a form of self-expression and love. Antsy knows that “I might go unnoticed, but never unfed”—unlike the Schwa (66). Food is an important part of the family heritage, and how the family thinks about themselves.

Antsy uses food from his Italian culture as a metaphor to describe his character and to characterize others. Antsy is the “Italian ham” in the uneasy recipe combination describing the triangular relationship between him, Lexie, and the Schwa. Ham carries the extra meaning of a playful jokester, or someone who wants attention, which also suits Antsy. He compares himself to flavorful “Italian gelato” in contrast to the Schwa, whose identity is bland, like sweet-cream ice cream. Food helps inform Antsy’s sense of self.

Food preparation is a source of contention in the family because it is central to Antsy’s parents’ identities, especially that of Mom. On the surface, Mom and Dad’s pivotal fight “was all about food”—who makes the best fra diavolo sauce—but Antsy realizes later it was more about Mom’s feeling that she needs to live as much for herself as for her family (105).