Christ in Concrete

Christ in Concrete is a 1939 novel by Pietro Di Donato about Italian-American construction workers. The book, which made Di Donato famous overnight, was originally published by Esquire Magazine as a short story in 1937, and subsequently expanded into a novel by the 28-year-old Di Donato.

The novel was inspired by the death of Di Donato's father in a construction accident on Good Friday in 1923. It tells the story of a bricklayer and his struggle to provide a home for his family.

As indicated by the title, the novel is noted for its rich religious imagery, presented in a largely modernist stream-of-consciousness style. It was adapted into a 1949 motion picture, Give Us This Day, directed by Edward Dmytryk. The movie's background, the director's Hollywood blacklisting, and subsequent debut of the film in England, is covered on the Di Donato website.