The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Copyright 2012

Harper - Fiction/Historical

468 pp.

I read The Queen of the Big Time in March of 2006 (pre-blogging by three months) so I can't go back to read my thoughts, although I know I disliked it enough to avoid Trigiani's books for 6 years. However, the storyline of The Shoemaker's Wife sounded so rich and appealing that I decided I had to give Trigiani a second chance.

The book turned out to be a "thumbs up," overall, although there were occasional irritations. I'm going to go for the seriously-casual summary method on this one.

Ciro and his brother Eduardo are left at a convent in the Italian Alps when their widowed mother can no longer care for them. She advises them to do more than the nuns tell them to do so that their presence will be more valuable than the cost of their care and promises to come back when she can.

Enza is the eldest daughter in a family living just a few miles away, up the mountains. Enza works hard to help her family, loves them deeply and feels an obligation to help provide for them.

When Ciro and Enza meet, she is touched by his kindness and he is impressed by her beauty and strength. Things are ticking along just fine when Ciro catches the priest doing something naughty and has to run to America to save his hide (because the priest is such an influential man). Around the same time, Enza's family gets into a financial bind that forces Enza and her father to travel to prosperous America in search of work.

Ciro and Enza do the proverbial "ships passing in the night" thing for years -- Enza always convinced that Ciro likes someone else better and Ciro busy sowing his oats but secretly mooning over her because she's totally hot, deeply genuine and a warm reminder of home. Will they ever end up together, for crying out loud? Or do we have to wade through similes about the stars looking like pinpricks in velvet or scattered diamonds or dazzling glitter till the cows come home?

What I loved about The Shoemaker's Wife:

I was expecting a several-generation family saga, for some reason (fortunately, I never remember exactly what I've read in those blurbs when I sit down to read a book -- I like to go into the reading knowing as little as possible), and that baffled me when I got to around page 200 or so but it turned out not to matter. As expected, The Shoemaker's Wife is a rich and meaty story -- maybe a little too rich, but we'll get to that in a minute. The characters are splendidly well-developed, flawed in ways that are genuinely believable, and the dialogue has a realistic feel, for the most part. If I hadn't loved Ciro and Enza, the nuns and Enza's family, I don't know if I'd have lasted 468 pages' worth, but they made it worth hanging in there through the dreary middle.

I also particularly loved the scenes that were set in Italy and the way the story came full circle. And, I adored this line, advice from Eduardo to Ciro that he didn't understand until later in life:

Beware the things of this world that can mean everything or nothing.

It took me a while to figure that out, myself. Trigiani had to help me a little.

What I disliked about The Shoemaker's Wife:

Great story or not, The Shoemaker's Wife is way the heck too long; it could have easily been cut by at least 100 pages, in my humble opinion. Now, this is coming from a gal who does tend to like fairly spare writing, but man . . . we're talking simile and adjective avalanche. At one point, I was so exhausted by the wordiness that I whined to Facebook friends that it was making my eyes burn and my hair fall out and I was starting to hate my favorite color (green -- Adriana Trigiani apparently is crazy about the color green). My friends humored me very nicely, although two of them are deeply devoted to Trigiani. It's a great read -- don't get me wrong! But, people who are burdened by "editor brain" from years of editing down their own work may be tempted to break out a red pen, just for fun.

Another thing that bugged me was the occasional comment that I thought was remarkably silly, like:

A man who needs a mirror is looking for something.

Geez, or maybe a man who needs a mirror cares about having tidy hair, wants to make sure his shirts aren't off by a button or doesn't want to cut himself shaving?

She also frequently remarked that Ciro, being a sturdily built and tall man, was obviously built to be a leader. Yes, it's true that there's a psychological effect that leads people to look to tall people as leaders, but height truly has nothing whatsoever to do with true leadership ability. There are certainly some prime examples of short but powerful people within the book blogging world.

The bottom line:

Recommended to people who absolutely love to sink into a big, wordy family saga. Beautifully crafted characters, believable dialogue, settings so vivid you feel like you could reach out and touch them and a sweet romance make this book enjoyable. If you prefer spare writing, this may not be the book for you. I was in the mood for chunky historical fiction and I still managed to stall around page 300, but I'm glad I decided to hang in there and finish reading.

A friend hit the sagging middle just as I was finishing The Shoemaker's Wife and I encouraged her to stick it out. She felt the same way I did -- it's too long, but worth persevering to the end. I will not ever be a gushy fan of Trigiani, but I'm glad I decided to give her a second chance.

Cover thoughts - I don't think of Enza quite like that cover image (she's really very down-to-earth) but she does become a seamstress at an opera house and the image fits the drama of the opera house and the fancy costumes. Plus, it's gorgeous. Love the color explosion!

Completely forgot to mention that I love Trigiani's sense of humor. Here are two lines that made me smile:

"Please don't turn into the wife that chases her husband with a broom."

"Monsignor Schiffer already dropped off a vial of holy water from Lourdes. Only a German priest would bring an Italian French holy water," Ciro joked.

Also, now I really, really, really want to go to Italy. Husband has unfairly gone without me twice. This is one of my favorite photos from his last visit:

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

A Good American by Alex George

After an hour or so, Frederick sat down on a bench and rested. He was thirsty, and hot. He wiped his brow and thought about returning to the hotel. Just then, the sound of a cornet floated through the air. This was not the sort of dry fugue that echoed through Hanover concert halls. The instrument had been unshackled: it spiraled upward, a whirlwind of graceful elision and complex melody. The music streaked into the night, every note dripping with joy. He stood up and followed the sound.

~p. 23 of Advance Reader's Copy: A Good American [Some changes may have been made to the final print version]

Here's a new way to find a book. I started reading the buzz about A Good American by Alex George in late fall of 2011 and was particularly interested in the fact that the characters' immigrant story bears some remarkable similarities to my own family's history. But, it was the author's graciousness (discovered via various tweets) that captured me. I wanted to know more about his book simply because he seemed like such a nice guy. Authors, put that in your pipe and smoke it. Being nice can get you some attention. In my case, I got lucky and managed to snag an advance reader, although I had already added the book to my wish list well before the opportunity to acquire a review copy presented itself.

It's been a month since I read A Good American, but no worries about the time delay between reading and reviewing. A Good American is the kind of family saga that sticks to your ribs like a well-balanced meal.

In early 20th-century Prussia, Jette's parents have pretty much given up hope of ever marrying off their daughter till Frederick woos her with his beautiful voice and kind spirit. But, Jette's family will never approve of Frederick and eventually the couple has no choice but to run away. Jette steals a small family heirloom and Frederick is forced to leave with nothing but the clothing on his back as they set off for America.

So begins the story of the Meisenheimer family, narrated by James Meisenheimer, Jette and Frederick's grandson. From Frederick and Jette's journey to New Orleans to the generations that follow in Beatrice, Missouri, A Good American tells the story of a music- and food-loving immigrant American family through births and deaths, challenges and joys.

What I loved about A Good American:

Besides the fact that A Good American is a well-written book, I absolutely adore all the references to music and the gradual changes in the bar/restaurant that the family works in, eventually owns, then passes on through three generations. The changes in the restaurant and the descriptions of food are all believable and add interest to this family saga.

Alex George's writing is lovely, intelligent writing.

He gazed up at the sky, so different from home. In Europe the stars hunkered down low across the night, dull and pendulous. Here, though, the heavens were filled with a million dazzling celestial bodies, each one casually brushing up to infinity.

"I could get to like this place," he said.

~p. 47

I also thought the author did a good job of handling the accent of a black character from New Orleans. The tendency of most non-native writers is to overdo Southern accents of any kind, heavily emphasizing tricky dialect that can vary dramatically from one Southern region or city to the next. The author kept his Southern character's dialogue subtle. I thought the skill with which the author handled those bits of Southern dialogue was particularly amazing given the fact that the author is British.

What I disliked about A Good American:

The last 75 pages or so were weaker than the rest of the book, in my humble opinion, but that may be partly because I enjoyed reading about the earlier time period more than the modern. Once we got to the narrator's story of his own life, it also became a little bit more "coming of age" and less a family saga -- just a little. I really dislike "coming of age" stories, so the historical parts won me over and the latter bit lost me a little. But that is, as I said, a personal preference. I did like the way the book ended.

Otherwise, the only thing that really jumped out at me was that too many people died. There came a point that I felt like the deaths were starting to stand out; they began to feel like plot points.

The bottom line:

A well-written novel with a charming emphasis on food and music, recommended particularly to those who love family sagas but also a rocking fine novel for just about anyone. There are some brief scenes of graphic violence and a bit of the coming-of-age type of sexual stuff, but nothing that will warp your kid for life if he or she happens to pick up your copy (this is adult fiction, not YA, in case that sentence is misleading).

You can follow Alex George on his Facebook author page or visit Alex George's website to learn more about A Good American and the author (who will become an American citizen, soon). A Good American is getting a tremendous amount of attention. It's the #1 Indie Next Pick for February, has been listed on Oprah.com as one of February's "Books to Watch For," and is being touted as one of the "best books of the month" on Amazon. Wow! That's some major attention.

Mr. George just happens to hail from one of my favorite towns in England. We stopped through Marlborough, last year, and ate here:

Definitely a place worth stopping, if you ever happen to find yourself in Wiltshire.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.