All This Talk Of Love by Chris Castellani–339 pages
Book Blurb:
It’s been fifty years since Antonio Grasso married Maddalena and brought her to America. That was the last time she would ever see her parents, her sisters and brothers—everything she knew and loved in the village of Santa Cecilia, Italy. She locked those memories away, as if Santa Cecilia stopped existing the very day she left. Now, with children and grandchildren of her own, a successful family-run restaurant, and enough daily drama at home, Maddalena sees no need to open the door to the past and let the emotional baggage and unmended rifts of another life spill out. But Prima, Antonio and Maddalena’s American-born daughter, was raised on the lore of the Old Country. And as she sees her parents aging, she hatches the idea to take the entire family back to Italy—hoping to reunite Maddalena with her estranged sister and let her parents see their homeland one last time. It is an idea that threatens to tear the Grasso family apart, until fate deals them some unwelcome surprises and their journey home becomes a necessary voyage.
My Review: 3 stars
This book was a random pick that I selected based on reviews of others on Goodreads. Although I liked the book, I was in the minority with my 3 star review. Shortly after I began reading, I realized that this was the third book in a trilogy about the Grasso family and I had actually read the first one in 2005, A Kiss From Maddalena. I began to remember the characters and really enjoyed revisiting with some of them. For me though, this author took on too many subjects that were left dangling and without closure. Homosexuality, abortion, underage drinking, poor sexual conduct, mourning, family business succession and Alzheimer’s were all there, yet not “there” enough. I felt many areas were repetitive and for me, that was annoying yet I had no problem finishing the book because I was interested enough in the storyline.
Quotes I liked:
“A mother is never is never at peace. It’s the price you have to pay and it’s worth it.”
– “…he’s reminded what a fool’s paradise more has turned out to be. More is never enough.”
– “Once something beautiful unfolds before you, isn’t it human nature to replay the moment over and over, take it like a drug when you need it.”
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