The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani– 475 pages
Book Blurb:
The majestic and haunting beauty of the Italian Alps is the setting of the first meeting of Enza, a practical beauty, and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who meet as teenagers, despite growing up in villages just a few miles apart. At the turn of the last century, when Ciro catches the local priest in a scandal, he is banished from his village and sent to hide in America as an apprentice to a shoemaker in Little Italy. Without explanation, he leaves a bereft Enza behind. Soon, Enza’s family faces disaster and she, too, is forced to go to America with her father to secure their future.
Unbeknownst to one another, they both build fledgling lives in America, Ciro masters shoemaking and Enza takes a factory job in Hoboken until fate intervenes and reunites them. But it is too late: Ciro has volunteered to serve in World War I and Enza, determined to forge a life without him, begins her impressive career as a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera House that will sweep her into the glamorous salons of Manhattan and into the life of the international singing sensation, Enrico Caruso.
From the stately mansions of Carnegie Hill, to the cobblestone streets of Little Italy, over the perilous cliffs of northern Italy, to the white-capped lakes of northern Minnesota, these star-crossed lovers meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever.
My Review: 3.5
Imagine being on vacation and you’ve finished the books you’ve lugged along and your brand new kindle that you bought solely for vacation has been hijacked by your daughter so it’s up to you to find a book at grandma’s house that you haven’t read. You find The Shoemaker’s Wife; yep, that happened. I’d heard of this book and this author, yet had never read any of her work. I know she’s well known for her Big Stone Gap series. This book has incredible imagery, and endless descriptive paragraphs of every location the characters found themselves. At first I found this breathtaking as I felt the brisk cold at the Alps and could imagine their sparkling and pristine snow tops. After a while, however, I felt it was just too much and I would have preferred a more character driven or plot driven storyline.
I suppose most readers would find this book somewhat predictable although equally enjoyable. Who can’t resist a star-crossed romance?
I thoroughly enjoyed the brothers’ relationship with the nuns and how each of them found their unique callings under their tutelage, warmth and love. Their mother is still a mystery to me and I wish the author delved more into her past so we could further understand her “illness”. Good historical beach read with an enduring romance and a plus that it’s loosely based on the love story of the author’s grandparents.
Quotes I liked:
A man who needs a mirror is looking for something.”
– “A woman chooses a man she thinks she deserves. And then she sets out to change him to suit herself.”
– “Enza realized that a grateful person was a happy one.”
-“When you lose someone, they take a bigger place in your heart, not a smaller one. Every day it grows, because you don’t stop loving them. You wish you could talk to them. You need their advice. But life doesn’t always give us what we need, and it’s difficult.”
-“Moments are history. If you have enough of them, they become a story.”
-“It’s the secret to happiness, you know. Only take what you need.”
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I read this a LONG time ago, but still remember it being one of my favorites. It was so nice being swept up in a multi-generational novel that I could share with my 80+ year old mom. Really great.
It’s the best when we can share books among the generations. Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent read, all of her books.
yes! agreed!