July 2020: Adriana Trigiani

We'll be kicking off July with an author I don't believe we've discussed in this space before -- Adriana Trigiani. What, if anything, have you read by this author before? What do you plan to read in July?

My grandmother loved this author so I had decided to try her also. The first book I read was The Shoemaker's Wife, which I was so not a fan of at all. However, it's been so long since I read it that I don't recall what in particular I did not like about it.

Probably would have never picked up another book by Trigiani after that but my face-to-face book club choose All the Stars in the Heavens at one point, which I absolutely loved. It was a historical fiction novel based on the real-life Hollywood star Loretta Young. Very interesting read and I ended up looking into a lot of history as a result.

So like I said when Trigiani was nominated, seems I have a 50-50 shot of liking whatever book by her that I pick for this month! Any recommendations??

I've read most of her books. I really liked Lucia, Lucia and The Queen Of the Big Time.

I think her most popular is probably the series which begins with Big Stone Gap.

I actually liked The Shoemaker's Wife more than All the Stars In the Heavens

>3 BookConcierge: Hmm, okay. Thanks for the titles.

i didn't realize that big stone gap was part of a series. i've got that one, though...

It's been a while since I read one of her books, but I do remember enjoying them. They are good brain candy if you want something light and happy.

I cannot believe it, but it's already unofficially July. What is everyone reading this month?

Through my library, I found a digital audiobook version of Very Valentine so I hope to start that soon. Amazing how even with the extra time at home, there's still so much to read/watch/listen to that I never have enough time for it all!

I read The Shoemaker's Wife and I loved it. I particularly liked the nostalgic feeling that I got when I read it; although I did not live during that time. My favorite part was when one of the main characters worked at the Met as a seamstress for Enrico Caruso.

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Tess ... I gave The Shoemaker's Wife to a friend, whose husband was a cobbler. She loved it as well!

>9 Tess_W:, >10 BookConcierge: As I mentioned earlier, I didn't love The Shoemaker's Wife when I read it but it's been so long that I don't remember WHY it didn't sit right with me. But the book I'm reading now Very Valentine also deals with a shoemaker, although it's set in the modern day (sometime in the 2000s). Another funny coincidence is that two of the characters in this book talk about Clark Gable and Loretta Young in passing, who are then the main characters of Trigiani's All the Stars in the Heavens, the only other book I read by her before this.

Tonight I finished Tony's Wife, which I *think* is one of Adriana Trigiani's most recent books. In some ways it was very compelling and readable and other ways not. I think it comes down to that I liked one of the main characters a lot but the other main character went from meh to terrible in my opinion. So it was hard to care about parts of the story when I didn't care for the character. I found myself very frustrated with the other character as a result and felt that she deserved better. But perhaps that arguably means that Trigiani wrote a very gripping story because I felt so strongly about both characters, just in different ways. The pacing was a little off here and there -- long descriptions of someone's clothes for instance and then the barest mention of a marriage, divorce, or birth -- but overall the writing was decent. At some point I'll try to write a better review that sorts out my thoughts more coherently.

>12 sweetiegherkin: Here is my somewhat more coherent review of Tony's Wife: https://www.librarything.com/work/21434751/reviews/191305600