This author is very special. Italian American herself, she portrays family values, small town life and the intricacies of human relationships in a flowing, easy-to-read style. I loved her. This is a family saga of Italian immigrants recreating their traditional life in America in the late 1800s. A story of forbidden love chronicling the life of a matriarch over the course of three generations, it is deeply moving and wholly satisfying, a curl-up-and-lose-yourself-in novel. Then treat yourself and read all her backlist. Comparison: Rebecca Wells, Fannie Flagg, Anita Shreve. Similar this month: Judy Astley, Penny Sumner.
From the bestselling and much-loved Adriana Trigiani, comes a heart-rending story of forbidden love chronicling the life of an Italian American matriarch over the course of three generations.
Ambitious, determined and passionate, Nella Castelluca dreams of achieving more than her humble roots allow - an education, and a good job. She lives on her family's farm on the outskirts of Roseto - a town of old world tradition whose annual centrepiece revolves around the Queen of the Big Time beauty pageant. When Nella meets the handsome, worldly, irresistible Renato Lanzara, she believes she has found the soulmate with whom to share her life journey, until an unexpected turn of events leaves her and her fellow townsfolk shaken and shocked.
'Like her bestselling BIG STONE GAP trilogy, it celebrates hard work, feisty women and the power of pure nostalgia' Daily Mail
'Nella Castelluca dreams of escaping her family's farm, but discovers life - and love - doesn't always go to plan. This sweet, beautifully written story is a real tear-jerker' Company
Author
About Adriana Trigiani
Adriana Trigiani is the author of fifteen bestsellers, including the blockbuster epic The Shoemaker's Wife; the Big Stone Gap series; Lucia, Lucia; the Valentine series; the Viola series for young adults; and the bestselling memoir Don't Sing at the Table. She is also the award-winning filmmaker of the documentary Queens of the Big Time. Trigiani lives in Greenwich Village with her family.
