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The Shoemaker's Wife

by Adriana Trigiani (Goodreads Author)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 15,896 ratings · 3,288 reviews

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 a...more 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.

Lush and evocative, told in tantalizing detail and enriched with lovable, unforgettable characters, The Shoemaker's Wife is a portrait of the times, the places and the people who defined the immigrant experience, claiming their portion of the American dream with ambition and resolve, cutting it to fit their needs like the finest Italian silk.

This riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write, one inspired by her own family history and the love of tradition that has propelled her body of bestselling novels to international acclaim. Like Lucia, Lucia, The Shoemaker's Wife defines an era with clarity and splendor, with operatic scope and a vivid cast of characters who will live on in the imaginations of readers for years to come.(less)

Hardcover, 475 pages

Published April 3rd 2012 by Harper

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Apr 20, 2012 Jean rated it 3 of 5 stars

Every once in awhile you have to take a break from the Holocaust books, the slavery sagas and the dysfunctional families... and this, my friends, is the beach read you are looking for. The old Italian-immigrant-comes-to-America-makes-good-intergenerational-story that your preteen daughter could read and write home from camp about! There are no surprises but it makes you happy and you go to sleep at night with no sad sighs or regrets about what this world is coming to. Trigiani is a prolific writ...more

106 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2012 Sabrina rated it 5 of 5 stars

If there’s one book that should be on your summer reading list, it’s The Shoemaker’s Wife. It isn’t just a book; it’s an experience. It’s a slow, beautiful, compelling story with which you can’t help but feel involved and enamoured.

No matter what chapter you are on in this book, the setting is always lush and evocative. The Italian Alps captured me during the first half of the book and America, specifically New York, came to life during the latter half. The story follows two main characters—Enza...more If there’s one book that should be on your summer reading list, it’s The Shoemaker’s Wife. It isn’t just a book; it’s an experience. It’s a slow, beautiful, compelling story with which you can’t help but feel involved and enamoured.

No matter what chapter you are on in this book, the setting is always lush and evocative. The Italian Alps captured me during the first half of the book and America, specifically New York, came to life during the latter half. The story follows two main characters—Enza and Ciro—who both lead different lives but their paths delicately begin to intertwine. Their personalities jump off the pages in different ways; Enza is the strong, stoic young woman who is deeply family-minded but also has a will of her own while Ciro is just like a lovable teddy bear. Ciro is a fantastic character. He’s handsome, funny, charismatic, and yet (of course) he carries his own burdens. Full of life and Italian zest, Ciro strives to come to terms with his past and find solace in his future. Meanwhile, Enza learns how to survive in New York City with the help of a steady friend and her own unparalleled sewing skills.

Midway through the book, I thought that the story was progressing at a slow pace, but I soon realized that’s exactly what it was meant to do. It’s like taking a leisurely passeggiata. One doesn’t simply rush through it; one enjoys the surroundings and the quiet company. This book means to have you spend some real time with Enza and Ciro respectively, rather than rushing through climactic plot points. Ultimately it is this strong relationship that you build with the characters and the setting that makes the read a memorable one.

When I read, I never actually register that I am holding a book in my hands and am engaging with words; I simply become one with the story. The Shoemaker’s Wife took this involvement to a whole new level whereby long after I had finished, I still felt very much connected to Enza and Ciro and the taste of the Italian Alps lingered in my mind.

If my endorsement doesn’t do it for you, take it from Kathryn Stockett (author of The Help)—this book is “Utterly splended!”

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20 likes · like · see review

Sep 10, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was written in such a fashion, it read like a movie. The description used to illustrate every movement allowed the movie to continue to play throughout my mind on every page. I fell in love with each of the characters, and their stories. It was so good, I read it in 4 days, staying up until 3 A.M. to find out what happened next!

9 likes · like · see review

Apr 09, 2012 Gail Jorgensen rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a wonderful book starting in Italy going to New Jersey then New York City most of it taking place before I was born.How tough times were and rent was $1.00 a month can't even by a loaf of bread for that now days.There were times my tears kept me from reading the words but loved every word and wanted more when it ended.

21 likes · like · see review

May 06, 2013 Phil Ford rated it 2 of 5 stars

Meh. Overly descriptive, is that a bad thing? Sometimes. Sometimes it is so oppressive that you just breeze over the chapter. Sometimes it's kind of lovely. Despite a book where SO MUCH happens, not much happens, you know? I mean, one moment you are in the Italian Alps, the next NYC, then Minnesota. So what. So much happens in the book but is so bogged down in description that the change of scenery just kind of occurs as an incident. Take World War I for example. Though it deeply affects a chara...more

5 likes · like · see review

Dec 27, 2012 Lynetta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

Adriana Trigiani came to speak at Nashville Public Library. I was unprepared for the comedy and the comedic presentation. Everyone was laughing as she spoke about living in Big Stone Gap VA, the scene of her first works.

The Shoemakers Wife is a "historical epic of love and family.." written around a great grandmother. Enza is from a little town in Italy and the quintessential success story when she and her father come to America to work when there conditions deteroriate in "the old country." Wou...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Clare Cannon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adults

An epic tale about leaving the old country to set up life in the new, with all the uncertainty, hard work, devotion and spirit of adventure that it entailed.

When Enza and Ciro meet in the mountains of Italy they are young teenagers growing up in a culture at once rich with history and humble in its simplicity. Different circumstances drive them to leave their homes and set out for the land of opportunity across the ocean. How they meet and part, and part and meet is the substance of the story, and in their lives we come to understand the courageous journey of the immigrant, a journey which most of us will find was taken in some form by ourselves or our ancestors.

It is a hearty tale, neither floating over reality nor becoming bogged down in its detail, incorporating the ups and downs, the loves and struggles of life lived well. One understands what it is to have one’s heart back in the mountains of Italy and at the same time throw one’s all into this new land of opportunity born of hard work. We see sorrowful but necessary departures, the daunting excitement of new beginnings, the need to be daring and inventive and to aim high, and the struggle to bear difficult conditions with patience and hope.

We see lives buffeted and yet somehow made stronger by suffering, with all kinds of hardships from the mundane to the extraordinary. Each character must face their own battles, and yet we see that they are also willing to share each other's burdens to make them lighter.

This is because friendship, love and family are at the heart of this story, on their own these characters could not survive, but together they can win through all. Friendship is based on true self-giving, and the life-giving romance at the centre of the story puts to shame all shallow imitations. We are taken through the struggles of life that can help love to grow, and we understand the importance of family which – even with loss and hardship – is loved and treasured above all.

We also see characters making mistakes and bad choices, and are impressed as they are confronted with forgiveness. Ciro’s young adult life is quite free with women because he doesn’t yet know how to seek the happiness he yearns for. The scenes fade to black, but there is a tone of acceptance for his liberal attitude which, while loose for his own time, would be quite normal by today’s standards. But once he puts his priorities in order he devotes himself to a new life in a way that is both realistic and convincing.

Enza’s commitment to the principles of her parents is in large part cultural, and while ideally it would be lived with deeper conviction, at least in those times culture worked to preserve virtue rather than destroy it.

The story has a beautiful sense of culture which is both appreciated by and contributed to by the immigrants. We meet the great Caruso and fall in love with his music, which for him is life itself. We share the joy of Enza’s discovery of the classics of English literature as she works to improve her language with the help of her young Irish friend. Then there’s Enza’s creativity with her work as a costume seamstress for the opera and the opportunities she wins to socialise with the cultural elite. And even Ciro’s devotion to the art of shoemaking helps one to appreciate this art form anew.

In the Italian background we are shown a cultural faith, as though looking at spiritual devotion from the outside and not understanding it deeply. We meet two very different priests, one at the beginning of the story whose actions lead to scandal, and another later on who is noble and honourable and has given his life to the service of God. The former hurt me a great deal, because it is as though a family member who I hold dear has been tainted by fiction. This type of fiction – based on stereotypical scandal – can only do harm, even if it is not developed very far. It makes me reluctant to recommend this book, though there is so much of value in the rest of the story.

That element aside, the main focus of the story is the immigrant’s contribution to our past, a contribution filled with effort, sacrifice and generosity, honour, dignity and love, vision, patience and hope. It is a journey, a history, to be pondered, a layer of the past that enriches and dignifies our present and awakens an appreciation that can inspire our future. www.GoodReadingGuide.com

(Thank you to the author for supplying an advanced copy, and to Lisa for organising it!)(less)

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Aug 06, 2012 shirley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Read this if you need a good cry and like typical women's romance fiction. It is a sweet evolving love story with predictable outcomes that are laden with sadness.
I listened to the audio version with the second half read by the author. That made no sense to me as the first narrator had a melodic voice with fluent Italian pronunciation that I found missing in the authors narration. I think Trigiani likes her finger in every pie. All that will make no diference if you read the book vs having it r...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Dee rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a recent choice by one of the book clubs I belong to and when I heard it was the choice, I was less than thrilled. "Oh, man," I thought. "Not ANOTHER star-crossed lovers book set during the war." I had half a mind to just not read it but decided to force myself to plod through the book and do my duty as a responsible book club member.

Well, I was NOT prepared to be sucked into the story like I was and to discover that I really liked this book. The characters were strong, complex, and li...more

35 likes · like · see review

Apr 24, 2012 Julia Reed rated it 4 of 5 stars

I could not put The Shoemaker's Wife down. It's a great love story, set in early 20th century America and 19th century Italy. Finally, a book about early Italian immigrants that does not involve the mafia. 2012, off to a good start!

Enza and Ciro, whose story is based on the true romance of the author's grandparents, grow up just a few miles apart from each other in the mountains of Northern Italy. Both are poor, but talented. Ciro is a handsome hard worker, the village Romeo, but also good with...more

22 likes · like · see review

Mar 06, 2013 Felicia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maybe before I was a discerning goodreads reviewer I might have given this book 3 stars. Nah, not even then. Pollyanna that I am, I could not suspend disbelief to allow for all the "random happenings" (Enza and Chiro meeting in St. Vincent's, and Chiro just happening to return from WWI to find Enza on the day of her wedding!). The dialogue was stilted, the characters one dimensional and the writing -manipulative (don't try to pull on my heartstrings!). The author should NOT have narrated the sec...more

6 likes · like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Jana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: rbc

Have you ever tried to read a 500 page book on your iPhone? My thumb is so tired from swiping, that my crankiness, more than anything, probably contributes to the rating of this book.

Due to the above problem with my aching thumb, I must say that before we discussed this book at book club, this book was about a 2.5 star to me. But after listening to my friends at book club who all loved the book, I almost wanted to change my rating to a 4. They loved the book, the writing, and the generational s...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Jessica rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: popular-mass-market-fiction

This novel is competent enough to satisfy the bulk of readers seeking stories of this type, but I was disappointed. As I read, I grew increasingly agitated by the predictable tropes, generalized experiences, and risible coincidences, as well as the superficiality of the insights offered into the human condition. Trigiani opens with a pretty bit of description of a snowy landscape and a seemingly intriguing woman who is characterized through the worn elegance of her dress. Unfortunately, this wom...more This novel is competent enough to satisfy the bulk of readers seeking stories of this type, but I was disappointed. As I read, I grew increasingly agitated by the predictable tropes, generalized experiences, and risible coincidences, as well as the superficiality of the insights offered into the human condition. Trigiani opens with a pretty bit of description of a snowy landscape and a seemingly intriguing woman who is characterized through the worn elegance of her dress. Unfortunately, this woman is never developed further as a character, and the writer's habit of focusing on pretty details of landscape and raiment becomes a bit of a tic as the narrative progresses. Generally, a sensitivity to sensory detail is the mark of an intelligent and nuanced writer, but I was left wondering why I should read on just for a patch or two of fine attention to a dress or a meal when it often meant slogging through long passages of dialogue stuffed with exposition, or, worse, characters extolling at unrealistic length on the most romantic yearnings of their hearts. As I read on, the cliches propagated shamelessly, the author going so far as to praise one character's "emerald" eyes. Enough said about that.

Perhaps I am too cynical for this type of book, but I did not much believe in the connection between the two lovers. The incident that draws them together as adolescents has its own pathos, but each further contact comes off as slight and glancing, despite the highly contrived circumstances that surround each accidental meeting. They do eventually resolve their relationship, moving beyond the fleeting incidents that are meant to convey their allegedly immense and yearning passion, but I found it all rather bloodless. The female protagonist, Enza, seems to have very little sexual feeling until her painless and apparently highly orgasmic wedding night, and even Ciro, the lusty and, we are told, lustful, male protagonist seems to focus more on the maternal and delicate aspects of womanhood than on honest carnal desire. Don't get me wrong. I don't read straight-up romance novels and did not expect one here, but, if the book is about lovers and the force of desire, I don't see what is accomplished by mincing around sexuality, by making Enza so eternally oblivious and Ciro so endlessly distracted by slender feet and ankles. It all comes off as euphemistic.

Trigiani seems capable of managing elements like plot, setting, and basic characterization, but she rarely allows a character to have an insight or observation without authorial interloping. Again and again, the narrative tells the reader how the characters are feeling rather than allowing the reader to observe and engage. The text almost seems to assume a passive reader, one who is too unsophisticated to understand thoughts offered in indirect discourse, and the author's presence as guide becomes increasingly obtrusive as almost every inference is followed up by an obvious restating for the dull reader. This tendency coupled with heavy use of summary undermined the more engaging elements of the text, giving an overall impression of superficiality. Ciro's entire experience as a soldier in the Great War is summarized in about two pages, yet the reader is to believe that he was irrevocably changed by the experience and the men he met in the trenches. It seemed more as if the author expected a (presumably) female readership to be bored with details of the war, so she skipped over Ciro's history as a soldier with only a few trivializing passages about what a GREAT, BIG, but ultimately VAGUE experience it was.

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May 11, 2013 Jesse rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent book!! I initially only picked it up because of the gorgeous cover - and the endorsement from Kathryn Stockett - the author of The Help - another favorite.

It's about two young boys who grow up in a small Italian village at the turn of the 20th century. They are raised by the nuns at an orphanage before the youngest witnesses a local scandal and is sent away to NYC. Essentially it's a beautiful love story, but if I say anything else it will spoil your experience.

I'm usually pretty pic...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 11, 2013 Kenzee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, romance

This is quite the saga! It sweeps nearly the entire lives of the two main characters. I love the innocent love story and the historical aspects of living life through the first and second world wars (though this is NOT a war story, by any means). I found aspects of immigration very interesting as well. It's an emotional journey; it seemed like the way real life so often goes. Though it was sad at times, the ending was really lovely. I would have given it 5 stars, but sometimes I found it too des...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Erica Galland rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 24, 2013 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a lovely romantic book which I listened to as an audiobook. Don't be intimidated by the length of almost 21 hours because the story moves along quickly although I will note that the first 3 hours were a little slow. I've read that this book is a fictionalized account of the
author's Italian grandmother and grandfather.

The first meeting between 15 year Ciro, who was left with his brother Eduardo to be
raised by nuns in an Italian mountain village convent, and 15 year old Enza, a girl from...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 31, 2013 Andrea at Reading Lark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 5-stars, adult, arc, historical-fiction, read-in-2012

Review Posted on Reading Lark 4/4/12: http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2012/...

Having never read Adriana Trigiani's work before I had no idea what to expect from this novel. I love well done historical fiction and the book had been blurbed by Kathryn Stockett so I decided to give this one a try. I never expected to fall in love so deeply. The Shoemaker's Wife is a masterpiece - a gorgeous work of art filled with love, loss, and family. This novel consumed every waking moment for me until I savore...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Suze rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just finished this book, and my heart is full with the love this author conveyed in her story about a young couple from the Italian Alps. I'm having trouble finding the right words to describe the wonderful journey I took with this little family....from a tiny town in the mountains of Italy to a small town in the USA.

We went through all the trials, tribulations and joys of a family striving to start a new life in a new country. The writing beautifully conveyed the emotions accompanying that st...more

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May 10, 2012 Shellie Zeigler rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love this book! I just started reading it yesterday. I have loved Trigiani's Big Stone Gap Series. But this one may even beat that well-loved series. The characters are so vivid, and the plot threatens to break your heart. All I can say is this epic tale grabs you and refuses to let go.

7 likes · like · see review

Mar 06, 2013 Desiree rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-challenge

I debated on whether or not to give it four or three stars. I liked the beginning a lot but it really slacked off in the middle. I think it was really close to being a fantastic book but it just fell short. I really love historical fiction so that is why I gave it a higher mark than it should receive.

2 likes · like · see review

May 06, 2013 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting book. I kept thinking that Enza and Ciro the two main characters of the book would never find each other again.

Ciro went up the mountain in Italy to dig a grave for Enza's family when her younger sister died. They actually fell in love when they met. Both of them were 15 years old. They could not stop thinking about each other, but Ciro had to go to America on his own and learned Shoemaking in little Italy in New York City. Enza needs to go to America to help her fami...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 21, 2013 Mary Louise Sanchez rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The author's own immigrant grandparents were the inspiration for this novel. The descriptions of the northern mountain area of Italy made me think that might be the reason fewer northern Italians immigrated to the U.S.compared to southern Italians.

Ciro grows up in a convent in the Italian Alps in northern Italy when his mother must leave him and his brother to find work. She reminds her boys to always work hard and do more than is expected, but she never returns for them. On one outing to a nea...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Julie Lees rated it 4 of 5 stars

Adriana Trigiani is a seasoned author with more than a dozen novels under her belt and her latest offering, ‘The Shoemaker’s Wife’, begins in the majestic setting of the Italian Alps.

Ciro and Enza live in neighbouring villages and are forced to endure the hardships of life at the turn of the 20th century. When tragedy strikes, a chance encounter brings them together as teenagers, and an immediate bond is formed. Unfortunately, a chain of events has already been set in motion to separate them onl...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: meh

My first thought when I started this book was TOO MANY WORDS. My last thought was finally, the last 50 pages written like I think she should have written the book: no more over-written landscape flourishes!

But, this would not do for such an EPIC NOVEL as we are told over and over again by the reviewers, the author, the jacket, the cover and just about the book itself.

No...it is a nice litte story.

To be fair, the opening paragraph gave me great hopes for the book. The description of the snow an...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-retired-to-the-shelves

Adrianna followers are many; she has a great publisher. Her book is v e r y drawn out and repetitive. I wondered how her editor allowed this, but the target audience is commercial, and there are a requisite number of pages. A novella wouldn't sell. The story engages me as Adrianna is from the same ilk as I am...Italian, granddaughter of immigrants, etc. But the story she imagines is rich because of opera and Caruso. Her main character, Enza, has the heart and soul of a very nice person, comes fr...more

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Mar 01, 2013 chippyvale rated it 5 of 5 stars

I took a break from my usual chicklit (which I usually complete reading in 1 setting 3 hours tops) and chose this novel instead to while away the hours at the hair salon today. I figure that since my ass would be glued to the chair for quite a while, it's a good opportunity to read this novel slowly and absorb it more fully. I'm glad I did; it's not the type of novel whereby you can get away with reading it at a fast pace even if you are a seasoned reader. It's a beautifully constructed piece of...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Vanessa Andre rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Title: A Love Story That Never Quite Finds It's Feet

I had looked forward to Adriana Trigiani's "The Shoemaker's Wife" ever since I saw the gorgeous cover a few months back. Having read a short bio of the author, I learned that she lives and breaths writing. I was also intrigued to learn that the book was based on her own grandparents.

The Shoemaker's Wife is a behemoth of a book, spanning nearly 500 pages. With a love story that spans two continents and almost a single lifetime, that is to be exp...more
Title: A Love Story That Never Quite Finds It's Feet

I had looked forward to Adriana Trigiani's "The Shoemaker's Wife" ever since I saw the gorgeous cover a few months back. Having read a short bio of the author, I learned that she lives and breaths writing. I was also intrigued to learn that the book was based on her own grandparents.

The Shoemaker's Wife is a behemoth of a book, spanning nearly 500 pages. With a love story that spans two continents and almost a single lifetime, that is to be expected. Except, 150 pages into the book it becomes painfully clear that a couple of hundred thousand words or a hundred or so pages could have been shaved off and the power of the story would not have been lost.

Which brings me to my next point. She commits the cardinal sin of writing. She tells, but never shows the trajectory of their love. I am told of how their love blossoms, but I can never quite feel that love. Perhaps, it is because they experience a sort of insta-love that has become trite within Young Adult fiction (I know this is a book geared for adults). I can accept insta-love as long as I can understand its basis. For both Ciro and Enza, their first meeting comes off the heel of great tragedy--Enza's tragedy being far greater than Ciro's. Their first meeting ends with a kiss (which is a little unbelievable given the circumstances that brought them together in the first place). Hence, their love feels very contrived and not very believable from the get-go.

Ciro promises to visit Enza again, but as told from the book jacket, events beyond their control tear them apart. Enza and Ciro do not see each other again until they are in America, and that meeting is even briefer than the first. For a majority of the novel, Enza and Ciro's lives are told in parallel, and during this time, their careers evolve and they participate in courtships with other people.

Their lives rarely interesect, and when they do, it is never for more than several hours. A lot can happen in a few hours, but nothing ever does. The conversations we get usually amount to nothing more than "Hi, how are you doing," and "Nice to see you again,". However, the author is keen on telling us how deeply the characters love each other. She tells us that Ciro loves how easy it is to talk to Enza and that Enza could see how good Ciro's heart is, and there lies the problem.

Adriana Trigiani tells us, rather than shows us why these too people love each other, which is a shame, because she deftly describes everything else. With her pen, she vividly draws the world, which is great if you like a lot of description, but this is an historical romance. Bravo on the accuracy and vividness of the world, but the same attention should have gone to building the love story.

Even after Ciro and Enza unite permanently, I could never stop seeing Enza and Ciro as each other's first kiss, rather than each other's true love. When they finally do get together, I didn't feel any happier for them, which is why I finally gave up finishing the book, and stopped reading on page 377, shortly after Ciro and Enza get married. There was about 100 pages more, but finishing the book had become a struggle 50 pages in.

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Feb 13, 2013 Robert Slaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, first-reads

Firstly and as always I would be remiss if I didn't note that I received this book free as a Goodreads giveaway. I entered the Giveaway, as I always do, knowing absolutely nothing of the book in question and intentionally avoiding any background. The fact that the book was free (as anyone who looks at my other reviews of free books will note) will have no impact on my review of it.

Unlike many of the free books I've reviewed this one wasn't free because it was new and just coming out and needed r...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Laurie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, historical-fiction, fiction

3.5 stars. Good+ (better than good but I can't say great).

This is an epic immigrant tale spanning the entire lives of two northern Italians, Ciro and Enza, who meet as kids in Italy and run into each other more than once down the road.

The story really is good, and it's clean, and I would recommend it. The basic story is worth 4 stars. The characters were likable and there are many stages in their lives so it's easy to look back and think extra fondly on favorite portions. I couldn't give it 4 st...more

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About Adriana Trigiani

ADRIANA TRIGIANI is beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Adriana was raised in a small coal mining town in southwest Virginia in a big Italian family. She chose her hometown for the setting and title of her debut novel, the critically acclaimed and bestselling BIG STONE GAP, followed by the sequels BIG CHERRY HOLLER and MILK GLASS MOON. Since 1...more

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Quotes from The Shoemaker's Wife

“Moments are history. If you have enough of them, they become a story.” — 15 people liked it

“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.” — 14 people liked it

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The Shoemaker's Wife

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