The Shoemaker's Wife in Crazy Challenge Connection

Apr 19, 2018 Marla rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, war, adult, catholic, chick-lit, made-me-cry, religion, with-reservations, girl-power, historical-fiction

Great story about an immigrant girl and boy who leave their small village in Italy for New York City. My favorite part was working behind the scenes at the Met.

Likes:
* Love story
* Family loyalty
* Hard work paying off
(view spoiler) ...more

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Aug 31, 2017 Michele rated it it was amazing

I loved this book. It was a wonderful story although it had some twists that I wished had turned a different way. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me think about family and why it's is so important. A must read. I didn't want it to end. ...more

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Jun 19, 2013 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: love, new-york, historical-fiction, family, marriage, food, own, italy, sfe, nature

Audio book narrated by Annabella Sciorra and Adriana Trigiani

This is an epic love story taking the reader from the Italian Alps to the Iron Range of Minnesota and covering four decades, beginning in 1904. Ciro meets Enza when he’s hired to dig her little sister’s grave. Their attraction is immediate, but they are only 15 and Ciro, having crossed the village priest, is secretly sent away to America. Before long Enza’s family suffers a financial setback and the decision is made that she and her fa Audio book narrated by Annabella Sciorra and Adriana Trigiani

This is an epic love story taking the reader from the Italian Alps to the Iron Range of Minnesota and covering four decades, beginning in 1904. Ciro meets Enza when he’s hired to dig her little sister’s grave. Their attraction is immediate, but they are only 15 and Ciro, having crossed the village priest, is secretly sent away to America. Before long Enza’s family suffers a financial setback and the decision is made that she and her father should go to America to try to earn money. Ciro learns to be a shoemaker, living in an alcove off the shop in New York’s Little Italy. Enza works in a blouse factory, and keeps house for the family in Hoboken who sponsored her, while her father travels with a construction crew building roads and bridges. Over the next ten years they will meet and separate several times before finally giving their love a chance.

Trigiani spent 20 years working on this novel, which is based on her grandparents’ lives. The build-up to getting these two star-crossed lovers together was full of detail. But once they settled in Minnesota years would pass from one chapter to the next. The final few chapters seemed a bit rushed to me. As in her other novels, Trigiani shines when exploring old world traditions and family values. Her characters are strong-willed, determined, humble, gentle, intelligent and generous. They embrace life and love, and deal with adversity with grace and dignity. What drives me a little crazy, however, is Trigiani’s love affair with simile and metaphor. That’s really a small quibble, though, and I forgot about it fairly quickly because I found the story just so compelling.

The audio book jacket states that this work is narrated by Annabella Sciorra, who does a marvelous job. But half-way through the book, Sciorra bows out and Trigiani takes over. The author has a depth of feeling for the story that comes across in her performance, but I still preferred Sciorra’s narration. Also, I didn’t think there was a clear reason for the change in voice artist. The only clue that there would be more than one narrator was in the introductory remarks. The audio also includes additional background material and an author interview.
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Dec 04, 2012 Sue rated it really liked it

Shelves: gifts, wwii, wwi, early-20th-century, neighborhood-bk-club

This was my first Adriana Trigiani novel and I've found a new favorite author. This was a sweeping novel of the love story between Enza and Ciro that begins in the mountains of northern Italy and moves through the immigration experience to life in northern Minnesota. Along the way, he fights in the Great War, she becomes a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera, and they learn to become Americans. The story is filled with interesting and detailed descriptions of life in Italy and a convent, the Al ...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Stacy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: five-stars, historical-fiction, read-in-2013

*DO NOT LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK*

The first half of the audiobook was beautifully voiced by Annabella Sciorra. Then on disc 9, for no apparent reason, the narrator changed. Did they exceed the budget for narration? I tried hanging in there, but I really could not get into the second reader's voice and inflections.

I finished up the book in paperback. While there are a few hokey timing issues (people just happen to run into each other at the right time, people miss each other because of the timing), ...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Jessica rated it liked it

Pretty good. Easy, brain candy read. It is the story of 2 Italians in the 1900s. We meet and learn about Ciro & Enza and how their lives are intertwined. They meet several times between the ages of 12 and 22 until finally their lives collide. Some of the writing is simplistic, and parts of the plot are eh, but overall an enjoyable read.

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Aug 07, 2012 Carol rated it it was amazing

Shelves: trigiani

Love it! Trigiani's story is based on her grandparent's love story. Near the end of the book, I was sobbing, my tears were rolling down my cheeks. What beautiful writing! ...more

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