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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Stella Fortuna is born into a poor family in rural Italy, and her dilemma is that she simply will not conform to the expectations of her family and community as a woman, a wife and a mother. Her name of ‘lucky star’ proves to be more of a curse than a blessing, and as the title suggests she experiences many near-death misfortunes in her long life, both in Italy and America. Cheering this book is not (there are some dark themes) – but it’s utterly believable, compelling, and so, so beautifully written. You can’t help but wish the best for Stella, who pushes back when both fate and family seem so keen to break her.
Every so often I break out from my normal diet of non fiction and thrillers and settle into a slower paced read. At 438 pages, this is a pretty long, rich, tasting menu of a book which deserves to be savoured. To me, it had vibes of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson although clearly in a very different setting – think of that huge sweep through history seen through one person’s eyes. Take your time over this one, it’s really worth it.
This review is of an advance copy provided in return for an honest review.
Every so often I break out from my normal diet of non fiction and thrillers and settle into a slower paced read. At 438 pages, this is a pretty long, rich, tasting menu of a book which deserves to be savoured. To me, it had vibes of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson although clearly in a very different setting – think of that huge sweep through history seen through one person’s eyes. Take your time over this one, it’s really worth it.
This review is of an advance copy provided in return for an honest review.
I loved the intricacies of the story and thoroughness of the history. The story of the sisters was compelling and well done.
I will say that this book made me sad for a long time after I finished it, because the life of the main character never really got better. Actually, I had to intentionally not think about the book for a while after because it made me sad. There was a lot of sorrow and decisions that were out of her control and she never really got her self-possession back. That was hard to grapple with as a reader, but I appreciate why Grames told the story that way.
In a lot of ways, it’s a story to read for the story’s sake, not because it has a redemptive ending. But definitely be aware that there is mature content (cw: r@pe, suicide, assault).
I will say that this book made me sad for a long time after I finished it, because the life of the main character never really got better. Actually, I had to intentionally not think about the book for a while after because it made me sad. There was a lot of sorrow and decisions that were out of her control and she never really got her self-possession back. That was hard to grapple with as a reader, but I appreciate why Grames told the story that way.
In a lot of ways, it’s a story to read for the story’s sake, not because it has a redemptive ending. But definitely be aware that there is mature content (cw: r@pe, suicide, assault).
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(3.75 rounded to 4.0).
My introduction to this book was when someone gave me the Seven or Eight Recipes of Stella Fortuna. There was enough of Stella’s and her family’s story that I sought out the book to go along with some very simple and elegant recipes but with options to create more elaborate versions of the dishes. Each recipe was mentioned somewhere in the main novel.
A young woman is listening to her grandmother’s (Stella) life story, finding family secrets back nearly a century, originating in Italy in the early 20th century. Stella Fortuna has been surrounded by death all of her life. Even her name is shared with a sister—the original Stella Fortuna—who died in infancy. Stella began to experience near brushes with death—everything from deep fried eggplant to being attacked by pigs. Stella’s family lives in Italy for many years while her father goes to America to work promising to make arrangements for the family to join him. Instead he comes home once a year to leave her mother pregnant again. Finally just before the start of WWII, arrangements are made to bring the family to the U.S. Stella who is bright, beautiful, and outgoing and she and her slightly slower sister, Tina, come of age in the latter days of the 1930s. There are still occasional close brushes with death until she is forced into a marriage by her father. Stella has come to understand that there is something she values more than her family, her marriage, and even her life—her independence. A rift between the sisters creates a chasm that lasts for the rest of their lives. The family doesn’t know what the issue was. Our narrator is a granddaughter who is trying to create an atmosphere for a reunion of the sisters.
Part memoir, part historical fiction, part family dynamics and part contemporary literary fiction, this story is a different kind of novel regarding sisters and the ways that they support and tear down each other. I very much liked the book and was pleased that it crossed my path.
My heart is still broken about Stella and how she got thrown into a life she didn't want, how she was a deeply traumatised woman but didn't have the means to overcome this trauma and how her life may seems to be very desirable and perfect from the outside to other people but how this is not at all what she imagined for herself.
And I'm aching for this broken woman who can't help herself but to love the people around her, even if she doesn't want to and is caged between these two emotions, love and hate.
Also, the perspective of Italian immigrants in America is something I haven't read before, their journey of adjusting to their life in the states was interesting to read.
And I'm aching for this broken woman who can't help herself but to love the people around her, even if she doesn't want to and is caged between these two emotions, love and hate.
Also, the perspective of Italian immigrants in America is something I haven't read before, their journey of adjusting to their life in the states was interesting to read.
Incredible
This book just sucked me in completely. Such an amazing and emotional journey through the life of Stella Fortuna and her family.
This book just sucked me in completely. Such an amazing and emotional journey through the life of Stella Fortuna and her family.
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes