Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. I loved the writing that was so descriptive and rich but I didn’t love the story as much. I’m sure that this could have been the reality for the women of immigrant Italian families but I really didn’t like the fact that strong and proud Stella was eventually broken. Everything she believed in and stood for was beaten out of her and she gave up. Made me sad for her and made me struggle through the end of the book.
fast-paced
What a book; what a roller coaster of empathy. This is an original, creative tale of women and the suffering brought to them by both men and patriarchy. It's not going to be a happy book, but it's going to be heart-wrenchingly worth it if you've set foot in any of the emotional experiences encountered on this journey.
Grames' writing style is unmatched, in my experience, for drawing visceral reactions to the pieces of life that are so easy to take for granted. Stella's path is wretched, it is torture, yet if told in any other voice is nearly unremarkable. It's only a story of generations of women who of course never had the rights to make decisions for themselves, who were never listened to or believed, and whose lives were deemed no more valuable than motherhood. If you're feeling disappointed by the end of the book or thought the detailed descriptions of life began to slip by unnoticed after the child-bearing started, my goodness, I would guess that's very much the whole point.
But the book is so much more than what men can ruin, don't get me wrong. It is an expansive quest for survival and the experimentation of growing up and seeking home when it's an ocean away. It's real and it's raw and it's funny. I'd read the hell out of more novels by this author.
Marked quotes:
[after a hard life lesson, said to Stella] "You have to know exactly what you believe, so you can stick to it. Otherwise people will always try to cheat you or confuse you." (pg. 148) [the irony's echoes clang through each chapter]
[at quite a personal impasse] "...she finally understood why he had shot himself rather than offer his body up to circumstances beyond his control. Was she just going to let it happen? Let her whole life be the choices other people made for her? But she had never made a choice for herself--that had been her mistake. She'd never known what it was she wanted out of life, only what she didn't want." (pg. 299)
[attempts to exert autonomy] "In this moment Stella was sure she had just made the world a worse place and gained no strength from it herself." (pg. 307)
Grames' writing style is unmatched, in my experience, for drawing visceral reactions to the pieces of life that are so easy to take for granted. Stella's path is wretched, it is torture, yet if told in any other voice is nearly unremarkable. It's only a story of generations of women who of course never had the rights to make decisions for themselves, who were never listened to or believed, and whose lives were deemed no more valuable than motherhood. If you're feeling disappointed by the end of the book or thought the detailed descriptions of life began to slip by unnoticed after the child-bearing started, my goodness, I would guess that's very much the whole point.
But the book is so much more than what men can ruin, don't get me wrong. It is an expansive quest for survival and the experimentation of growing up and seeking home when it's an ocean away. It's real and it's raw and it's funny. I'd read the hell out of more novels by this author.
Marked quotes:
[after a hard life lesson, said to Stella] "You have to know exactly what you believe, so you can stick to it. Otherwise people will always try to cheat you or confuse you." (pg. 148) [the irony's echoes clang through each chapter]
[at quite a personal impasse] "...she finally understood why he had shot himself rather than offer his body up to circumstances beyond his control. Was she just going to let it happen? Let her whole life be the choices other people made for her? But she had never made a choice for herself--that had been her mistake. She'd never known what it was she wanted out of life, only what she didn't want." (pg. 299)
[attempts to exert autonomy] "In this moment Stella was sure she had just made the world a worse place and gained no strength from it herself." (pg. 307)
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Absolutely brutal, but in a raw and heartbreaking way. Really beautiful story telling.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Devastating and heartwarming at the same time? Anyone should note a significant trigger warning for assault (sexual, physical and emotional). This books was so so so good. So well told that I felt very attached to Stella and her mother both throughout their life stories.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found myself thinking about Stella Fortuna and her family even when I wasn't reading. Something about this story had me hooked.
One more star if they actually had Carmelo and her fall in love …