Rating: 
Summary: An Italian "Greek Wedding"
Review: Adriana Trigiani's latest success is the fictional life story of Lucia Sartori of Greenwich Village. The book's framework introduces us to Lucia as the leading senior citizen resident of an apartment building in contemporary times. The bulk of the novel is a flashback to her younger years as a career woman in the 1950s. As always, Trigiani's words flow easily across the pages and pull us right into the living room of this Italian family. Half the fun is listening in on the conversations between these interesting characters; the other half is having the facts of Lucia's background unveiled to us, bit by bit, complete with the usual everyday twists and turns. These people are real, and the family dynamics are reminscient of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and Julia Alvarez's "How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents." This quick and satisfying read is full of romance, tragedy, fashion, and feminism. Treat yourself to a weekend curled up with this book and you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Lucia, Lucia
Review: An excellent read, It captivated my attention! This is the firstbook I have read by Adriana Trigiani. I have already ordered 3 of her other novels. I'm sure they will delight!
I felt Lucia's character was very real. The Sartori's travels to Italy were warm and familial. This book will touch your heart
It deals with weddings, death, love and close knit family bonds.
I recommend it highly!
Rating: 
Summary: No ear for dialogue; something's missing here
Review: Everyone who checks this book out of the library where I work enjoys it very much, so read my review with a grain of salt. I did enjoy reading the book on a long plane trip; it passed the time in a pleasant way. If I'd been home and had other things to do, other books to read, I may not have finished it. I love a book where the dialogue is realistic and the actions characters take seem fitting and believable. There is something amateurish about the way this book is written. Somehow it just doesn't ring true to my ear. Also, I wonder about how the book was set up: you know right from the very start that "Aunt Lu" never gets married. That ruins the suspense that might have built later in the story. Not only did I think the beginning nearly ruined the story, but it also seemed contrived. I did enjoy learning about that time period and the pressure the modern world puts on the traditions of family and culture. I also very much enjoyed learning about Lucia's job; her love of her work and passion for fashion, cloth, style was quite convincing.
Rating:
Summary: No ear for dialogue; something's missing here
Review: Everyone who checks this book out of the library where I work enjoys it very much, so read my review with a grain of salt. I did enjoy reading the book on a long plane trip; it passed the time in a pleasant way. If I'd been home and had other things to do, other books to read, I may not have finished it. I love a book where the dialogue is realistic and the actions characters take seem fitting and believable. There is something amateurish about the way this book is written. Somehow it just doesn't ring true to my ear. Also, I wonder about how the book was set up: you know right from the very start that "Aunt Lu" never gets married. That ruins the suspense that might have built later in the story. Not only did I think the beginning nearly ruined the story, but it also seemed contrived. I did enjoy learning about that time period and the pressure the modern world puts on the traditions of family and culture. I also very much enjoyed learning about Lucia's job; her love of her work and passion for fashion, cloth, style was quite convincing.
Rating: 
Summary: A predictable and undemandingly light book
Review: Generally, I'm more tolerant of audiobooks than the books I read. I usually finish audiobooks whereas unsatisfying books will remain unread on my nightstand. I listened to this book as an unabridged audiobook.
Trigiani paints some nice images - Little Italy in the 1950s - Lucia's career at B.Altman's. But I found the weak plot & poor characterizations sometimes made this a tedious experience. Most of the storyline was so predictible that the only surprise was guessing when the anticipated twist or event would occur. Also, few characters were well defined, Lucia has four brothers but (with the exception of Roberto the bull) they speak with one voice.
Other reviewers have mentioned that they admired Lucia but I see her as a passive victim. Yes, you could say that she had some independence in her life - more than most women did of her generation. But, at the end of the book, where is she? She is betrayed by the man she loves & lives most of her life in a kind of limbo - only confronting him 50 years after the fact. She sacrifices the career she loves for her ill mother, taking care of her for 20 years only to be left out of any inheritance. She's 78 & living in a smaller version of the room she inhabited as a girl. She no longer has a place to sew. The house she loved as a girl is in disrepair & the family business has been sold. And the book ends on a positive note with a date with the man she rejected 50 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: I enjoyed this book, but found the author's writing style somewhat simplistic. But as a character, Lucia is a delight and is to be applauded for standing up for what she believes in and "doing the right thing" where and when it counts. She is a woman who is well ahead of her time (in the early 50s) and I enjoyed the descriptions of living on Commerce Street in Greenwich Village and amid a male dominated Italian family. She is an engaging character, but again, the author's writing style is pretty basic. This is a great beach read.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, I love finding a Good Writer, Bring on her other books!
Review: I was totally enchanted. For those reviewers below who didn't enjoy it, perhaps they are too young to appreciate the nostalgia and sentiment in reading the life story of a seventysome year old woman. Also, for those of us who lived in the 50's, this was a charming return. (Most of the story centers around the 50's.) Also, I did not find the ending weak at all, as someone suggested. It had me in tears. I plan to read all of Ms Trigiani books written in the past and the future.
Rating:
Summary: Fun & easy read
Review: If you are looking for something light and heartfelt, Lucia, Lucia will fill the bill. Trigiani sets up a delightful story about the only daughter in an Italian immigrant family. Fashion lovers will enjoy reading about her career and romantics will be satisfied with the ending. Interesting characters and a couple of unexpected plot twists keep the story moving.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful story of a young girl's dreams
Review: Kim Zanetti is an aspiring playwright who lives in Greenwich Village. One day her upstairs neighbor, Aunt Lu, invites her up for tea. At Kim's prompting, Lu begins to relate her story and how she came to be at this point in her 70-some-year-old life. It is the story of a big and loving Italian family where ties of love and tradition are strong. Lucia has her own ideas about things, and that does not include marriage to the neighborhood man who loves her, and whom her parents hope she will marry. Lucia is a career girl and she loves sewing custom outfits in an upscale New York department store. Her head is turned, however, by the handsome and dashing John Talbot, who promises her the world. Trigiani spins a wonderful story, with well-drawn characters and the clash of values between the "old world" ways and the ambitious longings of a young girl. This is a wonderful read!
Rating:
Summary: Bellissimo!
Review: Kit lives in an apartment building in modern day NY with her neighbor, the slightly eccentric 70-year-old Aunt Lu, who is always draped in mink. One afternoon they have tea together, and Aunt Lu proceeds to regale the curious Kit with her life story. Lu is the Lucia of the title; a beautiful 25 year old Italian-American feminist in 1950, an age where feminism was unheard of and good Italian girls did as they were told. Lucia is pursued by Dante, who expects her to give up her job as a seamstress in the couture department of the swanky B. Altman's department store as soon as they are married. But Lucia wants more out of life than being a baker's wife, she has her own ambitions. Then she falls for John Talbot, a suave uptown businessman who sweeps her off her feet and adorns her in that infamous mink, but things don't work out exactly as Lucia planned. This novel is peopled with wonderful characters and offers a fascinating glimpse into the gentile world of Italian-American Catholic 1950's values and culture that has long since faded away.
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