The Queen of the Big Time

Rating:
Summary: Charming!
Review: Adriana Trigiani is a genuine romantic, and this novel shows it even more than her previous volumes do. Her characters believe in love at first sight, the endurance of love, the power of strong women, the need to live personal truths, and the importance of family and of ancestral heritage (i.e., Italian). Other reviewers have spoken to the plot of "The Queen of the Big Time," so I need not repeat it here. Yes, you'll need a few tissues on hand, especially when you reach the Epilogue. A good story based on historical and cultural fact, set in the real-life Slate Belt of eastern Pennsylvania. Appealing to both adult and young adult readers.

Rating:
Summary: Sadness galore...
Review: At fourteen, Nella has big dreams, and when her teacher comes to convince her parents to send her on to high school, a rare thing in Pre Depression days, she has hopes of them coming true. To make things even better, a handsome young man seems interested in her. Even her sister who is not known for kindness, is willing to help by walking with Nella the three miles to town. All her joy comes to a crashing halt when an accident forces her to quit school to help make ends meet. She still has Renaldo, her first love, though, and her industriousness and wit earn her a promotion to forelady at sixteen. Then, Renaldo disappears from her life, breaking her young heart again. It looks like work will be her husband, until Franco comes along and convinces her to give him a chance.

Nella and Franco have many happy years that even Renaldo's return can not mar, especially since Renaldo is now a priest. Death, however, cuts short their idyll, leaving Nella alone again, a young widow. Now she takes her well earned rest, being a full time grandma, aunt, mother, and daughter to her aging parents and searching for answers and faith.

*** Sadness weighs heavily in this book. It is a tale of hard work, determination, and achieving the American dream. I suppose it has a good ending, nonetheless, it was heart rending. ***

(...)

Rating:
Summary: Queen of the Big Time - A Good Time
Review: I loved "Lucia, Lucia" but this is even better. It's so easy to fall in love yourself with the people who fall in love in Trigiani's books. She writes with a knowledge of the deepest feelings of a very independent woman who has loved and lost. More importantly she keeps that love in her heart all the days of her life despite marrying and living happily with another man. A warm and loving portrait of a family who truly love each other and who laugh and cry together all the while striving for a better life. They do not forget their origins though and return to their roots more than once. This is a story to hold in your heart and to cherish along with all the truly wonderful tales you keep on your book shelf. READ THIS BOOK!