Rating: 
Summary: Adriana Swept Me Away
Review: Adriana Trigiani has a rare gift for gently sweeping her readers into a world that is filled with rich characters, inviting us into a story that feels like family. Lucia, Lucia is a tender and sweet story that is neither overly sentimental nor unrealistically dramatic. Adriana has woven together family relationships, romance, tragedy and nostalgia in a way that is comforting in its familiarity. I was left wanting to rush out, find an older person and listen to their life story.Readers who have enjoyed the Big Stone Gap triology will be especially thrilled with the new venue of Greenwich Village in Lucia, Lucia. Adriana's ability to vividly sketch people and places is as evident in New York as it has been in Virgina. Her wit and warmth make you feel as if you are a welcome guest whereever she takes you. Having just turned the last page, I enthusiastically recommend Lucia, Lucia, and head back to my own book shelves to revisit Big Stone Gap.
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Summary: To be the glamorous Lucia
Review: I was sad to have finished Lucia, Lucia so quickly I devoured it. What a fabulous read. The story centers on an older Lucia reminiscing of her younger days in the 1950's. Wow, what a lady Lucia was. She had the glamorous life that included her family, friends, work and a male suitor or two. The characters in this book are much different from the characters in the Stone Gap series; however, these characters are just as real. Bravo
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Summary: Tailor-made for the big screen!
Review: Heroine: voluptuous/everywoman
Stunning Lucia Sartori is renowned for her beauty throughout New York's Greenwich Village. But it will take more than an admiring man from the neighborhood to turn her head, because she has plans. She's going somewhere with her life, and it won't be to the kitchen of some Italian matriarch who will turn her into a slave. No, high-flying Lucia is destined for so much more than that. With her eye for color and design and her knack for turning up a perfect hem, she'll make dazzling clothes for the cream of society instead. And perhaps if the right man comes along, one who will let her live out her dreams of being a career woman, then maybe he'll be welcome to tag along for the ride. What worked for me:
Though it started out slow I loved the storyline, which rewarded me in the end for sticking with it. I got a kick out of Lucia's friends and close-knit large family. Even though they drove each other crazy, they all came together in times of trouble and heartbreak. The little touches, such as including recipes for delicious Italian dishes, added even more flavor to the story. (Sorry. Couldn't resist that one!) I thought it was very interesting how the book followed the life of a young career girl in the 1950s. That couldn't have been an easy time to be breaking out in the business world as a woman, when you were expected to go back to the kitchen now that the boys were home from the war. Size-wise Lucia wasn't really described except to say that the men all admired her figure. Given the time period and what was in vogue then, I couldn't help but picture a young Sophia Loren type of gal. What didn't work for me:
Some aspects of the writing style didn't really click with me.
Overall:
"Lucia, Lucia" is a very enjoyable tale. I hope to see it on the big screen one day.
Rating:
Summary: Lucia, Lucia
Review: After reading the Big Stone Gap series, Adrianna Trigiani became one of my favorite authors. Her new book, Lucia, Lucia was worth the wait! Trigiani is a beautiful storyteller who's words pull you in and make you feel as if you're part of the Lucia's world.
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Summary: I LOVED IT!!
Review: I haven't read her other books but do plan to now. From the moment I opened Lucia, Lucia it was as though the book was glued to my hands. It was as though I was transported as an invisible voyuer in to the Sartori home - I felt every emotion because she wrote it so brilliantly. I laughed, I got angry and I sobbed more than once. By the end you feel as though you knew all these people from Lucia to Dellmar to her brothers - all of them. And it's hard to say good bye when you reach the last page because in a mere 260 pages you come to feel you were on the journey with her. To me the sign of a great book is one in which you just can't bare to reach the last page and have it end. Bellisima!
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Summary: LUCIA LUCIA
Review: It was the best book I ever read.
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Summary: SHE'S DONE IT AGAIN!
Review: I loved Adriana Trigiani's Big Stone Gap trilogy but had to wonder if I would like her writing as much if the setting weren't my own home town. I now have my answer. YES! Maybe more.
I really enjoyed the trip to Greenwich Village in the 50's and meeting the Sartori family. This mountain girl really liked being in New York City for a while. I loved all the glamour and I especially loved being with Lucia and her family.
This is a wonderful story you shouldn't miss. You'll feel the love for each other in this family. You'll feel extreme sadness and extreme joy with them. You'll even feel nourished with all the good Italian food. You'll be so comfortable, you'll want to stay.
Adriana Trigiani seems to have a special way of making us feel great about being so ordinary.
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Summary: My Big Fat Italian Wedding
Review: Kim is a playwright who lives in Greenwich Village. One night her upstairs neighbor, whom everyone calls Aunt Lu, invites her up for coffee. While they are visiting, Aunt Lu begins to tell Kim the story of her life. It goes something like this:
Lucia is the only girl in a large and loving Italian family. Her family expects her to marry a boy from the neighborhood and then to become a housewife and produce babies. Lucia has other ideas and she enjoys her seamstress job in an upscale department store too much to quit. She can't bring herself to marry her boyfriend and move in with his overbearing parents. Suddenly her whole life is turned upside down when she meets a handsome stranger who totally captivates her. They begin to date and he offers her a life together with him in a world of wealth and adventure. Her father does not approve of her new boygriend and she finds herself in a conflict between family loyalties and a desire to follow her own heart. This is a charming novel, filled with heartwarming family scenes and delightful characters. I highly recommend it!
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Summary: bella story
Review: Lucia, Lucia has everything I love to read about: fashion, art, travel, food, religion, love, and most importantly family. I loved it when the family visited Italy, I felt like I was there with Lucia and Rosemary walking the streets of Rome. Lucia's family means everything to her, especially her Papa. Lucia believes she is cursed in love, but getting married is not her dream like it is for her friends. She wants more! Work is important to her. She loves her job at B. Altman's working with her best friends Ruth and Delmarr. I loved that this took place in the early 50's because it's untraditional to what I know about the 50's. I'm crazy about this book and will keep it because there are some recipes in it I can't wait to try like tartufo (snowballs). I would recommend this to sisters, friends, mothers, and mother-in-laws.
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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!
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