Ciro Lazzari was seven years old when his distraught mother placed her two sons in a convent and disappeared from their lives. Enza Ravanelli grew up in a warm and growing, if poor, family in the same remote alpine district of Italy. The two met briefly at the burial of Enza's little sister and formed an intense but brief connection. Later, as a result of strange coincidences, they would meet again in America, in New York City. And again. Their romance, if it was one, might have seemed doomed, but then...well, you'll have to read it yourself. The story ranges from alpine Italy to New York, to Minnesota, to the battlefields of World War I, to the Metropolitan Opera House and an enchanted encounter with Enrico Caruso. It is a story of love, family, romance, hard work, adversity, and the immigrant experience of the early 1900s.
This is a sentimental book, a romantic book, and at 468 pages, a long book. Author Adriana Trigiani writes well, but at times over-writes. Her prose is packed with detail--long, sentimental speeches, improbable dialogue, incredible detail about foods, cooking, sewing, fabrics, architecture and shoe-making. And, of course, lots of adjectives. I found the book slow at first, hard to get into, but after the first fifty or one hundred pages, it began to come alive. The characters are richly evoked, strong and determined folk who take their own course in life. You will soon feel as if you know them personally.
If you're looking for a romantic saga of the early twentieth century, replete with love, family, and struggle, you will love this book, and I recommend it. It's not a quick and easy read, though. Reviewed by Louis N.Gruber.