The shoemaker's wife
Ratings6
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings6
Average rating3.7
"Nestled high in the Italian Alps lies Vilminore, home to Ciro, close by lives Enza, a practical girl who longs only for a happy life for her family. When the two meet as teenagers, it seems it could be the start of a life together ... Then Ciro is sent to America as an apprentice to a shoemaker in Little Italy, leaving behind a bereft Enza. Her family faces disaster and she, too, is forced to flee to America with her father to secure their future. Unbeknownst to one another, Ciro and Enza build fledgling lives in New York. Fate intervenes and reunites them, but it is too late: Ciro has volunteered to serve in World War I and Enza must learn to forge a life without him."--Back cover.
Reviews with the most likes.
I can't remember the last Trigiani book I read, but I know it was back when my most challenging reads were because of length of the novel rather than depth of the prose. I'm afraid I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this book.
I'm happy to say that I judged this book too harshly before I'd even really taken a look at it. It is, in fact, a nicely told tale of historical fiction. It felt surprisingly true, with little details about the time in which it was set that gave it substance. It's not a time with which we are too familiar and it's not a place we know well either and that adds to the charm of the story.
I'm not one for long books and I'm not wild about a romance and I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but somehow this book overcame all my (highly opinionated) objections and won me over. I liked the story and you probably will, too.
