Review: Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani

First line: From her window Kit Zanetti can see absolutely everything that happens on Commerce Street.

From the back cover: It is 1950 in glittering, vibrant New York City. Lucia Sartori is the beautiful twenty-five-old daughter of a prosperous Italian grocer in Greenwich Village. The postwar boom is rife with opportunities for talented girls with ambition, and Lucia becomes an apprentice to an up-and-coming designer at chic B. Altman department store on Fifth Avenue. Engaged to her childhood sweetheart, the steadfast Dante DeMartino, Lucia is torn when she meets a handsome stranger who promises a life of uptown luxury that career girls like her only read about in the society pages. Forced to choose between duty to her family and her own dreams, Lucia finds herself in the midst of a sizzling scandal in which secrets are revealed, her beloved career is jeopardized, and the Santori’s honor is tested.

My thoughts: I have only read two other Adriana Trigiani books (Very Valentine and Brava, Valentine), both of which I loved. This one was certainly no exception. Lucia, Lucia centers around an older Lucia reminiscing of her younger days in the 1950’s. She had the glamorous life that she was determined to keep, no matter what. This story is about lost loves and the paths that were taken to maintain her career dream, quite a deal for a woman in the 1950’s! 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. It 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. She has beautifully recreated and drawn the reader into the glamorous and dream-like New York fashion world of the 1950’s. Lucia, Lucia was a bit of a sentimental read for me as it reminded me of when I used to drive my great-aunt back home after a holiday dinner. She would tell stories about her life growing up in New York City. She even lived in a walk-up like Lucia does. I can’t wait to read more books by Adriana Trigiani – she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!

(I got this book from PaperbackSwap.)