November 20, 2009

Friday Book Blogging

The week was another six book week. My favorite was Adriana Trigiani's newest Very Valentine. Trigiani does spend an extraordinary number of pages on what everyone is wearing, but Valentine Roncalli's struggle to find a place for herself in her extended Italian-American family and their idiosyncratic shoe factory is heartfelt and not at all contrived.
The story follows Valentine in her quest to save the factory with predictable results, but not all of this book is the fairy tale ending, which saves it from becoming too trite. It also includes an ingenious little ode to Lucia, Lucia, a previous novel of Trigiani's. Very Valentine is decidedly "chick lit" but of a noteworthy caliber.

No comments: