The Supreme Macaroni Company: A Novel Author: Visit Amazon's Adriana Trigiani Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0062136585 | Format: PDF
The Supreme Macaroni Company: A Novel Description
From Publishers Weekly
Trigiani (The Shoemaker's Wife) explores the delicate balance (and unbalance) between work, family, and love. Valentine Roncalli, a shoemaker at her family's business, Angelini Shoe Company, is going to marry her tanner, Gianluca Vechiarelli. Gianluca wants to return to his native Italy; Valentine is committed to keeping the family concern running in Greenwich Village. Further complicating things is a difficult moment between Valentine and an old friend, which threatens the marriage. The way the couple juggle their jobs and their complicated families with understanding, sympathy, and love is often hilarious, in spite of the frustration it brings to both of them. A twist near the end of the book is not unexpected, but tense shifts get a little dizzying and it's easy to get ahead of the story. The pages detailing how Valentine practices her craft of shoemaking are superb. Trigiani's ability to bring the large, warm, enveloping—if somewhat dysfunctional—family to life will keep any reader engrossed and entertained. (Nov.)
From Booklist
The final novel in Trigiani’s Valentine trilogy (Very Valentine, 2009; Brava, Valentine, 2010) finds shoemaker Valentine Roncalli planning her wedding to Gianluca Vechiarelli, a handsome Italian nearly 20 years her senior and the son of her grandmother’s new husband. As Gianluca adjusts to life amid the boisterous, extended Roncalli clan, the fiercely independent Valentine, an ambitious and talented shoe designer, struggles to balance work and home life, with her marriage often taking a backseat to her career. Cultural differences between the pair widen as her plans to open a factory as she becomes a first-time mother clash with his vision for the couple’s future, which includes a home in Tuscany. Though the conflict is plausible, it comes across as vaguely overplotted. For those who have followed Valentine’s ups and downs from the start, Trigiani’s send-off is bound to feel bittersweet in more ways than one. For readers new to the series, missing the occasional insider reference has its advantages—they still have two books ahead of them and the chance to meet Valentine where she began. --Patty Wetli
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- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (November 26, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0062136585
- ISBN-13: 978-0062136589
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
I have long been a fan of the novels of Adriana Trigiani. I particularly enjoyed reading about Valentine Roncalli, a designer of custom made shoes and her big Italian family. "The Supreme Macaroni Company" is, I believe, the third book in a trilogy about Valentine and her family and her family's business. The author shines when she is describing the ups and downs that are common in Valentine's big Italian family. Coming from a big Italian family myself, her voice is authentic and very enjoyable as she begins this next (and supposedly last) chapter in Valentine's story.
This book begins where "Brava Valentine" left off, with Valentine and Gianluca on the roof of her building, after he has just proposed.
Valentine, at 36, is carrying on with the running of the Angelini Shoe Company and Gianluca, at 54, has a grown up daughter and runs a successful business in Italy but is willing to live in New York so she can continue to follow her dreams of creating fabulous shoes, not just custom, but for a broader market. The problem is that Valentine does not seem to realize that marriage changes things. The author demonstrates this very well when she writes" I hoped to understand Gianluca's point of view. He wasn't fighting to keep me from working. He was fighting to show me how to live".
I think though, the author loses interest (mine) and focus (hers) when she starts throwing in multiple issues in rapid succession; it seemed to me as if she just wanted to get done with the book. At this point I'm wondering where the author ever got the title to the book. the reason finally appears on page 209 and it is as unsatisfying as it is unbelievable.
The author was losing me at this point.
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