tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post6719517796598711698..comments2024-03-12T06:01:22.059-05:00Comments on Reading the Past: Book review: The Shoemaker's Wife, by Adriana TrigianiSarah Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-33960315830142762402016-02-02T12:00:26.243-06:002016-02-02T12:00:26.243-06:00That was a very nice review! I've never read t...That was a very nice review! I've never read the book but I'm definitely going to have to check it out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-56778713231282059182012-07-10T22:17:41.899-05:002012-07-10T22:17:41.899-05:00How cool that you have a connection to the setting...How cool that you have a connection to the setting, too. I enjoyed the descriptions of northern Minnesota; I've never been further north than Minneapolis, but Enza says it reminds her of the geography of where she came from in Italy. The novel talks a lot about the different cultural backgrounds of the immigrants living in Chisholm and Hibbing. At first I didn't appreciate the snobby town librarian (hmph!) but Enza eventually wins her over.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-45027104600885073512012-07-10T21:22:52.791-05:002012-07-10T21:22:52.791-05:00As someone who grew up in one of those "small...As someone who grew up in one of those "small mining towns of Minnesota’s Iron Range" - a miner's daughter, even - I will definitely be picking up this book. I hope it gives the Range a fair shake! And while I'm not from the town you mention, I've been there countless times; it's got a great interpretative center that honors the stories of the immigrants of the area.Abbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-14590876517877604702012-07-10T13:33:10.142-05:002012-07-10T13:33:10.142-05:00I haven't read the Big Stone Gap novels, but Q...I haven't read the Big Stone Gap novels, but Queen of the Big Time wasn't quite my cup of tea either. It was rather lite, for lack of a better word; nothing wrong with that, I just expected more. This one was a lot meatier and more substantial.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-2442959627997071422012-07-10T11:45:09.135-05:002012-07-10T11:45:09.135-05:00Trigiani is a very popular author and speaker arou...Trigiani is a very popular author and speaker around here. Her Big Stone Gap novels are perennial favorites; I read the first one and thought it was fine, just not really my cup of tea.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01939944184376868559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-27457121077390575252012-07-10T09:24:10.985-05:002012-07-10T09:24:10.985-05:00I enjoyed your review! I went back and found it -...I enjoyed your review! I went back and found it - I was trying to stay away from other reviews until I was able to write mine. So many of us have immigrant ancestors who arrived around the same time.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-91680027972520963642012-07-10T06:46:08.681-05:002012-07-10T06:46:08.681-05:00I loved this book so much!I loved this book so much!Meg @ A Bookish Affairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15634397276714805455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-81878337396095315012012-07-09T18:28:25.984-05:002012-07-09T18:28:25.984-05:00The title doesn't conjure up much of a cover d...The title doesn't conjure up much of a cover design on its own, but this shoemaker's wife has a career of her own as a couturière. :)Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-28081300231921087162012-07-09T17:31:34.232-05:002012-07-09T17:31:34.232-05:00As a writer, my first response was an emotional di...As a writer, my first response was an emotional disconnect between the title and the cover!Shelleyhttp://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-76354705375869995242012-07-08T13:16:04.770-05:002012-07-08T13:16:04.770-05:00Hope you'll like it! My great-grandfather emi...Hope you'll like it! My great-grandfather emigrated to New York in 1905, and although he wasn't Italian, I'm sure many of his experiences were similar, coming to the US with no knowledge of English and slowly setting up his own business.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-55532791908971721032012-07-08T11:32:32.916-05:002012-07-08T11:32:32.916-05:00If set a few hundred miles south and a few decades...If set a few hundred miles south and a few decades earlier in Italy, this could be the story of my own great-grandparents! One of whom was a shoemaker's daughter. I will be reading this book!slfrykholmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00141413605720847229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-12792475624813453652012-07-08T08:47:30.096-05:002012-07-08T08:47:30.096-05:00I especially enjoyed all the information about the...I especially enjoyed all the information about the Metropolitan Opera behind the scenes. And the early scenes in Italy, sad though some of them were. It's one of the most detail-rich novels about American immigration that I've read.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-11800736435039585862012-07-07T21:21:00.899-05:002012-07-07T21:21:00.899-05:00I haven't read this author yet but this book s...I haven't read this author yet but this book sounds fantastic. I will definitely be checking it out :)Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15819241852604884460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-75598796702422985122012-07-07T20:37:59.204-05:002012-07-07T20:37:59.204-05:00Thank you so much for letting me know about the ea...Thank you so much for letting me know about the earlier book! I didn't know it existed but will check it out.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-88586509180253264442012-07-07T20:08:11.493-05:002012-07-07T20:08:11.493-05:00I recently finished Don't Sing at the Table by...I recently finished Don't Sing at the Table by Trigiani, which gives a wonderful account of her grandmothers. Then I bought this book having that background. Lovely review!Gerbera Daisy Diarieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11605934758292568280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-8424718650796606792012-07-07T18:32:24.511-05:002012-07-07T18:32:24.511-05:00Thanks, Melissa! I've read two other Trigiani...Thanks, Melissa! I've read two other Trigiani novels and this is my favorite so far.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-87628610663086365442012-07-07T16:58:21.586-05:002012-07-07T16:58:21.586-05:00Lovely review, Sarah. I loved this book and it wi...Lovely review, Sarah. I loved this book and it will most likely make my list of favourites this year.Melissa @ Confessions of an Avid Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03320886752332455903noreply@blogger.com