The View From Lake Como - Adriana Trigiani

 The View From Lake Como - Adriana Trigiani

Pub. Date: July 8, 2025

She read

Giuseppina (Jess) Capodimonte Baratta is a member of a close knit Italian American family in Lake Como, NJ. Yet, as a divorcee now living in her parents’ basement and seemingly “chief cook and bottle washer”for them, she is unsettled with her life and feels stifled creatively. Working with her Uncle Louie in a family marble business, his death brings some surprising and unsavory news about the business. That, along with a promised trip to Italy from him and a long held secret revealed by her parents causing a rift, provides an opportunity to reset her life. Will traveling to Italy resolve her inner conflicts and mend her and her relationships?

This is the second novel by Trigiani I have read and enjoyed. She has a great way with words, and I like her witty, sometimes biting humor in the midst of the drama of life. She has a good feel for family relationships with all the joy and angst they bring. Her vivid descriptions of Italian life (both in the US and in Italy), transport the reader to the actual locations where one can experience the tastes, smells, climate, the beauty. I liked the subplot addressing the plight of women of a certain age who were too early for the advances brought by the feminist movement. For some, there may be too much time spent on descriptions of all facets of the marble business; to others it will be instructive. 

By the way, as a former Jersey resident, I can attest that there really is a Lake Como borough, albeit small, in NJ. It formerly was known as South Belmar and there really is a lake there.

Thanks to #NetGalley and @PenquinBooks @DuttonBooks for the DRC.

*****