The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani: A Book Review for Travelers
I was immediately intrigued by the evocative and engaging title of Adriana Trigiani’s book, The View from Lake Como.
Even though the author’s newest book begins in the tiny Jersey Shore town of Lake Como, New Jersey, the prolific author of twenty-one books doesn’t disappoint. The storyline finds its way from New Jersey to various locations in Italy, including Carrara in Tuscany and the iconic Lake Como in Lombardy.
The View from Lake Como tells the story of 34-year-old Italian-American Giuseppina “Jess” Capodimonte Baratta, who is enmeshed in a close-knit, working-class family that simultaneously seems to love and hate one another.
She has always been a dutiful daughter and married the proverbial “boy next door,” the son of family friends and neighbors. The story describes many of the Italian immigrants she’s surrounded by, who have left the motherland but bring all the traditions and ways of life with them to America.
Now divorced, she has worked as a draftsperson at her uncle’s marble business for 16 years and lives in her parents’ basement. Jess realizes that she needs to claim her identity and independence.
To do so, she signs up for therapy sessions over “Thera-Me” on Zoom, adding a contemporary twist to the story and the opportunity for the author to share the character’s angst with readers. At the advice of one of the therapists, Jess also keeps a journal.
The Big Trip to Carrara, Italy
She and her uncle had previously planned a long-promised business trip to Carrara, Italy (in Tuscany), the homeland of their big Italian family. (The town in northern Italy is best known for the striking white marble that is quarried there from the nearby mountains.)
After his sudden death, she bravely decides to take the trip to the once-homeland of her big Italian family as a solo traveler and emancipate herself, even cutting ties with her parents for a period.
“This is the first time I’ve been a stranger anywhere in the world, living in a place where people don’t know me,” she says.
Her adjustment to life in Italy is almost seamless. Predictably, like many ex-pats, she falls in love with life amidst the beauty of Italy. Her therapy has helped her learn to live in the moment.
Discovering Family Secrets in Carrara
Because of the confidence her uncle had in her, Jess became the sole heir to his marble business. However, the inheritance has come with some unique challenges; her uncle has been involved in corrupt business dealings that she has to face alone.
And while in Italy, she unravels other family secrets that were buried.
A Book With A Satisfying and Happy Ending
No story about a woman’s trip to Italy would be complete without a love affair, and the one from The View from Lake Como offers that, too. She meets the strikingly good-looking Angelo Strazza. The son of her landlady is also a creative artist, but one who works in gold.
Jess’s career blossoms from draftsperson to architect, and she recognizes the strength of her family ties.
”Perspective is the gift you receive when you leave home,” she says.
I had previously read The Good Left Undone by the same author, set in Viareggio, Tuscany, about 25 miles south of Carrara, and thoroughly enjoyed it
Trigiani is a wonderful writer, and her descriptions of both life in Italy and Italian-American family life are captivating. My two reservations about this book are that if you want to read a book before visiting Lake Como, Italy, you won’t gain much practical information for travelers. It does provide some details about the town of Carrara. Also, perhaps minor, but the protagonist’s frequent self-analysis and reliance on Thera-Me interrupted the narrative and made The View from Lake Como feel, at times, like an adolescent self-help manual.
Images (unless otherwise noted): DepositPhotos.com
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