Kiss Carlo
Adriana Trigiani
Trade Paperback, 544 pages
HarperCollins Publishers
June 20, 2017
Diverse Reads, Historical Fiction, Humor,
Literary Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction
From Adriana Trigiani, the beloved New York Times-bestselling author of The Shoemaker’s Wife, comes an exhilarating epic novel of love, loyalty, and creativity—the story of an Italian-American family on the cusp of change.
It’s 1949 and South Philadelphia bursts with opportunity during the post-war boom. The Palazzini Cab Company & Western Union Telegraph Office,
owned and operated by Dominic Palazzini and his three sons, is
flourishing: business is good, they’re surrounded by sympathetic wives
and daughters-in-law, with grandchildren on the way. But a decades-long
feud that split Dominic and his brother Mike and their once-close
families sets the stage for a re-match.
Amidst the hoopla, the
arrival of an urgent telegram from Italy upends the life of Nicky
Castone (Dominic and his wife’s orphaned nephew) who lives and works
with his Uncle Dom and his family. Nicky decides, at 30, that he wants
more—more than just a job driving Car #4 and more than his longtime
fiancée Peachy DePino, a bookkeeper, can offer. When he admits to his
fiancée that he’s been secretly moonlighting at the local Shakespeare
theater company, Nicky finds himself drawn to the stage, its colorful
players and to the determined Calla Borelli, who inherited the
enterprise from her father, Nicky must choose between the conventional
life his family expects of him or chart a new course and risk losing
everything he cherishes.
From the dreamy mountaintop village of
Roseto Valfortore in Italy, to the vibrant streets of South Philly, to
the close-knit enclave of Roseto, Pennsylvania, to New York City during
the birth of the golden age of television, Kiss Carlo is a
powerful, inter-generational story that celebrates the ties that bind,
while staying true to oneself when all hope seems lost.
Told
against the backdrop of some of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, this
novel brims with romance as long buried secrets are revealed, mistaken
identities are unmasked, scores are settled, broken hearts are mended
and true love reigns. Trigiani’s consummate storytelling skill and her
trademark wit, along with a dazzling cast of characters, will enthrall
readers. Once again, the author has returned to her own family garden to
create an unforgettable feast. Kiss Carlo is a jubilee, resplendent with hope, love, and the abiding power of la famiglia.
NOTE
I received a complimentary ARC of
this enthralling novel from TLC Book Tours
for an honest (and honestly enthusiastic!) review.
This wonderful novel was my introduction to Adriana Trigiani, who is now one of my favorite authors! With Kiss Carlo, she has delivered a totally riveting, compelling story that actually plays like a movie from the year in which these events take place -- 1949.
I was so captivated by the book's cover, when I first saw it, that I decided to take the risk of going outside my comfort zone; I don't normally read historical family sagas. I'm so very glad that I did in this case, though!
I was immediately swept up into this richly-told story of a large Italian-American family living in South Philadelphia. The evocative writing, the combination of drama and humor, along with the idiosyncratic characters, all came together to make this a totally exhilarating reading experience for me! I quickly fell in love with the world so skillfully evoked by Trigiani, to the point that I am now feeling nostalgic for it.
One of the fascinating things about this novel is that the author interweaves some profound reflections on one's destiny with the other plot elements.
Nicky Castone, the novel's central character, drives a cab for the Palazzini Cab Company, owned by his family. But one day, he is suddenly forced to face the fact that mortality is an inescapable part of the human experience. This epiphany makes him aware, for the first time, that he's simply always gone blithely along with whatever his family expected of him. He suddenly realizes that he wants much more out of life.
Nicky's questioning is one that many readers, including myself, can easily relate to. However, Trigiani does not focus on this to the exclusion of all else. Instead, she skillfully develops the plot into a series of tragi-comical events that upset the status quo in the Palazzini family, as well as the DePino family. The results are paradoxically hilarious as well as heartbreaking.
Nicky is such a relatable, funny, irrepressible, and totally honest character! It took a lot of courage for him to call off his seven-year engagement to Peachy DePino and go off on a self-searching quest. (Although this quest was, comically enough, propelled by the prospect of facing Peachy's furious father.)
Nicky had already discovered that he loved acting at Borelli's Theater, where he works alongside Calla Borelli, the original owner's daughter, who directs all the plays performed there. Although Nicky does feel attracted to Calla, he considers her a friend, as she has her own boyfriend.
Calla is a very compelling character in her own right. She is passionately dedicated to the Borelli Theater, which is in danger of going under. She is also very devoted to her father, whom she cares for at the house they've shared for years. Furthermore, Calla is a very strong, determined young woman.
The relationship between Calla and Nicky plays out gradually, and I loved that they were friends first. Sometimes "love at first sight" can work, but other times not. In this case, both of these characters came to realize that they had unconsciously loved each other all along, although they did the honorable thing, since they were committed to other people. Their mutual passion for the theater, and especially Shakespeare's plays, plus their similar outlook on life, ultimately brought them together, after they had each taken separate paths.
The "supporting cast" Trigiani has assembled is just perfect, from Nicky's Aunt Jo and Uncle Dom, who took him in as an orphan, to his brothers and sisters-in-law, to the people of Roseto, a small town located about 60 miles to the north of Philadelphia. Some of the memorable characters living there are Mamie Confalone, who plays a small part in Nicky's life, and the very funny mother and daughter duo of 'wanna-be femme fatales', Cha Cha and Rosalba Tutolola.
The most interesting of all these secondary characters, however, is Hortense Mooney, an African-American woman who has been working as a dispatcher and telegraph operator at the Palazzini Cab Company for the last twenty years.
Hortense is a guardian angel of sorts to Nicky, to whom she gives her unconditional love, as well as emotional support. She's actually like a second mother to him, and he really values her advice and help.
I loved Hortense's wit, her frequent references to Eleanor Roosevelt -- a woman I have long admired -- and her shrewd observations on the Palazzini family interactions, as well as life in general. I also greatly enjoyed her budding friendship with Minna, a lonely woman who lives in Roseto. I would love it if Trigiani wrote a spinoff novel about Hortense!
Minna is a very poignant character. She has actually lived in a self-made prison since the death of her husband. When Hortense arrives in Roseto, and the two women get to know each other, Minna begins to change. This is a very touching part of the novel.
Sam Borelli, Calla's father, was another great secondary character. I loved his quiet strength, as well as his close relationship to his daughter, Calla. Although the reader doesn't get to know him as well as Hortense, his influence is felt by the actors at the theater. He has shaped their lives in very important ways, thus leaving a legacy of love for the theater that will survive the impact of the new television technology of the time.
This love of the theater is a very important aspect of this novel that makes me even more enthusiastic about it! I especially like the fact that the actors at the Borelli Theater exclusively perform Shakespeare's plays. Nicky ends up acting in "Twelfth Night", which is very much pertinent to the plot of Kiss Carlo, as it, too, involves a case of mistaken identity. Trigiani includes several quotes from the play, thus making her love of Shakespeare a part of her novel. She skillfully interweaves the action in the play with that of her plot, thus creating an interesting contrast between the events on the stage and those in the novel.
I
have to add that I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for Peachy. The
fact that she's a rather shallow, conventional person didn't stop me
from feeling this way, either. I liked that Trigiani evaded the very
easy route of making her a totally one-dimensional character. She loved
Nicky, if in her own limited way. Trigiani handled the conflict between
these two characters beautifully, avoiding too much drama and pathos.
Although Nicky's escapade does create some very funny reading, this is a well-balanced book, as there are some losses, as well. Even though this saddened me, it did make the novel more realistic, and the characters even more appealing. It was heartwarming to see how they supported each other through these situations.
The most important quality of a great novel is how deeply the reader is touched, to what degree the reader feels that they have actually lived another life in the reading of that novel. In Kiss Carlo, Trigiani certainly achieves this quality. Readers will feel as if they, too, had lived in South Philly in 1949, sharing in all the crazy, humorous, and sad interactions of the Palazzini family, as well as getting the feel of what it means to be an Italian-American.
I did not want this novel to end, and am already looking forward to reading it again in the future! These characters are just too unforgettable and likeable for me to simply put this book on a shelf and never dip into it again! Bravissimo, Ms. Trigiani!!
MY RATING: 
EDITORIAL REVIEWS
Praise for Kiss Carlo: “A world of warm, lively characters
whose charming idiosyncrasies lead them to collide and ricochet along
the way to love.... A delightfully sprawling comedy full of extended
families.” (Kirkus Reviews)
Praise for Adriana Trigiani: “A comedy writer with a heart of gold” (New York Times)
“Delightful, energetic.... Trigiani is a seemingly effortless storyteller.” (Boston Globe)
“Seamlessly
superb storytelling.... Trigiani never loses hold of the hearts of her
characters, of the wisdom that tragedy and redemption are also part of
life.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
“If you’re meeting her work for the first time, get ready for a lifelong love affair.” (Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help)
“Trigiani is a master of palpable and visual detail.” (Washington Post)
Purchase Links
Photo by Tim Stephenson
Beloved by millions of readers
around the world for her “dazzling” novels, (USA Today) Adriana Trigiani
is the New York Times bestselling author of 17 books in fiction
and nonfiction. She is published in 35 countries around the world.
Adriana
is also a playwright, television writer/producer and filmmaker. “A
comedy writer with a heart of gold,” (New York Times) Adriana is the
award-winning director of the documentary film, "Queens of the Big Time".
She wrote and directed the major motion picture "Big Stone Gap", filmed
entirely on location in her Virginia hometown. "Big Stone Gap" spent 11
weeks in theaters in the fall of 2015, and was the #2 top-grossing
romantic comedy of the year.
Adriana co-founded The Origin
Project with Nancy Bolmeier Fisher, an in-school writing program which
serves over a thousand students in the Appalachian mountains of
Virginia.
Her latest novel, Kiss Carlo, described as “a
delightfully sprawling comedy full of extended families, in all their
cocooning warmth and suffocating expectations” (Kirkus) was published June 20, 2017. A new expanded edition of Cooking with My
Sisters will be everywhere in November, 2017.
She lives in New
York City with her family and their rescue pets. Adriana speaks to book
clubs and classrooms regularly. To invite her and schedule a Skype session,
please reach out to her at adrianaasst@aol.com, join her on Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, or visit her at her website.
To access the complete tour schedule,
just click on the button below!
