Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the April Read-A-Long!

Adriana Trigiani and I welcome you to The Shoemaker's Wife...please join in the conversation as you complete the segments outlined for each thread. Post once, post often...or just stop in to chat. It doesn't matter what your opinion of the book is - please share it and we can discuss and compare. The coolest part of reading a book with others is finding out how the same words can resonate differently with each of your friends.

Since I've never hosted before, if I'm screwing up somewhere, please let me know.

And I'm not fooling...we start April 1st!

I began reading last night at about 12:15am. LOL...I'm such a weirdo!

I am through the first two chapters and so far, so good. I'm liking the way she's laying the groundwork for her main characters and we're getting to know their backstory with their early home life. I'm finding Eduardo a bit of a wuss and a goody-goody right now. It's kind of accurate how he can cower, yet be overbearing, depending on who he is talking to at the time. I knew smarmy kids like that in school when I was young and I never much liked them. I hope he "grows out of it". Ciro seems like a more direct boy - much more likable right now. And I feel sorry for Enza in a way - like I do for so many other eldest girls in big families way back when. As the author states...they never have much of a childhood. Her parents seem to be sweet people, though, and I think there's definite appreciation there for Enza for all she does for them.

I also really like the way the chapter titles are in Italian as well as English - I think that is such a nice touch!

I read the book a while ago but I remember liking these first chapters immensely.  Also, I remember thinking that Enza was very strong and had an incredible sense of familial responsibility.  In these early chapters, she seems more of a helpmate to her father than her mother does.

Lauri:  You're not weird, I did the same thing myself after finishing For the King's Favor.  (Unless I'm weird too which is a definite possibility!)  I love the dual language chapter titles as well and gosh darn I knew that priest was up to no good of some sort!

I am reading & enjoying my first e-book on my Nook Color. I have read a couple of short cookbooks on Nook, but this first fiction. Before I added the extra memory, it was a real "pain." Then I had to download to desktop, then a process to Nook. Now I can download with Over Drive directly from library. Finally, living in the FAST LANE!!  Ha

Ok back to topic. Sorry for the side track.

The first pages of the book made me think it would be a DNF. It was too descriptive & sounded like a romance novel. Now that I have completed 4 chapters, I am wanting to read more about the 2 brothers.

WELL,  after many chpts book became too predicable &  too romantic for me.

@ Mary - that's a really engaging and intriguing review. I'm definitely going to get into this book real soon!!!!

I wondered if she has tuberculosis.

I'm really enjoying this book. It was actally one I wasn't interested in reading until I starting hearing all the praise for it here on the forum. I like the writing and how we get to know the characters from their childhoods on. I have a feeling we will be seeing a different Ciro now, since the priest incident and I'm not entirely sure that is a good thing.

Between Catarina and Stella, the one thing I find distracting is not knowing exactly what happened to them. I agree...I don't know if Catarina had health issues or mental health issues along with her money issues or any combination of those. And I really wished the doctor had whispered to Stella's parents exactly what her illness was. "A fever" could be just about anything in those days. I've been driving myself crazy wondering what illness could cause fever and bruising so quickly and result in death almost immediately. I wonder if I'm going to have to start Googling medical conditions to see what it could be to satisfy my curiosity. I'm moving into the next few chapters and will start posting ongoing comments in the next thread so I don't leave any spoilers for the readers who are just starting.

I'm finding this book a quick and easy read. I do like the author's style - it isn't at all heavy or draggy. It moves along so well.

ETA: Forgot a word that was needed to make a sentence make sense!

I just started reading Chapter 4, but got nosey and couldn't wait til I finished the chapter to read this thread. Now I can't wait to see what happens with the priest!  I'm just an impatient sort. 

And being the impatient sort that I am, I DID google Stella's symptoms, and I am placing my bets on meningitis. The other diseases that mentioned bruises and fever were all related to leukemia, which would not have resulted in the that type of sudden onset and death.  However, in one description of bacterial meningitis, it mentions that that the rash that goes with it is often misdiagnosed by parents because it looks more like bruises and less like the prickly patchy stuff one normally associates with a "rash".

That's really interesting Christa.  I would never have thought of that (meningitis).