Mira Sorvino Books

This was my first novel by this author and I had not read a review; so I had no preconceived notions. I listened to the audio version of the book that was read by Cassandra Campbell and she does a good job with the character impersonations. It is about 8-10 hours of listening time on unabridged CD. The story has a nice pace and the clothes, food, and customs of the time are colorfully descibed.

This novel takes place in the early 1950's and is centered on a close-knit Italian-American family from Greenwich Village. Lucia is the youngest and was an early feminist, well before careers and professions were normal for women. She is described as beautiful, fashionable, and is a talented seamstress, but what I found most endearing was her integrity and devotion to her friends and family. This is Lucia's life story, as told by 80-year-old Lucia to her young neighbor Kit, who is an aspiring playwright.

As in any life story or family drama, there are some good times and some traumatic / emotional events. I'm not sure if it is the author's writing style or the voice actor's method, but there is always a background aura of foreboding as the story is being told. Some of the events are plainly foreshadowed, but non-the less heart wrenching. If I had to describe this book to someone, I would say it is part "Moonstruck" with the strong Italian family background, part "Titanic" with the love story and bittersweet ending, and part "Under the Tuscan Sun" where an independent woman attempts to get through her heartbreak. This is not a romance and may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy a well-written saga with a lot of emotion, I strongly recommend this book to you.

I absolutely loved this book. Maybe, because I am both Italion and Catholic. It brought back so many good memories. I didn't want it to end. A heartwarming and interesting book. I hope Trigiani writes more of these great books.

this is a great book- so hard to put down, really make you laugh a cry- a true gem

I know you have a lot of loyal fans who love your work. I like your work too, but I believe you have it in you to do a lot better than you do. This book is a nice light read, pretty good popular fiction.

BUT Italian Americans need a LITERATURE to document the early years, and the meter is ticking. Movies & TV have shown the world some wonderful Italian family portraits, but they are crime family portraits, they do not portray the everyday vibrancy of the many Little Italies all over the US. In another generation the knowledge will be totally lost. The Jewish immigrant experience has a deep well of wonderful fiction and LITERATURE.

Please, Adriana, give us some LITERATURE. I believe you have it in you to be a Philip Roth or Bernard Malamud, but you have to do better.

This is the best of your books that I've read, but, each of Lucia's brothers has the same personality. Lucia's awareness of herself, because it transcends what could be expected for 1951, has to be developed through illustration, for instance observing her mother's role and treatment in the family. The same is true of the collision with Dante's mother. More shading of experience, personality and expectation should precede the dinner. Some of the dialog is just plain sloppy, the characters use terms not in common use in 1951. The vocabulary and grammar of Lucia's father, not the content of what he says, needs tuning. Etc.

Adriana, you can do it. Give the world some Italian American LITERATURE. Your books will take longer to write, but they will live forever.

Being Italian and born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, I really enjoyed this book. Lucia is a girl before her time in the 50's but is also a little naive about love and life. It is a fun book, with heartwarming family life, happiness and some sadness but always enjoyable. I recommend this book. This is the first book I have read by this author but it will not be the last.

I picked this book up b/c I was desperate for a good summer read. I didnt read any reviews until I finished it. Everyone who gave it 1 star had every right to do so. The character was not someone a reader would root for...maybe that was the author's intentions to create a character that would do anything to save her own neck and leave everyone else in a daze after her whirlwind of chaos...but Janey is was down right despicable..with no qualities any human would want to possess...

What I found to be really strange is that you would think that as a reader, you would see the point of view of the other characters, like Janey's sister, Patty. You get one chapter in the life of Patty and you would think the author would later visit Patty but she becomes minutia. You hear about her and her issues through gossip in the book.

Every once in awhile, I'll read junk, and sometimes is fulfilling. But I truly am disappointed with this book considering that the author brought us sex and the city. This was nowhere near that caliber.
Bushnell messed up on the word "Puta" it means whore in Spanish not Italian! Thats such a minor detail that I caught that she wasnt accurate with, which makes me question, what else did she fabricate to us think shes knows what shes talking about when it comes to new york city and its socialites.

Please dont waste your time picking this book up...its 504 pages of pure nonsense...

I can't believe how much I hated this book. Usually when I read a book with a character like Janie Wilcox, she is the one that I am hoping will finally get hers in the end and then she does. Well not in this book. She is the main character and she does nothing in this book to make me like her. I was seriously hoping someone would do a drive by or push or out a 30 story window by the end of this book. I have never read anything else by Candace Bushnell and because of this book, I never will.

I am a huge Sex and the City fan and was hoping for a fun, interesting summer read. However, I found myself struggling a bit to finish this book (I actually stopped about halfway through and then finished it later). For the hundreds of pages, there's surprisingly no real plot. It's more of an often-boring look at the characters' lives, not to mention, I really didn't even grow to like any of the characters. I'd agree with others that Janey in particular is shallow, self-absorbed and really somewhat annoying.

If you want to read a Candace Bushnell book, I would HIGHLY recommend reading Lipstick Jungle. I've been disappointed with a few of her books but Lipstick Jungle was actually a great one that I couldn't put down. Definitely don't waste your time on Trading Up.

Petty and downright boring. Name dropping, sideways glances, lies, snooty women, disgusting men... I made it through the first three chapters and decided my self-worth was much to great than to waste my time on reading even one more page of this book. Unless you like reading about the empty lives of shallow, insecure, unhappy upperclass, purge this book from your reading list!

I loved it. I went in with no expectations and had a great time. I love to live the lives of other people through books, and what a life Janie has!! This is a fast paced roller coaster ride, and I love the allusions to all of the fashion brands. I also love all of the scandal! This is a perfect poolside novel.