Title: The Supreme Macaroni Company (Valentine #3)
Author: Adriana Trigiani
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: November 26, 2013
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
For over a hundred years, the Angelini Shoe Company in Greenwich Village has relied on the leather produced by Vechiarelli & Son in Tuscany. This historic business partnership provides the twist of fate for Valentine Roncalli, the school teacher turned shoemaker, to fall in love with Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner with a complex past... and a secret.
A piece of surprising news is revealed at The Feast of the Seven Fishes when Valentine and Gianluca join her extended family on a fateful Christmas Eve. Now faced with life altering choices, Valentine remembers the wise words that inspired her in the early days of her beloved Angelini Shoe Company: “A person who can build a pair of shoes can do just about anything.” The proud, passionate Valentine is going to fight for everything she wants and savor all she deserves—the bitter and the sweetness of life itself.
The Supreme Macaroni Company is Trigiani at her comedic and dramatic best, the inside story of a family business, and the shoemaker who carries on the tradition while juggling a new marriage and family. The pull between old world Italian ways and American ambition tear at Valentine, as a secret is revealed that changes the course of her life. The story takes the reader from the cobblestone streets of Greenwich Village, to lush New Orleans, and home to Italy, in Tuscany and on the Amalfi coast, with a surprise twist that takes the action to America’s rust belt, Youngstown, Ohio.
Praise for The Supreme Macaroni Company
“Superb. Trigiani’s ability to bring the large, warm, enveloping--if somewhat dysfunctional--family to life will keep any reader engrossed and entertained.” — Publisher's Weekly
“Val’s eccentric family keeps the book going at a quick pace. . . . Recommended for all Trigiani fans and those who’ve enjoyed a good cookie table (an Italian tradition commonly seen at weddings in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia).” — Library Journal
My Review
There are two things that I have to tell you about The Supreme Macaroni Company first, before I go into this review properly. First - I've never read anything by Adriana Trigiani before (though I own several of her books). I force myself to read what I consider to be "literature" every few months, and my perception of Trigiani's books fit that bill, so The Supreme Macaroni Company was an assignment for myself. Second (and most importantly), I never realized that The Supreme Macaroni Company was the third in a series until I was putting together this post. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a standalone, but I don't feel like I've missed anything by not reading the first two books in the series: Very Valentine and Brava, Valentine.