Book Notes: a positive portrayal of the immigrant experience
Adriana Trigiani’s novel The Shoemaker’s Wife is a fictional story based on her own grandparents’ experience. It begins in the early 1900s with the Lazzari brothers, Eduardo and Ciro, going into the care of nuns in the Italian Alps. The younger Ciro is a favorite of the nuns. After he witnesses a new priest in a compromising position with a parishioner, both brothers are banished from the convent. The nuns arrange for Ciro to go to New York City. Prior to leaving, he meets Enza Ravanelli from a nearby village and they fall in love.
Both Ciro and Enza emigrate to New York, neither aware of the other. After serving as a shoemaker’s apprentice, Ciro serves in WWI and gains U.S. citizenship. Meanwhile, Enza works as a seamstress to the stars of the Metropolitan Opera and sends most of her money back to Italy to help her family build a house.
The story follows Enza’s and Ciro’s near misses in reuniting. Eventually, just as Enza is about to marry someone else, she and Ciro do reunite, marry, and move to the Iron Range in northern Minnesota. Ciro opens a shoe shop to supply miners with handmade boots, and Enza designs and sews elegant costumes for society ladies.
The alternating perspectives of Ciro and Enza are used to tell this story of love, family, friendship, and loyalties. It is also about the immigrant experience.
UMRA’s Book Club members liked the book and its positive portrayal of the immigrant experience. Several thought the descriptions of Northern Italy were wonderful. One said she gained a new appreciation for the Iron Range though the author’s descriptions of “up and coming” Chisholm and Hibbing in early 1900s. A few members said some of the plot turns were implausible, but this just added to a very spirited discussion
—Laura Ericksen
Book Club to discuss The Shoemaker's Wife
Fri, Apr 19 2019, 2pm
Laura Erickson will lead a discussion of The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani, when the UMRA Book Club meets at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 19, at the 1666 Coffman building on Larpenteur Avenue in Falcon Heights. For more information, contact Pat Tollefson at [email protected].
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates. Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm
After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves
We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.