Auci focuses a panoramic lens on the Florio family's achievements while never losing sight of the smaller personal details...
An earthquake in the autumn of 1799 forces the relocation of the real-life Florio family from a devastated Calabria to Palermo, Sicily, where seismic changes of another kind continue to occur within the renowned family—and their new homeland—over the course of three generations.
Siblings Paolo and Ignazio Florio struggle to grow their burgeoning spice business in their new home, facing cultural and financial obstacles before reaching a level of acceptance from their Sicilian neighbors. In addition to competition from local merchants, their efforts to expand their trade are confounded by the era of rising Napoleonic power. Matters are further complicated by the difficult relationship between Paolo and his unhappy wife, Giuseppina, who is angered by her powerlessness in the marriage and her forced relocation to Sicily. After Paolo’s death, the business grows and prospers under Ignazio’s guidance while Ignazio himself lives an existence constrained by his lifelong unrequited passion for his widowed sister-in-law. Ignazio guides his beloved nephew, Vincenzo, into the increasingly more successful family business, and it is under Vincenzo’s steely-eyed and unrelenting leadership that the enterprise expands beyond the spice trade into a hydra-headed entity dealing in sulfur, textiles, spices, insurance, Marsala wine, medicinal herbs, shipping, and banking. Vincenzo’s own complicated personal life—involving a long-term liaison with the mother of his children—recalls that of his parents. The broad scope of Auci's narrative encompasses the personal and professional difficulties endured by both women and men within the family while dealing with issues of class as well (the Florios were often derided as traders and shunned by the insular Sicilian nobility). A condensed course in Sicilian history and Italian unification is interspersed between chapters and serves to place the Florios’ struggles in historical context.
Auci focuses a panoramic lens on the Florio family's achievements while never losing sight of the smaller personal details of their (epic) lives.Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-293167-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HarperVia
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite some distractions, there’s an irresistible charm to Owens’ first foray into nature-infused romantic fiction.
A wild child’s isolated, dirt-poor upbringing in a Southern coastal wilderness fails to shield her from heartbreak or an accusation of murder.
“The Marsh Girl,” “swamp trash”—Catherine “Kya” Clark is a figure of mystery and prejudice in the remote North Carolina coastal community of Barkley Cove in the 1950s and '60s. Abandoned by a mother no longer able to endure her drunken husband’s beatings and then by her four siblings, Kya grows up in the careless, sometimes-savage company of her father, who eventually disappears, too. Alone, virtually or actually, from age 6, Kya learns both to be self-sufficient and to find solace and company in her fertile natural surroundings. Owens (Secrets of the Savanna, 2006, etc.), the accomplished co-author of several nonfiction books on wildlife, is at her best reflecting Kya’s fascination with the birds, insects, dappled light, and shifting tides of the marshes. The girl’s collections of shells and feathers, her communion with the gulls, her exploration of the wetlands are evoked in lyrical phrasing which only occasionally tips into excess. But as the child turns teenager and is befriended by local boy Tate Walker, who teaches her to read, the novel settles into a less magical, more predictable pattern. Interspersed with Kya’s coming-of-age is the 1969 murder investigation arising from the discovery of a man’s body in the marsh. The victim is Chase Andrews, “star quarterback and town hot shot,” who was once Kya’s lover. In the eyes of a pair of semicomic local police officers, Kya will eventually become the chief suspect and must stand trial. By now the novel’s weaknesses have become apparent: the monochromatic characterization (good boy Tate, bad boy Chase) and implausibilities (Kya evolves into a polymath—a published writer, artist, and poet), yet the closing twist is perhaps its most memorable oddity.
Despite some distractions, there’s an irresistible charm to Owens’ first foray into nature-infused romantic fiction.Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7352-1909-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A fun, snappy read about the over-the-top world of private school admissions and the unbreakable bonds of family.
The director of admissions at a prestigious private school attempts to balance her job, her family, and her love life in Frank and Youmans’ debut.
Once upon a time, Josie Bordelon was walking the catwalk as a sought-after fashion model. Now that she’s almost 40, she’s the director of admissions at Fairchild Country Day School, an ultraprestigious private school in San Francisco. Josie’s used to being the only black woman in a largely white male–dominated field, and after all these years, she knows what to expect from her job—overscheduled children, pushy parents, and a boss who wants to undermine her. While she may be killing it at work, her personal life is another story. She hasn’t had a serious boyfriend in years, much to the chagrin of her Aunt Viv and her best friend, Lola. It’s too bad that the only man who’s caught Josie’s eye lately is a married and gay dad of a prospective student. And even though Josie just wants her daughter, Etta, to attend an Ivy League college and major in something practical, Etta insists she wants to follow her ballet dreams and study dance at Julliard. But it turns out that Etta’s career goals aren’t the only shock Josie’s about to face—her job, her romantic life, and her own Aunt Viv have plenty of surprises up their sleeves. While Josie’s budding relationship is certainly interesting, it takes a back seat to the rest of the plot, and it never quite gets the chance to blossom. The book shines, however, when it comes to the Bordelon women, especially Josie’s hardworking and hilariously meddling Aunt Viv, who clearly loves Josie and Etta more than anything. The family’s bond comes across vividly on the page, manifesting in sometimes-gentle and occasionally not-so-gentle banter among the three women. Frank and Youmans create strong voices even for the side characters, like Josie’s no-nonsense teacher BFF, her quick-witted assistant, her clueless boss, and Etta’s snooty ballet teacher.
A fun, snappy read about the over-the-top world of private school admissions and the unbreakable bonds of family.Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-08502-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
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