Customer Reviews

Very Valentine: A Novel

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Welcome to Angelini Shoes since 1903 in Greenwich Village, N.Y. Side by side two generations create custom made wedding shoes - and memories. Val Roncalli and Gram Angelini live and work together with great success! Tradition,
ambition, rendition, audition are all part of this wonderful novel by Adriana Trigiani. To say it's an entertaining
voyage through the lives of the Angelini's and the Roncalli's would be an understatement! The characters are
vividly brought to life and become a part of the reader's. Hilarity, romance - not just Val's but 80 year old Gram's as well - creativity, devotion, fortitude, all
describe the workings of this story. If you love Italian - people, food, places - you'll love this novel. Valentine takes us along on her trip to the Isle of Capri in all it's splendor even though she'd rather be savoring it with her lover the chef. While there and in Arezzo she meets and learns from talented old world
craftsmen who instantly bond with her. She learns much and takes it to Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan for
the grand prize. Hopefully I've piqued your interest and you'll find it hard to wait to read this wonderful first
book in the new trilogy. I loved it from beginning to end which came too quickly.

Very Valentine - oh, how I loved this book. The author, Adriana Trigiani, captured my attention in the first few pages. But she referenced Jane Austin; I knew I was going to love this book!
This is my first Adriana Trigiani novel, and I am hooked. Trigiani has the ability to describe the surroundings, the characters, the food, the clothing, and most importantly, the SHOES so that I see them all vividly. These people, her family and friends, are not mysteries to me - I know them, they are my family. They are crazy, cruel, funny, scared, lustful, hormonal, hopeless, and hopeful.
I want to discover my characters in books the way I discover my friend's character - through stories of failures and triumphs, building their personality. I don't want to read that my heroine struggles with body image (as we all do), I want to read about her laughing at herself wearing an impossible wedding dress, and then I want to read about her feeling so fabulous in an cocktail dress that she makes an impromptu phone call to a man who may or may not be her future lover. I want to read about making and eating food as if it were a sexual experience. I want my heroine to love food, not be afraid of it. I am not a fashionista, but I enjoy finding out about a woman by the shoes she wears, and discovering who a man is by the tie he wears (or doesn't wear).
Don't think this book is only character driven; it has an inspiring plot. The book centers on Valentine, the so-called "funny one" of a large Italian family. She lives in Greenwich Village with her Grandmother above the family shoe shop. This is no ordinary shoe shop - they make only 3,000 shoes a year. Each specially ordered and designed for brides, socialites, designers etc... They make a happy living, but as Valentine comes to find out - they do not make a profitable living. Grandma is on the verge of losing the building (their home and shop) to the bank. Valentine's brother, Alfred, (whom I came to call "The Evil Developer") has already found a buyer for the property, and is encouraging Grandma to retire, for her "own good" - devil may care about our Valentine!
Valentine struggles to find her inner strength, her true self and love along the way. She wants it all; career, family, love and success.... But is it possible to combine everything? Can you only be true to yourself by sacrificing the people you love the most? Is it fair to ask others to give up what they love to fulfill your dream?
I knew where I wanted the plot to go - I wanted the happy ending. But Trigiani has a different outcome planned for her Valentine. And I must admit, that at the end of the book, I am happy for the not so neat and tidy ending.... I am hoping it means book two, and possibly three.

Absolutely LOVED this book. I have read all of her books and up until Very Valentine, my favorite of hers had been Lucia, Lucia. This is modern and hip. I laughed, cried and felt frustrated for Valentine at times. What young woman CAN'T identify with her? I so enjoyed this book and all the characters...some of them remind me of my own family! I love how she always describes an Italian American family. Being one myself, i truly enjoy reading her novels !Can't wait to read more on this family.

As others have stated, this is a book FULL of details shoes, clothes, food, etc. It was done with such fluidity and feeling that I actually didn't mind the detailed descriptions at all.
About two thirds through the book it became apparent that there were going to be more in the series as Trigiani seemed to "forget" about characters that had played such a prominent roll earlier in the story. Almost as if she was on a deadline and just needed to finish the main story regardless of the characters she had developed throughout. I suppose the best summary of this book is that it is about a woman's quest for finding her purpose...not so much about finding her match! With a title like Valentine and being released on Valentine's Day, you would have thought otherwise.
Overall a good read, but I won't purchase the remaining series - I'll borrow them!

Typically I am not fond of these types of books- However I was hooked and could not put the book down. Not in a suspenseful kind of way but I felt as though I was privileged to be watching the story unfold. Trigiani is lyrical and poetic, this was my first read of hers and I am definitely interested reading what comes next in the Very Valentine trilogy.

It was a smart, funny, quicker paced, read than most of her counterparts in the industry. Her descriptive capabilities are so vivid, it is like she is creating a rich tapestry in front of your eyes.

I found myself immersed and loving it!

Highly recommend

I have read all of Adriana Trigiani's books, but sometimes I grow weary when she gets into too much detail about her subject. The "Big Stone Gap" series are the exception. This book concerns Valentine and her family's shoe company-- a company that makes very expensive wedding shoes in New York. The story is good, but there are parts that drag when she describes how to make a good shoe. I skipped some of the pages when she got into details no one but a shoemaker would care about. It's still a four star book, because it is long enough that you get a lot of reading even by skipping the boring parts.

In Manhattan's Greenwich Village, octogenarian Teodora Angelini faces the dismal fact that her family business since 1903, Angelini Shoe Company, is going bankrupt. Her thirtyish granddaughter Valentine Roncalli, having failed in a relationship and as a teacher, asks Gram to teach her how to design quality wedding shoes while she works out a financial plan to save the business as the mortgage overwhelms the profits.

On the other hand Valentine's brother, Alfred, wants Gram to retire to a home and his to an apartment so that he can sell the building for millions. Meanwhile Chef Roman Falconi wants Valentine so when she and her Gram go to Italy to buy supplies, they plan to rendezvous on Capri. However, she is confused re her personal life after Valentine meets Gianluca, the son of Gram's lover and secret fiancé, finding she is attracted to him.

Although this is more Valentine's tale, this is a deep character study that has many messages but mostly focuses on what to do with a family business that provided for a wonderful lifestyle yet whose time seems to have past as specialty brick stores are being superseded by the Net. Valentine and Alfred have opposing opinions as he wants to end the drain and make an instant profit by selling the edifice while she feels a strong need to save the shoe business. Fans will appreciate this strong tale as Adriana Trigiani does not pass judgment, leaving that to the reader, as tradition and letting go have their respective time and place.

Harriet Klausner

I loved this story. Many reviewers had a hard time getting through the story because the author does spend a long time writing about shoes and about food, but since those are two of my favorite things...I loved the novel. Valentine is a shoe artist helping to run the family shoe making business with her grandmother, Teodora. I really found myself drawn in on many levels as Adriana Trigiani described the art of making custom shoes. I just did not realize or ever think about what went into making the beautiful shoes that come from many of the famous shoe designers.

There is so much that I love about this book, the family history and tradition, Valentine's love interests and how she resolves the different aspects of her love life, the love of family, finding love at any age - I could go on and on.

And there were different lines that were so meaningful to me but the one that stands out for me was the line ... "Love stays as long as someone remembers".

I really loved Valentine's story - even the surprise ending! I loved the writing about shoes, food, family and love.

Adriana Trigiani has done it again! I didn't think anything could get better than Big Stone Gap, but we have a new set of characters, scenes and she has outdone herself!

I don't think I would have wanted to read about shoemaking from anyone else. She does it such a way it just grabs you and pulls you in, not letting go any time soon!

I see there are a TON of other reviews, so I won't go into the story, best saved for the reader anyway! However, it will make you laugh so hard some times you can't quit. Clickety-Click, otherwise known as Pamela, Valentine's sister-in-law, the whole thing with her and her nickname, too funny! Valentine learns alot about herself during her visit to Italy, as well as her family, but her romance with Roman really sets the stage.

I know the next part is about to come out, and I can't wait to read it!!!! Bravo!! Or should I say Brava Valentine??

A perfect summer read. I couldn't wait to get to the beach over the weekend to finish reading this first installment of the trilogy. Can't wait for the next installment to find out what happens to both Valentine and Gram.