Can I tell you how much I love Adriana Trigiani? I had the pleasure of meeting Adriana at a book signing last year. She is absolutely hilarious and very kind. The line for the signing was the longest I have ever stood in, because she stopped and chatted with each person, treating everyone like an old friend. I just finished her book, Lucia, Lucia and absolutely loved it. I have read two of her other books, Rococo and Queen of the Big Time and loved those as well. She is probably best known for her Big Stone Gap series. I have not read this series yet, but it's definitely on top of my list! She is such a great storyteller. Her characters are strong, independent women (with the exception of Rococo-the main character is a man, but great nonetheless), who come from large Italian families. The stories focus on family, love, life and food. She uses wonderfully descriptive language which brings the time and place of her stories to life. Some of her books also include recipes, which adds charm to the stories. Her stories are just a joy to loose yourself in and leave you with a good feeling. If you haven't read any of her books, you are really missing out. Her website mentions that she has a new book coming out in Spring of 2008, which will be part of a new series. I can't wait!
Incidentally, I have tried a few recipes from her cookbook, Cooking with My Sisters: One Hundred Years of Family Recipes from Bari to Big Stone Gap. The baked zucchini and the wedding cookies turned out pretty good, but the braciole was a disaster and a waste of three hours and a lot of meat. This is probably due to the fact that my cooking skills are questionable and the meat I was using had the texture of a rubber band. But the cookbook is still fun to read-aside from the recipes, she includes stories about her own family.
No comments:
Post a Comment