Set in the 1950's, a time when post-war prosperity was booming, Lucia Sartori lives in the midst of all the glitz and glamour that New York City has to offer. With a successful career as a fashion designer at B. Altman's Department Store on Fifth Avenue, Lucia has her focus set on her future in fashion and business.
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As daughter of a prosperous Italian grocer and part of a very traditional family, Lucia is engaged to her childhood sweetheart Dante DeMartino, son and heir to the famous DeMartino Italian bakery. With Dante's future set in the family business, he is able to offer Lucia a life of both love and stability. The catch? Dante's mother cannot conceive of Lucia pursuing a career once the two are married and insists that she must start a family immedietly and become a full time housewife. As the wedding date starts to creep closer, Lucia finds herself unwilling to compromise her success as a career woman to live as a housewife with her in-laws. Making the most difficult decision of her life, Lucia chooses to break off the engagement and turn her attention completely to fashion design.
As time passes, Lucia meets a mysterious and wealthy man who not only promises a life of luxury and comfort but fully supports her dreams of pursuing a career. As Lucia is swept up into a whilwind romance and a quick engagement, she finds herself in the midst of an extremely well thought out scandal. In the midst of all the lies and deception, Lucia faces hardships in her family and profession as loved ones are lost and her beloved career is jeopardized.
The review of this Book prepared by Jessica
A young woman in NYC makes womens' clothes, which she truly enjoys. She meets and falls in love with a handsome, smoooth talking young man, who turns out to be a con artist. She spurns her father's attempt to prevent the inevitable. Her "Prince-in-shining-armour" stands her up at the altar.
The review of this Book prepared by Sonja O'Flynn
Lucia, Lucia written by Adriana Trigiani is not great literature, nor is it incredibly well-written. It is, however, a nice peephole into the time period. Lucia, the main character of the story loves her job as a seamstress for one of the finest department stores in New York--and she is terrific at her job.
Yet, everyone in her life: her family, her fiance, her girlfriends, and coworkers, expect that Lucia will get married, take her husband's name, and quit her job. Lucia refuses. She wants a different kind of life. Breaking her fiance's heart, she calls off her wedding and soon after meets a dark horse, who makes her think she CAN have it all: marriage and her career. Her family--especially her father--disapprove of the suitor and Lucia wonders how she can balance it all.
I enjoyed the idea of Lucia as an early feminist and found myself wondering how I would have handled my own desires and viewpoints had I been born into a different time period. The biggest flaw with the book is the ending which seemed a bit rushed. Other than that, Lucia, Lucia is enjoyable.
The review of this Book prepared by Alicia Cathers
