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Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani


Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani
Published by Harper ISBN 9780062319258
Hardcover, $28.99, 496 pages
Adriana Trigiani's newest novel, Tony's Wife, begins in 1932 Detroit. Saverio Armandonada (that's a mouthful!) is on his way to work in the Ford motor plant, along with this father Leone and all the other men in the neighborhood.

Saverio's job is to bolt the driver's door handle on 978 cars every day, ten hours a day, six days a week. On the seventh day, Saverio sings in the church choir. He has the loveliest voice in the choir, everyone said so.

On Christmas Eve, he was all set to give fellow choir member Cheryl a beautiful necklace and declare his love. When his love life doesn't work out as he planned, he gets an offer to audition for a band. His father is furious that Saverio would give up a good steady job for the unknown life as a singer, and throws him out of the house.

Chi Chi Donatelli lives in New Jersey with her family, where they all work in a textile factory. But Chi Chi dreams of being a singer, and her father supports her, even building a studio in their garage to record Chi Chi and her sisters in the hopes of becoming the next big girl group.

Chi Chi meets Saverio, hoping that he can get her record to a music label. They spend the day at the beach, and Tony is smitten with Chi Chi, although she is wary of his playboy ways. Tony is invited to the Donatellis for Sunday dinner, and he envies Chi Chi the warmth of her family. How he wished he had that!

Saverio and Chi Chi both dream of becoming stars, and they fall in love and marry. Chi Chi fears that becoming a wife and mother will force her to give up the life she has come to relish- writing and recording songs, performing on stage with Sav (now known as Tony Arma).

They move to Hollywood, where Chi Chi writes songs and cares for their children, while Tony tours the country and works as an actor in films. Chi Chi wants the traditional Italian family that she grew up with, but it appears that Tony may no longer want that. Can their marriage survive?

Anyone who loves the music of the 1940s and 1950s will adore Tony's Wife. Trigiani names each chapter as a direction in music- Feroce, Crescendo, Teneramente- adding to the authenticity of this engaging story. She even includes song lyrics throughout and a Tony Arma discography at the end of the book.

I found Chi Chi's story so very captivating. She is such a strong woman, a woman who took care of her family's finances and took charge of her career and life, all the time remaining traditional to her family values. I absolutely fell in love with her!

As with everyone, there are ups and downs in Chi Chi's life, happy times and incredibly sad and challenging times too. Once again, the cover art work is astonishing, and the descriptions of family meals and the beautiful clothing so evocative that you use all of your senses while reading this gorgeous story.

Tony's Wife would make a perfect hostess gift if you are traveling for Thanksgiving, as well as a lovely gift during this holiday season. Pair it with a Frank Sinatra record and a bottle of good Chianti as a gift to your best friend as well as for yourself.  I highly recommend Tony's Wife.

Adriana Trigiani's website is here, and you can follow her on Facebook here.




Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Adriana Trigiani's tour. The rest of her stops are here: 


Tour Stops

Tuesday, November 20th: bookchickdi
Wednesday, November 21st: Life By Kristen
Monday, November 26th: she treads softly
Tuesday, November 27th: Tina Says…
Wednesday, November 28th: The many thoughts of a reader
Thursday, November 29th: Instagram: @shereadswithcats
Friday, November 30th: Instagram: @sweetbookobsession
Monday, December 3rd: Instagram: @bookishmadeleine
Tuesday, December 4th: Wining Wife
Wednesday, December 5th: Instagram: @ladyofthelibrary
Thursday, December 6th: Velvet Spade Reads
Friday, December 7th: Instagram: @ciannereads
Monday, December 10th: Kritters Ramblings
Tuesday, December 11th: Instagram: @storiesandcoffee
Wednesday, December 12th: View from the Birdhouse
Thursday, December 13th: Instagram: @owlslittlelibrary
Friday, December 14th: Always With a Book
Monday, December 17th: Instagram: @direads
Tuesday, December 18th: Instagram: @books.tea.quotes
Wednesday, December 19th: Instagram: @girlwithnoselfie
Thursday, December 20th: Instagram: @createexploreread
Friday, December 21st: Instagram: @strandedinbooks
Wednesday, December 26th: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, December 27th: Instagram: @crystal_clears_the_shelves
Wednesday, January 2nd: Lit and Life
Thursday, January 3rd: Based on a True Story
Friday, January 4th: A Night’s Dream of Books
Friday, January 4th: Thoughts On This ‘n That





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