The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

 

Stella was the second child of Assunta and Antonio Fortuna and the second Stella because the first Mariastella died from influenza when she was an infant.

Assunta had a difficult life and a cruel husband.  He was not nice to her, would leave for months at a time and not send her money, but she survived and did everything herself and took care of her children.  Assunta didn't have a happy life except for her children.

THE SEVEN OR EIGHT DEATHS OF STELLA FORTUNA tells the tale of the lives of the author's family and specifically Stella and Tina who were the best of friends as they grew up in Italy and as they aged in America until the final accident happened. 

The accidents that caused Stella to almost die were quite unbelievable. Stella was definitely an amazing person to say the least.  Her mother, Assunta, was also quite remarkable.

If you are Italian or simply know an Italian, you will want to read this book for many reasons. There are so many references to things that happened in my Italian family that made the read more special - especially the food aspect and the Italian expressions used. 

THE SEVEN OR EIGHT DEATHS OF STELLA FORTUNA should be read if only to learn about the difficult lives of Europeans, the immigration process, their struggles in America, their work ethic, their schooling, their traditions, their customs, their family loyalty, and their religious beliefs.

This book has feelings and emotions oozing out of it and has you living the lives along with the characters.  The characters will grow on you, you will cry and laugh along with them, and at times be horrified.

The writing in this book is beautiful and descriptive and is an outstanding debut.  

Marvelous, magnificent, original, and impressive are some adjectives to describe this book.

You will not want to put it down. 5/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.