May 2013 Book Club "The Shoemaker's Wife" by Adriana Trigiani

Hi Everyone!

Tomorrow is our book club field trip, our June meeting to discuss the book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander III, M.D. We will be starting our day at 9:30 AM with breakfast at the Country Kitchen on Rt. 8 South. From there we will route our tour of 5 Butler area gardens and one in Sarver. Stopping at the Meridian Station in Meridian as we did last year is an option for lunch or we can also discuss other possibilities. 

Last month, we met at Panera Bread in Butler for the May meeting. The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani was the topic of our discussion. Members in attendance were Barb D., Barb K., Becky, Cheryl, Ginnie, Lori, and myself. The book, a love story about two Italian immigrants Ciro and Enza who meet in Italy then reunite in America is full of so many beautiful messages for living a full and productive life with family and friends. One of my favorites on page 232 is on being poor and working to make ends meet. When Enza’s friend Laura tries to convince Enza that hard times will not get them down, she says, “Look at this as an adventure instead of a chore. All of it. Being poor, looking for work, being scared, and going hungry as all part of the adventure.” Enza is a brilliantly talented seamstress who doesn’t fall on hard times for long. With Laura’s savvy scheming, they both land jobs sewing costumes in an opera house. Meanwhile, Ciro is only a few blocks away working as an apprentice to a shoemaker. Enza and Ciro’s paths cross several times before the timing is finally right for their relationship to begin. Ciro takes Enza away from her glorious career path (a feat for any woman during the time period of the early 1900’s) and the couple moves to the hinterlands of Minnesota. 

In another of my favorite quotes from the book, Enza reminds us of the necessity to use kindness when dealing with others. Upon arriving in Minnesota, the librarian Mrs. Selby, a stereotypical educated snob, finds it hard to believe an immigrant such as Enza could be educated and treats her with contempt. Enza “decided to bring Mrs. Selby an embroidered handkerchief on her next visit to the library. Winning a stranger over with kindness was a tactic Enza had used in Schilpario and was certain it would work…” with Mrs. Selby.

Again, there are so many quotes from this book that deserve to be remembered. Iggy one of the work hands at the convent where Ciro grew up was a character well placed for giving advice, the “wise old man” of every hero’s journey. As a young testosterone driven male, Ciro receives from Iggy advice that he doesn’t necessarily care to hear. A girl may be pretty on the outside, Iggy explains, “… but so complicated within. Don’t marry a beautiful woman, Ciro. It’s too much work… you get the ring on her hand, and the story changes. Women change… in every way, in manner, in personality, in their desire for you… They want the garden, the home, the children. And then they weary of their own dreams and look to you to make them happy… Never enough… Believe me, eventually, you run out of ways to make a woman happy.” Iggy tries as he might to steer Ciro away from the pretty girl he has become so taken with at St. Nicola Parish.

Later at the end of the book when Ciro, a sick man and dying man, revisits the village and nunnery of his youth, he meets up with Iggy again. Iggy is still as profound as ever, and our book club all laughed at Iggy’s first words upon meeting Ciro. “Can you believe I’m not dead? … I still visit my wife… I have not withered,” Iggy promised him, “Besides, she says doesn’t mind… It’s one of the joys of marriage. I still get as hard as torrone. Not as often, but enough.” Trigiani used her “wise” character as her comedic relief for the heartbreaking passages of a fading Ciro.

Even funnier than Iggy’s revelation was Lori’s comment after watching on Cheryl’s I-pad an interview from the Kathy Lee and Hoda Show with the author. It was not a comment about our further insight into the writing of Trigiani’s beautiful love story. No, because Lori did not read the book! It was only on her astonishment over Kathy Lee, “That bitch, look at how she’s holding up!” It was one of those Lori-isms for Becky to share with Jim. 

As an added bonus to our discussion, we watched a video on YouTube that related to the book in that it was also a love story but one created through dance. A theatrical dance group called Shadow Dancers who appeared on Simon Cowell’s program Britain’s Got Talent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8s97NiC2Ys  gave the most emotional performance I have seen in a long time. This young Hungarian group put together the most amazing performance using their bodies to create shadows of concrete shapes. In a one room rat and garbage infested setting, they created a true art form with their movements. The dance is also a true story of love, birth, war, and death which makes it even more emotional, but the musical accompaniment completes the effect. They dance to a song called “Read All About It” by a popular artist in Britain who is the country’s current version of Adele. Her name is Emeli Sande and the song is from her album Our Version of Events. Every song on the album is awesome.

Included in this email, I placed the updated list of books we, Butler Women of Wisdom, have read since our group’s onset in October of 2004. Read through it and remember some of the great titles and all the fun times we have shared together through the pages of books. Hope to see all of you tomorrow morning for more warm memories, 9:30 AM at Country Kitchen! 

Tammy