From the captivating pen of a skillful writer, a tale of humor, wisdom, and tragedy is born as a small 1970's Italian community gathers around a church. The montage of the flock's ups and downs on the renovation of the church, Our Lady of Fatima, in New Jersey, constitutes the heart of Rococo's story.
Bartolomeo di Crespi, the idealistic interior decorator, has decided that he is the preordained renovator of the church and he already has established, in his mind, how to accomplish that with its smallest details. Bartelemeo thinks he has every right to this assignment, because he does so much for the church and because he is a very devoted worshipper, so much so that he had almost become a priest earlier in his life. Yet, he says, "My temperament is better suited to making art than saving souls."
And it is. We see this right away in the opening chapter where the interior of Bartelemeo's house is described. Bartelemeo, called "B" by everyone, loves ottomans and despises cocktail tables, and he uses his expertise and know-how together with the best and the most alluring materials. In describing his furniture, "B" says, "I found the perfect chintz, with giant jewel-toned flowers of turquoise, coral, and jade bursting on a butter-yellow background, to cover my Louis Quatorze sofa and chairs. The upholstery soaks up the light and warms the room better than a fire blazing in the hearth."
When the priest, Father Porporino, sidesteps Bartelemeo for the job of renovation and assigns it to an established company, a crisis of immense proportions develops. Even if "B" eventually gets the job, he finds it to be much tougher than he had anticipated.
Although Barthelemeo's family members disrupt his life, they are also loving and supportive, and the loner "B" is kept inside the lives of his family and other families of the church whether he likes it or not. A miracle find at the end of the story resolves the conflict as it follows other events that tie up the loose ends in the lives of secondary characters.
Rococo deals with the issues of family, faith, and sexuality with profound and humorous insight. In this dazzling novel, the characters are clearly eccentric and fictional, but they are so alluring that this reader wished they were real. The characters, even the secondary ones, are brilliantly drawn and fully developed. B's outlandish sister Toots, his cousin Christina, the international designer Eydie Van Gunne, the rich benefactor Aurelia and her wimpy daughter Capri, the artist Rufus, the stained-glass artisan Pedro, all shine as characters in their own right.
With its exquisite storytelling and very entertaining plot, Rococo is a winner of a novel. Not only the main story is told well, but also the subplots are interwoven masterfully.
Rococo's author, Adriana Trigiani, grew up in Virginia and attended Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame. She worked in the film and television industry before writing her novels. Her books are: Big Stone Gap, Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, Lucia, Lucia, The Queen of the Big Time, Rococo, and Home to Big Stone Gap. Together with her sisters she has also written a cookbook, called "Cooking With My Sisters: One Hundred Years of Family Recipes, from Bari to Big Stone Gap."
The book is in hardcover with 288 pages and ISBN-10: 1400060079 and ISBN-13: 978-1400060078.
Rococo is brilliant book a true reader should not miss.
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