Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Reminds me of: (1) A Company of Swans; (2) Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Trigiani kind of hits you over the head with this comparison.)
Kiss Carlo is a period novel taking place shortly after WWII. Before I go any farther though, I have to address the cover, which seems to have nothing at all to do with the book. If you happen to like the cover, you will find plenty to like in the novel itself. But if the cover makes you want to gag, read on! The main character is Nicky Castone, a WWII veteran who drives a cab in South Philly. I simply cannot understand the marketing approach here. Why would someone want to limit their audience by turning people off before they even read the summary on the book jacket? But back to the story…
Nicky Castone, our main guy, is a member of a large Italian family living in South Philadelphia. Nicky works for the family business, a successful cab company. Through a side job, he becomes friends with Calla Borelli, a young director attempting to revive her father’s decrepit theater. Their friendship challenges them both to find their life’s purpose and dedicate themselves to it. Finding purpose is, in fact, one of the book’s central themes. Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night provides the framework for much of the discussion surrounding self-discovery. As in the classic Shakespearean play, we encounter several comedic cases of mistaken identity while our characters attempt to uncover true happiness. Entertaining and heartfelt, Kiss Carlo is a refreshing saga about family and friendship.
This book is tough to review because there are aspects I love and others I don’t. So, let’s start with the positive, shall we? I love the setting, both time period and location. If you’re familiar with the Philadelphia area, you’ll especially appreciate the many details she uses to construct the vivid setting. Her characters are lively and carefully distinguished from one another. Each has a unique role in the family and story, and you appreciate all of them by the end. Some of the best scenes in the book are those where a lot is happening, such as a huge family dinner. They seem remarkably real, even to someone who isn’t Italian or from a large family. You can see how much she draws on the reality of her own life and family history. Between her vibrant characters and dedication to detail, I think everyone will find something to identify with in this book.
Given Trigliani’s experience and prolificity, I am surprised by my own critiques of this work, but I have to give an honest review. As wonderful as many of the characters are, there are lots of them. This is slightly overwhelming at the beginning, where you’re introduced to three different generations of men named Dominic. So, a word of fair warning – start this one while your mind is fresh. Trigiani’s writing style is highly descriptive (something I truly appreciate), but some descriptions border on flowery and are occasionally awkward. There is also A LOT of dialogue. Every novel needs dialogue, but sometimes there are pages of straight dialogue with no speaker tags or other action. At times, it reads like a play, which may be Trigiani’s intention with the way she emphasizes Shakespeare throughout, but I would have appreciated a few more speaker tags. I’m also probably one of the only people bothered by grammatical errors or incongruous details, but I found multiple mistakes for a book by such an experienced author.
Lastly, my biggest critique of this work is the pacing. Certain scenes dragged on while others went far too fast. The beginning was slow, but the end was quick. The ending is absolutely charming, albeit abrupt and underdeveloped. My guess is that this problem stems from the sheer volume of characters she had. With this one book, Trigiani could have written about five novels, which she attempted to roll into one. The scope may have been too broad to give each story the attention it deserved.
Ditto on the cover!!! Indicates sooo girlie… although not the case. Most men would not give it a second look although could be interesting for some as well as most women.