Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna (Grames) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
[A] meaty family saga set in Calabria and Connecticut, crossing two centuries and five generations…. In conjuring this absorbing life, Grames has created a satisfying doorstop of a book, rich in detail, tightly written and delightfully easy to get lost in.
New York Times Book Review


The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna achieves what no sweeping history lesson about American immigrants could: It brings to life a woman that time and history would have ignored.
Washington Post


Epic in scale and richly detailed.… Grames holds the reader under a spell from start to finish as she constructs a puzzle of identity formed against convention.… Grames’s clear and compassionate voice lets the figures of her heritage move freely
Oprah Magazine


If you’re going through Elena Ferrante withdrawals, this is the book for you. A rich, sweeping tale of an Italian-American family and their long-buried secrets.
Harper's Bazaar


Grames’ witty and deeply felt family saga begins in a pre-WWII Italian village, where young Stella Fortuna learns the hard truths of life (and death) as she grows up with an abusive father and immigrates with her family to the U.S.
Entertainment Weekly


As Stella strives to prove herself among the many messy and aggressive men in her life, Grames uses her heroine’s story to reflect on motherhood, inherited trauma and survival.
Time


Remarkable…. A rich tale blending fiction with family history, one that celebrates the Calabrese culture in Italy as well as the immigrant experience of diverse cultures in America…. This compelling intergenerational tale is intelligently written.
Forbes


[A] vivid and moving debut…. Grames keeps the spotlight on stubborn, independent, and frequently unhappy Stella, while developing a large cast of believably complicated supporting characters…. This is a sharp and richly satisfying novel.
Publishers Weekly


[R]ichly imagined…. Beautiful, smart, and unyielding, Stella Fortuna grows up in a mountain village in Italy…. The family immigrates to America before World War II, and Stella continues protecting… sister Tina, with their estrangement in old age framing the narrative.
Library Journal


[T]he author’s own grandmother inspire this tale of an Italian American family and the complicated woman at its heart.… Readers who appreciate narratives driven by vivid characterization and family secrets will find much to enjoy here.... [Grames is] an author to watch.
Booklist


[A] stale]magic-realist tone… soon gives way to a harder-edged,…  more compelling look at women’s lives in a patriarchal society…. The rush of events muddies the narrative focus…. Messily executed, but the author’s emotional commitment to her material makes it compelling.
Kirkus Reviews