I recently attended a weekend conference for writers sponsored by Grub Street. It was the fifth annual “Muse and the Marketplace” event at which roughly half of the sessions were muse related, i.e. craft related, while the other sessions were concerned with publishing.
After hearing an agent rave about a book fallen in love with and signed the author, I picked it up on the book table. A Kiss from Maddalena
is the first book of Christopher Castellani, who is the artistic director at Grub. I even snagged his signature for my book between sessions.
I finished the book after two readathons (due in part to rainy weather in Boston). It has been a while since I had such a yummy read. By the end, my heart was a-flutter, I swear. It is a classic love story set in World War II Italy. Village girl in love with local boy. Village girl gets “flower picked” by a rich Italian back from America looking for a bride. She is forced to consider the fast talking rich guy. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. It is not a new story, but it is all in the telling. And I was swept away.
Of course I heart all cosi italiani. Having lived a year in the shadow of the Pantheon, who can blame me?
A girl needs a good Italian love story now and again.
Check out Christopher Castellani’s website,
where you can take a
virtual tour of the village of Santa Cecelia
where the story unfolds
www.christophercastellani.com
Penguin Reading Guide
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