Tony's Wife

A Novel

By: Adriana Trigiani

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in the lush Big Band era of the 1940s and World War II, this spellbinding saga from beloved New York Times best-selling author Adriana Trigiani tells the story of two talented working class kids who marry and become a successful singing act, until time, temptation, and the responsibilities of home and family derail their dreams.

Shortly before World War II, Chi Chi Donatelli and Saverio Armandonada meet one summer on the Jersey shore and fall in love. Both are talented and ambitious, and both share the dream of becoming singers for the legendary orchestras of the time: Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman. They’re soon married, and it isn’t long before Chiara and Tony find that their careers are on the way up as they navigate the glamorous worlds of night clubs, radio, and television. All goes well until it becomes clear they must make a choice: Which of them will put their ambitions aside to raise a family and which will pursue a career? And how will they cope with the impact that decision has on their lives and their marriage?

From the Jersey shore to Las Vegas to Hollywood, and all the dance halls in between, this multilayered story is vivid with historical color and steeped in the popular music that serves as its score. Tony’s Wife is a magnificent epic of life in a traditional Italian family undergoing seismic change in a fast-paced modern world. Filled with vivid, funny, and unforgettable characters, this richly human story showcases Adriana Trigiani’s gifts as a storyteller and her deep understanding of family, love, and the pursuit of the American dream.

©2019 Adriana Trigiani (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Thank goodness Ms. Trigiani has gone back to her best stories!

After a few dreadful novels, this one brought back some of Adriani’s original Italian roots. Her characters from NJ, the nature of Italian culture, and the importance of family. She also has a strong female Maine character, lacking from her last few books. This was a bittersweet realistic tale of a lifetime of love, betrayal, importance of family , and finally resolution and redemption. A realistic love story well done! This is Adriana at her finest.

A familiar genre

Ms. Trigiani generally writes novels that take place some decades ago, strong characters and Italian influence, and we loyal readers snatch them up as soon as they are released. This book fits that description, and was an enjoyable read.

Not the normal happy story I was expecting.

I love this author and have enjoyed her books tremendously but this book upset me, how the mental and emotional abuse by Tony to Chichi kept going on and on and on and on. The performance by the reader was outstanding and as usual with Adriana Trigiani, I fall in love with all of her characters but prefer to be uplifted and my heart warmed by a story. Next one.

Fast paced, but disappointing

I loved The Shoemaker’s Wife, and so was very excited to listen to this book. The narration was superb, but it could not lift this book enough. Character development suffered in this book. What started out promising, was disappointing in the end. Tony was a shell of a character that was an ass. It never made sense why Chi-Chi loved him so much. The big band era was a fascinating time in history, but this novel did not do it justice.

What I thought

When I read the reviews I bought & began this book hesitant. I love Adrianna’s books too. And I certainly like a happy ending as well as the next gal. A couple reviewers commented on the fact that there were no transistor radios at the time tho book is set. To all those things I say, quit not picking. The feel of a wife who loves her husband in spite of his great flaws comes through. I loved the heroine, I greatly enjoyed the story. It all felt very real.

Great

it was an excellent read without too much sex or cursing even though at times it was predictable. Keep tissues close.

Another wonderful Trigiani novel!!

Loved the setting and time period of Tony’s wife!! Loved Chi Chi. Characters were well developed and easy to fall in love with. Adriana Trigiani is an amazing writer!!

Masterful

The narrator and author are both masters of their craft. This book was superbly written and performed. I couldn’t stop listening.

The best book yet!!

I have read all of Adriana Trigiani’s book and this was the best one yet!! What a love affair!! I just loved it!!

Underwhelming, lacking depth.

I wanted to like this. I was dazzled by descriptions of bygone era road bands, name-dropping familiar people, locations, venues. This gave a sense of behind the scenes authenticity however, part way through I realized the dialogue hovered at the surface, rarely delving into the depths of authentic feelings and expression. The main characters seemed to repeat the same conversation, just a different time period which, for me, didn't draw me in with a desire to know more about them, I was generally just annoyed by them. This seemed a simple story that never really went anywhere.

Classic Trigiani

Another gem from Adriana Trigiani. Loved every minute of this and couldn't wait to get back to it each time I had to leave it. It's my first time listening to one of her books rather than reading but it was just as magical and joyful.