An epic tale, the background detail and setting is excellent from an Italian village at the turn of the century to America during the Second World War. The two sisters were very well drawn as was their mother. Sadly the other characters didn’t feel so real for me, when we got down to the next generation with the 10 children plus multiple cousins they seemed more like a list than real people. The story was fascinating if somewhat dark with no real happiness evident.

Thought provoking and uplifting read (eventually). I love the fact it’s told by one of the MC descendants it’s a nice touch, amazing observations on the struggles for women on the last century. Emotional and even harrowing at times, it never lets you forget, family and friends are the strength the backbone of life, especially for women. Wonderful read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Mariastella Fortuna is born in the tiny, poverty stricken, Calibrian mountain village of Ievoli. Born just after the First World War to Assunta and Antonia Fortuna, she is named for her dead sister - the sister who died from suspected Spanish Flu, brought back from the war by her good for nothing father. The father that leaves for America, when she is only a few weeks old, to make his fortune.

Antonio is more or less absent throughout Stella's childhood - only returning occasionally for brief visits home and to plant more children in his long-suffering wife's belly and terrorise his family. No one misses him when he is not there, although it would be nice if he actually sent money back to his wife to support their growing family.
Assunta bears three more living children as a result of Antonio's increasingly infrequent visits, another daughter, Concettina, and two younger sons. She does her best to support them any way she can and they are happy living their hard, simple lives - lives they understand.

Stella loves her mother and sister deeply. Her father is another matter. As the oldest child, Stella is witness to the tyranny Antonia inflicts upon them all during his visits, and is disgusted by the way makes sexual demands on, and degrades, their mother. Stella has no wish to become a wife and live the life her mother lives. She vows she will never marry and have children.

Stella is beautiful, intelligent, unconventional and fiercely independent. Unfortunately, she is also destined to nearly die several times throughout her life. Maybe calling her Stella Fortuna (lucky star) has tempted Fate and attracted the Evil Eye? Or is Stella haunted by her namesake that died?
Whatever the reason, Stella nearly dies three times during her childhood alone, but survives each time, against the odds. These will not be the last times Stella must fight for her survival - through both physical and mental damage.

Before the outbreak of World War Two, good for nothing Antonio insists that it is time for his wife and children to join him in America. Assunta and the children are reluctant. This will mean leaving everything the know behind, including Assunta's blind mother, to travel to a strange country, where they will not even be able to speak the language.

Unfortuntely, they have little choice and after one aborted attempt, which could have resulted in all of their deaths (one more attempt by Death to claim Stella), the family finally reach the shores of America in 1939. Assunta and the children now have no reprieve from Antonio's rule of iron and any freedom they experienced in the mountains of their homeland is gone forever. America is a strange new world, with strange ways, and they will all have to get used to living with their father. Can Stella remain true to herself and her vow, or will she have to bow to patriarchy in order to survive?

This is the most wonderfully written, sprawling tale that spans decades, two continents, and the dark secrets of the Fortuna family. You become totally immersed in the world and history of these characters.

Stella is fighting against subjugation by the patriarchy with every fibre of her being, but she is a woman ahead of her time. She sees no need for her life to follow the path laid down by tradition, but her options are limited. How does a young immigrant woman escape from the dictatorship of her father, especially when she has no money and speaks very little English?

Although Stella has managed to survive all that life, and death, could throw at her in her rural homeland, life in America will be very different for her. The Fortunas will be leaving poverty behind, but how much better will their lives be really?

Stella is not always likeable, but she is a survivor, even though her journey will not follow the path she desires. Stella's life will be in danger at least three more times, and she will also have to survive the death of her own spirit when she is unable to escape her fate.

There are some hard moments to read in this book, but it tells so beautifully of the struggles of women in the last century against the expectation that their lives must revolve around being wives and mothers. Most women today, thankfully, have choice and are not forced into marriage as a way to escape their own fathers. Antonio will also prove himself to be more of a monster than even Stella thought possible.

I particulary liked that the story is told by a female descendant of Stella's who has been able to enjoy the kind of life that Stella wanted for herself - free to make her own choices - but who would not exist if Stella had been able to choose.

I was completely engrossed in this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It covers some important issues through the telling of the story, as the Fortuna family pass down the decades, and will leave you with a lot to think about when you are finished. Fantastic debut Juliet Grames!

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames is the story of Mariastella Fortuna, known as Stella, a fictionalised woman who is brought to life in this spectacular debut novel. Born in a small village in Italy we follow her as she grows up in poverty to her immigration to America just before World War 2 and her subsequent adjustment to life as an Italian-American. We are also privy to the times she narrowly escapes death, something which sounds peculiar and macabre but somehow isn’t.

This is a beautifully written book which transported me to the Italian countryside and the small house in which the Fortuna family reside. Juliet Grames’ vivid descriptions of the landscape, smells, heat, people and superstitions seep from the pages and provide a stunning backdrop against which we meet Stella. She is quite forthright, brave, with an independent streak mile wide and is an exquisitely written character. It is very, very easy to fall in love with Stella so when bad things happen to her it feels almost personal. She doesn’t want to get married, she wants to live on her own and wants to be in control of her money and life and is an anachronism. In an Italian family in the early part of last Century her father rules the home and so, she rails against him whenever possible,

One of this novel’s many strengths is its sharp observations of family and relationships. The relationship Stella has with her mother Assunta and younger sister, Tina is, quite frankly, beautiful. This trio of women go through huge adversity and continue to shore each other and provide ballast when needed. The complexities and nuances of family life are perfectly executed and, with a father who is a difficult, belligerent and aggressive man these women find their own ways to cope in a home which doesn’t always feel like a sanctuary.

It is quite a dark read at times and Juliet Grames doesn’t shy away from examining human nature and behaviour. I found some sections difficult to read, there is a thread of darkness running through the novel, a sense of ominous foreboding almost. The novel opens in the present day and Stella is alive, so we know that despite being trampled by pigs and choking on a chicken bone she has cheated death, but it becomes clear that these narrow escapes aren’t the worst parts of her life. I could have cried for her, for the shattering of her hopes and dreams and for the times when decisions are made for her. It is a startling to read about such a recent past and realise just how different life was for women at that time and how far we have come in such a sort period of time. For the Fortunas assimilating into the American way of life means that women do have choices and this is a strange concept for not only the women in the family, but the men too.

I found the assimilation and cultural aspects of the novel absorbing. Distrust for the family because they are Italian and their inability to speak English are both barriers to life in America. Their gradual adjustment to life in the US and slow, gradual absorption of American culture is fascinating and really shines a light on the cultural melting pot that is America.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is an epic read which I really loved. It is part historical, part family drama, part literary fiction and is wholly absorbing. If sprawling books that you can get lost in are your thing then this book could be for you.

This was a lovely and delightful story. It was effortless to read and you quickly become immersed in the sometimes harrowing, sometimes quirky life of Stella Fortuna and her family over the decades. It is a reminder of how the role of women and wives was incredibly different and difficult only 2-3 generations ago. By the end of the story, you're left with an overwhelming urge to call your grandmother and give her a big hug. A heartwarming and heartbreaking historical family drama.

I was bound to like this, and indeed I was not disappointed. A family saga following a Calabrese family from their remote hillside village to America; from before World War 1 to modern times, spanning over 100 years. I feel like saying "a beautiful story" yet it is so full of heartache and hardship that "beautiful" is definitely not a proper word to use, yet I don't seem to find another word to characterize this novel. It is definitely stereotypical. Think of those little jokes and stories about Italian families living in America and you'll know parts of this novel. But being stereotypical doesn't make it any less true, there's always a good chunk of truth behind every stereotype, isn't it?
I liked the matter of fact tone of the narrative. I believe it was the best way to approach the story. One couldn't have put through all the abuse and hardship the characters lived through and make it palatable to a modern audience otherwise. With the narrator being somewhat 'cold', it allowed the reader to make up his/her own mind; take sides or not, be blinded by everything or just see the complexity of life. While I did suffer for Stella and all the injustices done to her, I also thought she was very misguided in some of her views and refusing to see reason and grow contributed to all her sufferings: starting with her attitude towards her future husband and continuing with her attitude towards her sister in the last years of her life.

I loved this book from start to finish. I was immediately hooked by the quirky engaging style which brought the characters alive. But it is not a light read - the story of Stella Fortuna is a heartbreaking tale of a woman's life destroyed by tradition - how different it might have been had attitudes hadn't been so patriarchal. But still full of warmth and humour - a very satisfying read.

This is an amazing Family Saga about an Italian American immigrant family .It tells the story of Stella Fortuna and her many near death experiences over a 100 years.Stella is a very strong woman who above everything wants control of her life ,which is very difficult in the world she lived in . This is a very different book ,very interesting and wonderfully told .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and Net Galley for my copy in return for an honest review .

Last year’s surprise publishing sensation was the debut novel by American author Stuart Turton “The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle” which won the Costa First Novel Award and climbed up bestseller lists as well as appearing on a considerable number of “Best Of The Year” lists. I haven’t read it yet but anticipate a time-bending novels along the lines of Kate Atkinson’s “Life After Life” which I loved. We all know that from the very early days of publishing there’s nothing like a surprise success to start off the bandwagon jumping and I couldn’t help but feel that this might be the case when I saw the title of this debut by another American author (even more so when you consider Turton’s US title for his novel is “The Seven and A Half Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle"). This may just all be coincidence but I’m doubtful.

There was, however, something about the description of this novel which appealed and hopefully that potential cash-in of a title will not hinder its chances in the marketplace. Unlike “Life After Life” these are not actual deaths anyway but near- death experiences for the main character, a woman with undoubted survival instincts and these experiences provide the structure of the book. It actually needn’t as this is one of the weakest aspects of the story. Before publication I would have made these near- death encounters less prominent and just titled the novel “Stella Fortuna” allowing it to stand more on its own merit rather than on the coat-tails of another title. It would have also ended up with something which would have felt more self-contained and original.

This novel does not need this hook. It works very well on its own as a tale of the long-living Stella Fortuna and her family from sun-soaked days in a village in Calabria, Italy to their emigration to the US just before World War II and their experience of life over the decades as an American-Italian immigrant family.
The Italian section does feel a little unsure of itself in terms of style. At times it reads almost like a fairy tale with whimsical touches borne out of the superstitions of the simple mountain folk. I quite liked it but I’m a little allergic to anything too whimsical. Once it gets to America it feels more realistic and at times disturbingly hard-hitting, even brutal in its writing. As a result I’m not totally convinced Juliet Grames has found her style consistently with this debut. It did occur to me at one point that it might be a translation into English and that the translator did not quite get the author’s right quite right, but it’s not..

However, she did keep me reading and that was because of strong characterisation. Stella will undoubtedly frustrate and irritate, she has a stubborn streak and lives her life attempting to avoid what she does not want rather than going after what she actually wants. She is haunted by these near-death experiences and her belief that they are to do with incidents from before she was born. Her parents, her mother taken away from the simple life she loves and her disturbing macho father are equally well drawn as are many of those who come into Stella Fortuna’s life over the generations. As a family story it works very well. I just can’t help thinking that the title might hold it back implying it is something that it’s not and forcing unnecessary comparisons. This is a strong, memorable debut but I do feel with a slightly different emphasis, viewpoint and a more consistent style it could have been first-rate.

The Seven Or Eight Deaths Of Stella Fortuna is published by Hodder and Stoughton in hardback on May 7th 2019. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

This is so polished for a debut novel. Utterly beautiful. Atmospheric, haunting and brimming in cultural history.
We follow the relationships of Stella throughout her life (and near deaths) and they are captivating. This book offers so much and is quite unique.

A very interesting read with a huge sweep of time. The early parts set in Calabria and initially in America were excellent, but it ran out of power and the more modern parts were overly long and didn't add much to the book as whole in my opinion.

I really enjoyed this book, which was a delightful journey through social history, detailing the lives of Italian immigrants and their journey from Italy to the US.

Very difficult subjects are dealt with in almost a balanced, and even sometimes ‘easy’ way. It tells the story of Stella, from young girl, through to old lady, all her trials and tribulations and how she remains strong throughout, despite nearly dying quite a few times.

Some parts of the story are quite hard to read, but Stella remains a strong character. Its quite a long book, but there wasn’t a moment when I got bored or wondered when it was going to finish. Thoroughly recommended!

An unusual and haunting story of Stella Fortuna, who keeps having accidents during her life when she nearly dies. She is part of a large and rambunctious Italian family, and is determined she will never marry. She is partly put off the idea by her forceful and over-sexed father, who frightens her, and her mother, as well as all her brothers and sisters.
Eventually her father forces her to marry Carmelo and she begins a difficult life, where she has 11 children, 10 of whom survive. She finds her father has been abusing some of his grandchildren, and is horrified that her sister knows this, and doesn't stop it, because it falls short of rape.
Late in life Stella starts to lose her mind, and undergoes a lobotomy, and from then on doesn't really understand the world around her Her husband and her sister try hard to keep her calm and rested, but it is an uphill battle. She is 100 years old when she dies, and the story concludes with her grand-daughter who has been narrating the tale.
The characterization is excellent, and the plot, though involved, is satisfying when it is finished. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

Family sagas are not really my thing personally, but I had heard rave reviews of this and am glad it came to my attention as I think it has the potential to be hugely popular. While the plot didn't interest me, the storytelling was exemplary. One for fans of Elena Ferrante.

This was a wonderful book and I gobbled it up in a day. I'll start with my reasons for giving it four instead of five...there was a bit of a slow section in the middle where the sisters were courting and many names were dropped and I lost track of who was who, also I was not completely a fan of the way the book ended.
Saying that, I really enjoyed this novel. It reminded me heavily of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugindes: a family saga full of secrets, drama, and struggles that crossed the ocean to America where we see story continue. This book is both a highly specific delve into the Fortuna family, and a glance over the history of the 20th century. I enjoyed the way the story was told as it had a certain knowing feel to it, while also feeling very personal. I liked that there were some things that remained a mystery and the narrator admits it.
Stella is a fantastic tragic heroine of her own story - the things she experiences as a girl and woman in a traditional family are heart breaking but I couldn't take my eyes off her. I think the portrayal of her relationship with Carmelo was very interesting - not only for how women of this generation and community were treated, but also for the fact that Stella never let his looks or his attempts to be thoughtful blind her to how badly he treated her. The main players in this book are so well thought out and multi-faceted and they felt real. A few of the later characters blend into one a bit but that is actually addressed in the story.
I loved the parts in rural Italy because there's such a heavy sense of time and place; the beauty of the countryside and the simplicity of life, and yet the limitations and the poverty too. There's a beautiful and thought provoking idea of sisterhood in this novel too. Overall, this was just a wonderful and absorbing story.

I really struggled to get into this book - I think it was the writing style that annoyed me and I didn’t warm to Stella Fortune as a character.
I tried to read it several times but in the end it wasn’t for me. Disappointing because the premise excited me and I was looking forward to reading it.

We should start by saying that in the novel the tale is about Mariastella Fortuna II. Her elder sister died at three and a half. Mariastella II is her younger sister and it is not entirely clear to the family when accidents and near death misses occur in her life whether she is cursed or the ghost of her sister is jinxing her. Both sisters & their younger siblings are born in Ievoli, Calabria in a small upland village that runs in the old ways that flow back to the medieval. The women maintain the small gardens that feed the family and the men work elsewhere – either in the army, or increasingly as emigrants abroad including the USA. A wife is supposed to be obedient to her husband, he owns and controls everything and often desperate poverty & violence are the norm. Mariastella does NOT want to marry.
Father determines that the whole family will emigrate to the US. After difficulties, they finally leave on “the last ship out” in 1939. Life is not “golden” on arrival. Male control is still maintained, the women work to support the family, but in the absence of proper English are unable to earn a great deal and life is hard. With no economic independence they cannot easily fight against the increasingly old fashioned values and abuses of their father which will roll down yet another generation. Mariastella will marry.
The narrator of the tale, it turns out, is the grand-daughter of Stella. It is difficult to see how she can be telling the story of Stella – as the latter, more than a hundred, has been left brain damages for 30 years after a stroke and surgery insisted upon by her younger sister Tina, who “lived next door”. This will not just be the basic story of Stella’s life as told by her relatives from their collective “memories”. All of us know that family memories are variable and often strongly divergent, reflecting annoyances or long held differences. The opportunity is taken here to explore the nature of sisterhood, close families with competing beliefs and values, long standing jealousies and grudges and how they play out. This will also be set against American life over 50 years from the perspective of economically poor and exploited immigrants.
This is a very clever novel, flowing from somebody who is obviously a fine story teller. On the way it integrates historic facts and fictions and feelings. But it also builds a close picture of the women in physically close multigenerational families in a way that allows the reader to both sympathise with and wince at the pains. Under the “family saga” trope it bites very close to the knuckle at times and pulls few punches. It reveals the realities of the family over the years, often at variance with the way it would publicly describe itself and its values.
But this is a tale that nonetheless pulls the reader along at pace and is both a compelling and compulsive read. An excellent read for fiction book groups.

Mariastella Fortuna was born in a small mountain village in Calabria. To say that life was tough for the family is an understatement. They suffered hardship which we would find hard to imagine. Stella's father was largely absent during her childhood, making a life for himself in America. However he didn't send any money home for his family. Stella's mother somehow managed to feed and clothe her family with no support. She struggled up the mountainside with 3 toddlers to collect firewood and grew what she could in her garden. The family slept in one bed. Stella and her sister, Tina worked on a neighbouring farm from a young age.

Yet although times were fiercely difficult, there was a hugely strong bond of love in the family, including the wider family of Stella's grandmother and aunts. Life was as it was and they were not unhappy. There were exciting times when they went to the fiesta and the daily contentment when they stopped to take in the stunning view of the distant sea and the blue greens of the olive groves.

All this was to change. Stella's father sent for the family to join him. Stella's mother felt she had no choice. She had vowed to obey and lived in a very traditional world where she considered it her duty to follow her husband, despite being wrenched from the world she knew and from her own mother, who was frail and blind by this time.

The family arrived in America in the depths of winter, frozen and bewildered. They have no idea how to use a flushing toilet and are overwhelmed by the grocery store. Life in America bears no relation to the life they know. With the exception of the bond between families. They are supported by other Italian cousins and friends and gradually make America their home.

This story is narrated by one of Stella's granddaughters. Stella did indeed almost die seven or eight times during her life and this true tale of her life is quite extraordinary. It tells of such suffering, borne so stoically, deep bonds of community and even stronger family bonds. It is a wonderful story of an immigrant community adapting to their new way of life and taking on new traditions whilst honouring and adapting their own traditions.

I found this a fascinating story and was quickly engaged by Juliet Grames' ability to pull you into the narrative. The only thing which jarred with me was the brief occasions when the narrator suddenly interjected in the text with her own observations. In one instance in particular I thought my Kindle had gone wrong and taken me to the end of the book as she suddenly starts discussing her views of Stella's father. In my view it would have been good if the story was left to flow and any comments on research undertaken were left to a note at the end of the book.

Having said that, these interjections are infrequent and I would thoroughly recommend this book. It is a beautiful portrayal of both life in rural Italy and in postwar America.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to review this book.

The calabrese family and all the restrictions and mayhem of families ruled by the old way of the Italian south, are brilliantly portrayed in this beautiful and heart wrenching story. Humour is there in abundance, albeit a wry resolve for their lot. It covers a century of wars and emigration,, of marriages and friendships, and all the calamities which are somehow overcome. It is a real treat to experience the beauty and brutality of that way of life. In Italy, they talk of people who have experienced good luck as “finding America”, which in this wide ranging tale they do, but at the expense of a simpler way of life. They love having running water, but sharing a bathroom with strangers seems wrong, and their is no simple patch of ground to grow their own produce. There is a stubborn resilience in the central character, but she is scarred by more than her accidents, to which the title refers. A wonderful read.

Stella Fortuna ( Lucky Star) our misnamed heroine is the pivotal character to this heart rending family saga about the life of an Italian-American immigrant family. Spanning 100 years of Stella’s near death experiences, family struggles, romance and tragedies. Her fight to have and be more than just a wife and child bearing vessel in an Italian male dominated society.
This book had me captivated from the beginning and I eagerly look forward to Juliet Grames next book