This is the story of the life of Stella Fortuna. The narrator is her grand-daughter who tells the story in chronological order from before her birth to her final "death". This is refeshing as so many stories these days jump from past to present. The narrator makes her presence felt in glimpses of future events and personal opinions. The narrative is punctuated with the several near-death accidents which Stella suffers. However, the physical scars are less than the mental scars inflicted upon her by her father, who basically blights not only her life but her mother's and grand-daughters' too. Stella starts off feisty and determined not to marry or bear children as she has seen her mother suffer in both aspects. However, she gets beaten down and her wishes are ignored. She has a strong bond with her sister, Tina but that too is taken away in the end. The influence of the original Mariastella adds a mystical aspect. The settings, in Italy and America, are atmospheric and give a vivid picture of the life and struggles of immigrant families at that time. I loved this.

Stella Fortuna was born into abject poverty in a very small village in Calabria southern Italy. She was the second daughter of the family. Her elder sister, whom she was named for died in childhood. As a young girl Stella was burned on the arms and stomach by burning hot frying oil. Her first near death experience. Her father, a very hard man as drafted into the army. On return to the village he decides to immigrate to New York to make his fortune. Unfortunately he never sent any money home to the family, so they lived a very hard life. Little education for the girls or their brothers. Then as he said he would he sent for his family. He arranged the journey from their village to Naples then a ship to New York. On the first attempt their visas were incorrect, left with no money the family return to their village. A couple of years later her father rearranges their visas and they get to Hartford Connecticut. Although her father said they would “eat meat” and lead a better life in Hartford they lived in a tenement and had to work as labours in the tobacco industry. Stella had seven or eight near death experiences was she cursed by the evil eye, as her mother thought. A look into their lives and experiences a very complicated family.

An interesting one this. Written in linear form, the novel follows the life of one woman living in a small rural italian town and her immigration to America. Of course, that's only half the story, it's what happens to her, how she almost dies seven or eight times depending on who you ask that really matters.
The novel feels very much like a family history and saga. We start off in Calabria where the author paints a vivid picture of the fate of women here at the time. Assunta is the head of the family who cares for her four children whilst husband Antonio heads off to America in search of a better life. He sends no money home however and Assunta feels the burden of coping alone. The rural setting imitates her loneliness and her sense of isolation in every sense of the word.

Stella is one of these daughters who also feels the burden of her lot. She is expected to marry and have her own family like every other woman in the area. When she sees how her father has left her mother to struggle, she vows never to be in that position. She sees her valley and village as prisons so welcomes the chance to start again in America. The story to this point is hopeful yet sad and it's relevant to women today sadly who feel they have to follow society's norms to some degree.

I'd hoped when the story moved to America, that things would get better. There are some parts that are very tricky to read here as Antonio becomes violent. Stella is even more determined to escape and I admit I felt like that reading some of the scenes in the novel. Important to realise the severity and sense of hopelessness I guess, but still hard to read.
The locations change and so does Stella's lot in life, but not in the ways she imagines or hopes. Italy is tough but the gilded promises of America seem to be empty and at the whim of her violent father. Stella represents the fighting spirit of women which wasn't as popular then as it is now. Sad that women still have to fight in this way however.

It's not an easy read by any means but having finished it and thought about it, I can see the message and the bigger picture.

Atmospheric family saga set in Italy and America

Stella Fortuna is the second daughter in her family to bear that name, the first having died in infancy. As she grows she feels the ghostly presence of that lost sister and soon identifies her as the malign cause of her many misfortunes. The first Stella cannot rest whilst her namesake lives.

This story starts in the mountains of Calabria where Assunta Fortuna carries the whole burden of childcare for her four children, whilst her husband Antonio tries to make a new life in America. During his years away he sends no money home and Assunta relies on her own resources and the kindness of the community to make a poor but happy and safe life for her children.

Stella witnesses her father’s brief visits home and the use he makes of her mother, each time leaving her with another child who he will not support. She determines that she will never be at the mercy of a husband’s desires and will not surrender her body to any man,

Eventually, Antonio arranges visas and the family is on the last ship out of Italy before Mussolini closes the ports. In the States Stella and her sister Tina live a better standard of life although all they earn must be handed over to the father who doles out the occasional dollar or two for them to spend on themselves. Stella is determined that the family will buy a decent house and so takes on the role of guarding their savings. Eventually, a new home is made in the suburbs, but Antonio becomes increasingly vicious and depraved. Whilst her mother and sister meet his cruelties with tears and hysteria, Stella stands firm and plans her escape.

This is a story all about relationships, love and endurance and Stella is the pivot around which all else turns. Despite her many ‘deaths’, she remains strong and resolute until the end. She is a; so a staunch feminist in time before it was fashionable.

It is also a story of a way of life in the hills of Calabria, which will never be seen again. A simple life of hard work and few rewards but lived within a community which looks after each other.

The first few pages had me questioning whether I wanted to read any more, but I am so pleased I stuck with it. It is an important book with lessons for all women whatever their nationality or circumstances.

Enjoy!

Pashtpaws

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This was a good read and I was hooked from the first page.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review