Some books, particularly romantic fiction, are like potato chips
--- tasty little morsels that offer a brief but satisfying crunch.
You don't expect them to satisfy your hunger but they'll do for the
moment. Others are more like multi-course meals --- epic sagas that
take you weeks to read and leave you feeling sated, if slightly
overly full --- like a great dinner at an exclusive restaurant; you
can't do it all the time, but when it happens, it's a memorable
event.

Adriana Trigiani's THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME doesn't fall into
either of these categories: it's the home-cooked meal no one makes
quite like your Mom --- whether your Mom specialized in pot roast,
baked ziti or arroz con pollo. Warm, satisfying and filling,
without being overly rich, it's a book meant to be savored.

THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME tells the story of three generations of
the Castelluca family, who live near Roseto, Pennsylvania. The
novel centers on Nella Castelluca, her parents and her sisters, as
they grow up on a farm outside of Roseto. Nella meets and falls in
love with the most popular boy in town, Renato Lanzara. Renato's
fondness for books and poetry match well with Nella's own love of
learning, and it seems like a match made in heaven. Then,
inexplicably, Renato leaves Nella and Roseto altogether, breaking
poor Nella's heart. Four years later, just as Nella is about to
start a new life with another man, Renato returns.

Trigiani's novel reads, in part, like a love letter to the
immigrant families that settled in eastern Pennsylvania from Italy
in the 1800s and worked hard to maintain their customs and way of
life. The book takes its name from the town's biggest annual
celebration --- "The Big Time" --- which is the Feast of Our Lady
of Mt. Carmel, occurring every year in late July. The genuine
warmth and affection the author feels for her characters ---
including the town of Roseto --- clearly is reflected throughout
the book, particularly in the care with which Trigiani handles all
her characters.

There are a few missteps --- the novel's final sections feel much
more rushed than the warm, leisurely pace with which the story
opens, and early on in the novel Trigiani contextually includes
several authentic recipes (sort of like an Italian-American LIKE
WATER FOR CHOCOLATE) that suddenly stopped appearing, leaving me
feeling a little cheated. But these elements, while mildly
frustrating, are like a few lumps in the gravy: they don't really
distract from the overall satisfaction the book brings and,
ultimately, add to the "homemade flavor" of the book.

Fans of Trigiani's popular Big Stone Gap trilogy and LUCIA, LUCIA
will find much to love in THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME, which
similarly draws on the author's family history and background.
Newcomers to Adriana Trigiani's work should thoroughly enjoy this
novel as a fitting introduction to a talented author with a genuine
affection for her roots. And who knows --- the novel may inspire
some to visit its setting, the real Roseto, Pennsylvania (about 60
miles outside of Philadelphia) to see The Big Time, the celebration
of the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, held each year in Roseto
during the third week of July.