The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella F..., Juliet Grames
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella F..., Juliet Grames
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The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
A Novel

Author: Juliet Grames

Narrator: Lisa Flanagan

Unabridged: 16 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ecco

Published: 05/07/2019

Synopsis

For Stella Fortuna, death has always been a part of life. Stella’s childhood is full of strange, life-threatening incidents—moments where ordinary situations like cooking eggplant or feeding the pigs inexplicably take lethal turns. Even Stella’s own mother is convinced that her daughter is cursed or haunted.In her rugged Italian village, Stella is considered an oddity—beautiful and smart, insolent and cold. Stella uses her peculiar toughness to protect her slower, plainer baby sister Tina from life’s harshest realities. But she also provokes the ire of her father Antonio: a man who demands subservience from women and whose greatest gift to his family is his absence.When the Fortunas emigrate to America on the cusp of World War II, Stella and Tina must come of age side-by-side in a hostile new world with strict expectations for each of them. Soon Stella learns that her survival is worthless without the one thing her family will deny her at any cost: her independence.In present-day Connecticut, one family member tells this heartrending story, determined to understand the persisting rift between the now-elderly Stella and Tina. A richly told debut, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is a tale of family transgressions as ancient and twisted as the olive branch that could heal them.

About Juliet Grames

Juliet Grames was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in a tight-knit Italian-American family. A book editor, she has spent the last decade at Soho Press, where she is associate publisher and curator of the Soho Crime imprint. This is her first novel.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on September 10, 2019

A favorite. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Where to even begin? I’m surprised I don’t see more five star reviews for this perfectly-written compelling story of an Italian immigrant family. The author is also an editor, and it shows in the clear, intentional writing. I read Stella Fortuna’s story over a couple weeks......more

Goodreads review by Tammy on July 21, 2019

Both Stella Fortuna and her sister Tina are alive today and this fictionalized account is written by a family member. It’s really Stella’s story and it spans one hundred years. As you might imagine, a lot happens. It begins in a remote mountain village in Calabria, Italy and ends in Connecticut. So......more

Goodreads review by Tucker on May 23, 2020

Many thanks to Ecco for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review She’d been named after her grandmother, which was proper but still; “Stella” and “Fortuna” - “Star luck” or maybe even “lucky star” - what a terrifying thing to call a little girl. There’s no better way to bring down t......more

Goodreads review by Liz on March 30, 2019

Oh this book. I’m not even sure where to start… I had some doubt when I picked it up to start reading, epic family drama not being in my immediate comfort zone – then an hour later I’d devoured multiple chapters only emerging when my alarm went off for work. That’s how it gets you… The scene setting i......more

Goodreads review by Eliza on December 06, 2019

This novel is written so well, so researched, filled with so much emotion and veracity that I was sure it was a true story. Only it’s not, and I’m a little upset to find that out. Regardless, this book is one of my more favorite reads of 2019. It isn't perfect, but in terms of a historical fiction n......more

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