The View from Lake Como

This is not Lake Como, New Jersey. This is not Lake Como, Italy either. It is a story about why I love Adriana Trigiani, her books, her podcasts and her up-beat spirit to keep all of us reading and interested in a variety of authors and personalities.

I chose to honour this book with this show-stopper view from Mui Wo, the bay where I currently reside. The views are stunning, on a sunny bright day. The views might be dark and shadows would be lingering heavy on the village on a black rain day. Often times a reflection of what we can see, what we chose to see, a constant reminder and opportunity to go out and connect.

You can find her book also here whenever you are ready to deep dive on the shores of Lake Como, wherever they might be, or simply take in any shore that brings closer to you what you love most.

The View from Lake Como, Adriana Trigiani

We can connect with nature, with the elements. We can connect with the people we meet on our hike. We can connect with dogs or cats crossing our paths. We can wave hello to cute babies on their cheering when lifted up in the air and landing on their parents’ back. We dream most and foremost to connect with ourselves. We take the view in and we start wondering what could we see really?

Adriana’s books became a reliable companion for me while travelling. Sitting on a train, surrounded by announcements in languages I might not comprehend, Adriana’s writing makes me comprehend life in all its humanity and makes me one book at a time, kinder to myself. I would dare to make this bold statement, that Adriana Trigiani reminds me to love life as it is and see all the possibilities.Her stories have this common thread about family, love for family and community, a solo journey at times of a heroine making sense of her world and what is happening, a thriving desire to be self-reliant, to follow one’s passions and live fully.

There are and there will be turns, turns, hiccups. There is and there will be love for food and for cooking as a single of love. There are and there will be people you can rely on, either the ones you know or new ones who come into your life in the most unexpected way. There is passion. There is knowledge.There is a mastery in one or more crafts.

I have read the book only recently, and yet, this time I was somewhat familiar with the set up as I have been listening for a while to the interviews Adriana Trigiani gave while promoting the publishing of her book. I loved the feeling of picking up the book and feeling at home. And yet, despite of the author talking about the book, the storyline took me by surprise in so many ways. My heart sank few times. I laughed out loud few times too, in a sea of people taking the same fast train. And mostly, I surprised myself smiling in the reflection of a glass window. Not ones, many times. It became a habit almost - let me check-in, do I carry the same smile again?

The book is a journey, per se. Takes us from New Jersey to Italy. And more.

And with every journey, there is an inward movement. The alchemy of transformation. The beauty with these transformations is that is never ,at least in my eyes, about our heroine’s transformation. Everyone in contact with a brave, integral character transforms along the way. Everyone and us readers included. I would assume the authour herself transforms, and lives and is born again through all these stories. Some parts come from generations and generations, her ancestors speak through her books. And I always wonder, how would it be to connect now again with my grandmothers. How would it be to sit with them in wisdom, as probably they watched carefully over me when I might have not been wise, but wilder and bold. Grandmothers are one step above the aunts in a family. I can see how they release any need of discipline and guidance even, and they just want to embrace the grandkids growing up fully. I can see them surrendering to this new joie de vivre that grandkids bring. This is how a book connects us with the parts of ourselves that we keep carrying with us.

The main character of “The view from Lake Como” is Jess Capodimonte Baratta. A name that if you dare to pronounce it out loud, it will fill up your lungs. The full name being Giuseppina, and this is how her mother still calls her. If you know me here, I would not go into full story and details as I would love all of you to pick up the book and start reading. Or even more so, pick up the Audible version and start listening to the marvel that Mira Sorvino delivered for us.

This has been a marathon for Mira Sorvino, I bet. To take us so nuanced through all characters, and capture what they are all about, capture their emotions and capture their hearts. The more you listen, the more you learn to distinguish the characters just by the tones of the voice, just by the inflections.

Jess, Giuseppina is always almost, mellow, kind, gentle. Her mother’s voice is a bit screechy, and enough accent to give her away. Her father has this mediator voice, there to calm the water. Her uncle Louie is just the character he is meant to be - colourful, full of wisdom but also full of shadows. He is the chameleon of the story. All in good faith, to prove that he can achieve and can succeed in a new world. Jess goes through all this emotions of uncovering truths about her family and her uncle Louie, both in her now life in New Jersey but also in Italy. She is the ancestor that brings light, love and transparency to the family. She becomes the new ancestor who leads with integrity of her profession, an architect, a builder with roots both in the farmers around Carrara region and in the workers climbing the mountain to bring marble rocks to life. A fascinating journey. If there is a place I would love to travel to right now, would be Carrara. We touched marble and we perhaps never thought before - what does it takes to bring those to life and closer to us. Jess has this scene where she takes a bath to recover her jet lag in a Carrara bath tub. There is this moment of realization that she has brought to life so many projects and installed bath tubs for great houses, yet she has never tried one. She has never indulged herself in the beauty of her own work of art. And suddenly was closer to understanding its value by being in one and restoring her energy and taking all in.

A new setting, a new view. Sometimes from a bath tub.

Going back to Mira Sorvino and her mastery in interpreting the novel. The beauty really with one talent delivering one full story, is almost the unknown thread that connects us with the humanity of all characters. It is the connector of all. They are all related. We are all related to them.

Sure thing, I would have loved to hear Angelo occasionally talking more. I have a feeling though that Adriana Trigiani delivered just the right amount of his character so we can take our time to savour him alongside Jess (Giuseppina).

This is a strong story of becoming. Of finding and being in your roots, while setting up new roots. Jess brings her values to shine day by day. She sheds and unlearns many of the earlier expectations and she unravels in trusting her capabilities, trusting her knowledge and skills, trusting herself in handling even most challenging situations.

While she believes in her family business she also understands with clarity that she can build her business that can still serve the family. Nothing is wasted. Jess finds the new ways, aligned with her verticality and beauty.

This story is so compelling. I was even tempted to adopt a kitty just like her.I will have to wait a bit though, most probably for a dog instead and the right timing.

There are many ways you can connect to Adriana - her podcast is brilliant and full of life.Her stories and the people she introduces to us are all one of a kind, full of depth and insights .Full of humanity.

You are what you read, Adriana Trigiani’s Podcast

You can also find her here on Substack and hear from her regularly. I love listening to her every Tuesday, and sometimes I keep binging some of the episodes if I am on the road and my connections might not work. Download the episodes ahead of time - one lesson learned last week while stranded in an airport for 6 hours delay after delay. Keep walking and keep listening to beautiful bold stories of becoming.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

May our hearts open to the full range of feelings. And dance in the rain too.

Thank you for reading and being here every week.