Ellen Cooney

Ellen Cooney discusses Lambrusco: A Novel.

"Join us for an Italian Evening with Lambrusco wine and pizza tasting. The extraordinary Resistance movement of the Italian people in the Second World War is brought to life in a story of a mother’s search for her son, by the author of the widely acclaimed A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies. The year is 1943. Nazis have invaded Italy; American troops have landed. At Aldo’s restaurant on the Adriatic coast, Lucia Fantini, wife of the late Aldo, entertained customers for years with her marvelous opera singing, but normal operations have ceased; the restaurant has been seized by nazifascisti, and a resistance squad of waiters and tradesmen has been formed, led by Lucia’s son Beppino. When he disappears after acting on his own to destroy a German truck, Lucia asks, “What kind of a partisan are you, blowing something up without telling your mother?” and sets off to look for him." (booksite.com) (SqueakyChu)… (more)