Tony's Wife

Adriana Trigiani's newest novel, Tony's Wife, begins in 1932 Detroit. Saverio Armandonada (that's a mouthful!) is on his way to work in the Ford motor plant, along with this father Leone and all the other men in the neighborhood.

Saverio's job is to bolt the driver's door handle on 978 cars every day, ten hours a day, six days a week. On the seventh day, Saverio sings in the church choir. He has the loveliest voice in the choir, everyone said so.

On Christmas Eve, he was all set to give fellow choir member Cheryl a beautiful necklace and declare his love. When his love life doesn't work out as he planned, he gets an offer to audition for a band. His father is furious that Saverio would give up a good steady job for the unknown life as a show more singer, and throws him out of the house.

Chi Chi Donatelli lives in New Jersey with her family, where they all work in a textile factory. But Chi Chi dreams of being a singer, and her father supports her, even building a studio in their garage to record Chi Chi and her sisters in the hopes of becoming the next big girl group.

Chi Chi meets Saverio, hoping that he can get her record to a music label. They spend the day at the beach, and Tony is smitten with Chi Chi, although she is wary of his playboy ways. Tony is invited to the Donatellis for Sunday dinner, and he envies Chi Chi the warmth of her family. How he wished he had that!

Saverio and Chi Chi both dream of becoming stars, and they fall in love and marry. Chi Chi fears that becoming a wife and mother will force her to give up the life she has come to relish- writing and recording songs, performing on stage with Sav (now known as Tony Arma).

They move to Hollywood, where Chi Chi writes songs and cares for their children, while Tony tours the country and works as an actor in films. Chi Chi wants the traditional Italian family that she grew up with, but it appears that Tony may no longer want that. Can their marriage survive?

Anyone who loves the music of the 1940s and 1950s will adore Tony's Wife. Trigiani names each chapter as a direction in music- Feroce, Crescendo, Teneramente- adding to the authenticity of this engaging story. She even includes song lyrics throughout and a Tony Arma discography at the end of the book.

I found Chi Chi's story so very captivating. She is such a strong woman, a woman who took care of her family's finances and took charge of her career and life, all the time remaining traditional to her family values. I absolutely fell in love with her!

As with everyone, there are ups and downs in Chi Chi's life, happy times and incredibly sad and challenging times too. Once again, the cover art work is astonishing, and the descriptions of family meals and the beautiful clothing so evocative that you use all of your senses while reading this gorgeous story.

Tony's Wife would make a perfect hostess gift if you are traveling for Thanksgiving, as well as a lovely gift during this holiday season. Pair it with a Frank Sinatra record and a bottle of good Chianti as a gift to your best friend as well as for yourself. I highly recommend Tony's Wife. show less

Two young musicians, singer Saverio and songwriter Chi Chi try to make it in the Big Band world. But is success everything they dreamed of after all?

I've been fairly meh on most of what I've read by Trigiani, but I decided to give this book a try anyway. The title is very misleading because we don't meet Tony for quite some time and it's even longer before we meet his wife. The beginning of the book was a bit slow, especially because it started off focusing on Saverio, who I never felt was compelling as a character. Once Chi Chi entered the scene, I was far more interested as she is a vibrant and engaging character. But as time went by, I felt that Trigiani did Chi Chi wrong; she deserved a far better life than she was given and, show more frankly, some of her behavior (e.g., being a doormat for her ex-husband) was very out of line with her character (e.g., insisting on financial independence at a time when that was not a thing for women).

The pacing was a little off here and there -- long descriptions of someone's clothes for instance and then the barest mention of a marriage, divorce, or birth -- but overall the writing was decent. I suppose the argument could be made that Trigiani wrote a rather gripping story because I felt so strongly about both main characters, but I felt like so much of Saverio's parts could have been downsized or completely stripped and the book would have been improved. Honestly, a story about Chi Chi and her sisters working the music scene with their all-girl band would have been a better one, and no Saverio was needed. It seems from what I've read so far of her works, Trigiani can write some really stand-up female leads, and then stinks at procuring male leads worthy of them.

For the audiobook reader, the narrator here did a good job of giving different voices and accents to the various characters. However, his voice for general narration was a bit too placid for my taste. show less

Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani is a highly recommended historical family drama that begins in the Big Band Era and flows through the decades.

Saverio Armandonada is kicked out of his home by his father on Christmas Eve, 1932, when he wants to forego working at the auto plant and pursue a singing career. Later, before the start of WWII and after he experiences some success, he meets the feisty Chi Chi (Chiara) Donatelli at Sea Isle City on the Jersey Shore. She wants a career in music too, and although she is attracted to Saverio, she also realizes that he is a womanizer, and besides all that, she is very serious about a career on her terms and wants no part of marriage. Later she meets Saverio again. Now he has changed his name to Tony show more Arma. The two begin to work together as friends in Tony's band and become a successful singing act. She writes successful songs and Tony has hits singing them.

Then WWII begins and Tony joins the Navy. As he receives Chi Chi's friendly letters, he realizes he has strong feelings for her and pursues her. She is uncertain because she has seen him with many other women over the time she has worked with him. He swears she is the only woman for him and finally she agrees to marry him. Then, the girl who never wanted to get married, has twin girls while Tony is still enlisted. This marks a change in Chi Chi's life, because now she is the one who must set her career aside and take care of their family. In the meantime, Tony returns and returns to life on the road, singing, and womanizing. Now Chi Chi has some difficult decisions to make as she lives life on her own terms.

This is a drama following a passionate Italian family full of life and opinions. It is well written and follows the characters from the 1930s to the 1980's, although the earlier years are much more detailed and the later years rushed. Once the plot took shape, it did become a bit predictable. Chi Chi is the main character and the one who is truly portrayed as a complete individual. The historical setting adds a special touch to the saga, along with the strong family connections and opinions that Chi Chi holds. Trigiani definitely captures the emotions and closeness of a devoted Italian family and their many extended connections.

The first part of the book features a strong narrative voice from Chi Chi, with Saverio's character having his own issues and feelings that are also clearly presented. Then the novel changed, and the main narrative voice is Chi Chi. Tony becomes, quite frankly, a cad. I've been back and forth on this novel. There were parts where it is a page-turner that I enjoyed quite a bit, and others that left me a bit bored. It will appeal to Trigiani's many fans and does introduce an unforgettable character in Chi Chi. It's also a good choice for anyone who loves a sweeping family saga that covers a lifetime.

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from HarperCollins. show less

Thanks to Book Club Cookbook's Galley Match program and Harper publisher for a copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've read and liked several books written by Adriana Trigiani so I thought I knew what I was going to get with Tony's Wife but it turned out to be a different novel. What I liked: the large and loving Donatelli family; Chi Chi, a woman who pursues financial independence beginning in the 1930's; Mariano, an Italian father who encourages his daughter to develop her career instead of just to get married and have babies; and the backstage scenes of the swing era and the growing music industry. Loved the cover with those white sunglasses! What I didn't like: the way Chi Chi was strong and independent in every show more way except when it came to Tony; the author's over-explaining and repetition of certain facts and the omission of others - where was the editor?

The novel is over 400 pages, and I'm just not comfortable recommending my friends spend so much time with this book when I only rated it 2 1/2 stars. If you want to read a good Adriana Trigiani book, read Very Valentine or Lucia, Lucia. show less

A Heartwarming Story of Love and Music

Saviero and Chairs have big dreams when they meet on the Jersey Shore in1938. Although success and its vices get in the way, their love endures over decades.

Adriana Trigiani is a gifted writer whose books transport you to another time and place. The characters feel like people you know or have met. I was interested in Trigiani's description of the writing process and wonder if it came from her own life.
This book, in particular, that had so many deep insights into relationships. I really loved this book, from a favorite author.

Weird references to transistor radios in the 1930's/40's were off-putting, but a decent read.

Thanks to Goodreads and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. My opinion is my own.

Brava, Adriana Trigiani, you've done it again with a wonderful book.

First of all, let me start with the cover art of this book. I usually love the covers but this one surprised me. It does not fit (to me) the character of Chi Chi to me. The hair style throws me off because of the style -- strange looking braids and not very Italian looking.

I always love her books and this one is no exception. The close knit Italian family. The love of Chi Chi and Tony was hot and cold mostly because of his cheating on her constantly on the road to stardom. She was just as talented as he was in her own way -- writing songs for the both of them and she gave up to start a family show more which was the way they did it in the 1940s or mostly.

It ended in 2000 when Tony & Chi Chi were in their 80s and their twin girls Rosie and Sunny were in their 50s.

There are a few sad parts and a tragedy and disappointments but that's life. show less