The Queen of the Big Time
by Adriana Trigiani
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Published: May 31, 2005
Genres: Adult Fiction, Audiobook, Romance
Format: Audiobook (9 hours and 14 minutes)
Source: Library
In the late 1800s, the residents of a small village in the Bari region of Italy, on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, made a mass migration to the promised land of America. They settled in Roseto, Pennsylvania, and re-created their former lives in their new home–down to the very last detail of who lived next door to whom. The village’s annual celebration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel–or “the Big Time,” as the occasion is called by the young women who compete to be the pageant’s Queen–is the centerpiece of Roseto’s colorful old-world tradition.
An epic of small-town life, etched in glorious detail in the trademark Trigiani style, The Queen of the Big Time is the story of a determined, passionate woman who can never forget her first love.
The Queen of the Big Time reminded me of Gone with the Wind but set in the north instead of the south. There’s a guy that Nella, the main character, pines for but can’t have (who is kind of whiney by the way) and she doesn’t fully love the one she has until it’s too late. And then she returns to Tara…uh, I mean the farm she grew up on.
We had a great discussion in my book club about this one. It was a book that made you want to have more fun and live life instead of working too much because of Nella’s reflections on her life and the choices she made. It also had me ponder about our dreams for the future. I couldn’t decide if Nella gave up her dream or if she just got a new one. That was something I can really relate to. I still don’t know the answer. Did I give up my dream of music or did I just find a new one that I love?
It was touching to read a story about a family and the support and care they have for each other even when they don’t always like each other. I find myself enjoying multi-generational stories like these and how they show the changes of generations and their relationships. My one complaint about the novel was the the plot didn’t have much going on it felt kind of slow to me.
Narrator Review: ★★★
The narrator, Cassandra Campbell, had a pleasant voice. She read a little slow for my taste but speeding up the narration helped with that. I thought she did a great job pronouncing all the Italian names.
Overall, it was a beautiful story about family and the choices we make with our dreams, our love, our work, and the act of trying to balance it all.
Content Rating: Medium, for a fade-to-black sex scene and there wasn’t any language that I could remember.
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About Adriana Trigiani
Bestselling author Adriana Trigiani is beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Adriana was raised in a small coal-mining town in southwest Virginia in a big Italian family. She chose her hometown for the setting and title of her debut novel, the critically acclaimed bestseller Big Stone Gap. The heartwarming story continues in the novel's sequels Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, and Home to Big Stone Gap. Stand-alone novels Lucia, Lucia; The Queen of the Big Time; and Rococo, all topped the bestseller lists, as did Trigiani's 2009 Very Valentine and its 2010 sequel Brava, Valentine.
Among her many television credits, Adriana was a writer/producer on The Cosby Show, A Different World, and executive producer/head writer for City Kids for Jim Henson Productions. Her Lifetime television special, Growing Up Funny, garnered an Emmy Award nomination for Lily Tomlin.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
Gone With the Wind set in the North – that’s a great tag line! Now that comment about dreams given up or just found new ones – that hits home for me, as well. That’s interesting.
I really enjoy multi-generational books. I have noticed with this type of book, though, that the plot is usually pretty plain.