Book Review: Rococo by Adriana Trigiani

Summary:

Bartolomeo di Crespi is the acclaimed interior decorator of Our Lady of Fatima, New Jersey. To date, Bartolomeo has hand-selected every chandelier, sconce, and ottoman in OLOF, so when the renovation of the local church is scheduled, he assumes there is only one man for the job.

From the dazzling shores of New Jersey to the legendary fabric houses of New York City, from the prickly purveyors of fine art in London to luscious Santa Margherita on the Mediterranean coast of Italy, Bartolomeo is on a mission to bring talent, sophistication, and his aesthetic vision to his hometown.

Review:

I know, I know.  I said in my In My Mailbox post last week that I was going to save Rococo for later, since I've been reading a lot of Adriana Trigiani lately and I want to make her books last.  But, I have no self-control.  That is why I read compulsively!  I just couldn't return Rococo to the library without reading it.


I love all things Adriana Trigiani so I was shocked that I didn't like Rococo more than I did.  I had a hard time getting into the book---it wasn't until I was about halfway through that I started to care about Bartolomeo.  And even then I liked his family and friends more than him, especially Capri and Christina.  Whereas Trigiani's other books have at least two laugh-out-loud moments, Rococo did not.  I may have cracked a smile a couple of times but that was all.


I love books written in the first person, but I just don't like books written from a male point of view.  Especially a man who is callous about sex and relationships.  I think another reason why Rococo didn't appeal to me like Big Stone Gap or Very Valentine is that I am not interested in interior design.  I enjoyed reading about family, shoes, Italian cooking, love, and relationships (all featured in her other books) but I just didn't enjoy reading about fabrics, murals, stonework, and sculptures.  Call me uncultured, but I don't know a fresco from a fritatta.  And I'm perfectly fine keeping it that way.


Just One Gripe:

This was not a bad book, it just wasn'nt on the same level as Trigiani's other work.  If you're new to Trigiani, don't start with Rococo.

The Best Thing About This Book:

I love Trigiani's side characters.  They add so much to her books.

Appropriate for a younger audience:

Yes

Score:

Characters:  2/5

Plot:  2/5

Setting/Imagery:  4/5

Originality:  2/5

Ending:  3/5

Total Score:  13/25