This novel is essentially a family saga taking place over more than a century and concerning four generations of an Italian American family. Mariastella (known as Stella) is the eldest child of the second generation and the narrative is mostly told from her point of view although the narrator is Stella's granddaughter. She had an older sister with the same name who died before she was born and over her long life she frequently believes the ghost of the first Stella is jealous of her and trying to kill her. The first half of the book takes place in a small Calabrian village in Italy while the second half follows the family after their emigration to the United States. There is much of social historical interest in the book concerning Italian involvement in both the First and Second World Wars; education, poverty, abuse and the role of women in early 20th century Italy (many of the attitudes continuing into the present day part of the story); immigration, language and prejudice. However I found the book to be over long and had almost lost interest in the main character by the time the book ended. The first half was much stronger and I felt the author had lost interest also in the second half where the sentences became shorter and quite stilted.
There are no sympathetic men in the book at all, with sexual abuse seeming to be the norm for all the male characters. Although the women are more sympathetically written, they are all under the power of men throughout the book and so sisterhood becomes a contested solidarity, leading to jealousy and family breakups.
Thanks to the publishers via Net Galley for a complimentary ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

A fantastic, sweeping tale. Heartbreaking and human with tragic elements. Stella is possibly one of the most engaging characters I have ever come across. I could not put this down!

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Every so often I come across what I call a "6 star book" and this book was one of them. It was an utterly perfect and sublime reading experience and is the kind of book that reminds me just why reading is so important to me. Any second of spare time I could scrounge up was spent reading this book and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it.

The novel takes us from World War One era Calabria through to present day Connecticut and follows the story of the Fortuna family, focusing primarily on Stella Fortuna, the titular heroine. The story has a real sense of time and place and the Calabrian village Stella spends her early years in was captured beautifully. Never have I wanted to visit an impoverished, remote Italian mountain village as I have reading this book.

The story interweaves the events of Stella's numerous near death experiences with the stories of the other members of the Fortuna family. The story is tragic and beautiful and the rather fanciful premise manages to feel perfectly believable and credible. The numerous heart-stopping and tragic moments are delivered in a matter of fact way which makes their impact all the more striking.

As a heroine, Stella is multi-layered and complex and it is impossible not to get genuinely invested in her story. We experience her powerlessness as opportunities are lost and sometimes forcibly taken from her. We are spectators to her relationships with her imperfect family and the men she meets along her journey.

The Italian-American experience and the real life social history was captured perfectly and the female relationships in particular were on point.

This is no easy read, don't expect happy endings for everyone but if you appreciate beautifully written, multi-generational family sagas you'd be a fool not to read this one.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is an absorbing, cleverly written story, chronicling the life and near deaths of Stella. She was born in Italy and moved to New York as a young women. She lived her life exactly how she hadn’t wanted to; having little choice in her own destiny.

The story is funny and sad; shocking and emotional. I thoroughly recommend it to all who love a meaty family saga.

This book is a fairly long read but worth every word the reader invests in it. It's a slow building saga through Stella’s life from birth, to the end, and many ‘almost’ deaths inbetween.

I loved the feeling of a kind of ‘fate’ within its pages, as we learn how a very small change could have meant Stella didn’t survive, but the actual narrative tells how Stella did, somehow, survive the many near-misses - from being trampled by a pig to jumping to her death out of a window. 

Stella and her family live in a poor Italian village, trying to make ends meet with a truly horrible father and many complications. They end up in America, and I hugely enjoyed the story of how they made a life there, but not easily, and the historical elements of the story paint a vivid picture of being an Italian immigrant in 1950's America. There are some really shocking parts which feel dark, to be honest, but the author keeps it as non-graphic as can be, when discussing disturbing topics. However, I still felt a true sense of rage, sadness and frustration at various points in Stella's difficult life - and funnily enough, almost all had the root cause of a man wanting to control her. I found it difficult to read at times, but that only reinforced what a powerful novel this is.

It's hard to sum up exactly why this novel is so enchanting. It might be because of the great characters, vivid setting (The Italian village in the mountains where Stella grew up, and always felt like home to her, really drew me in as it felt so beautifully described) or perhaps the feeling of foreboding in knowing, as the reader, that danger to Stella seems to be lurking in even the most unexpected places.  Either way, I really enjoyed this read and would encourage anyone to give it a go - and stick with it, although it can feel a little slow in parts, the end result when is so worth it!

A strange book, but nonetheless enjoyable. Eventually we discover it is being written by Stella's grandaughter, and is a book spanning generations, continents and what seems like different worlds - from the days of the first world war in Italy, to the present day in the USA. We explore family relationships, and see how they evolve, or don't evolve. One of the most shocking parts for me was the age of Stella's mum when she was forced into marriage, and how it wasn't seen as wrong that her 12 year old sister in law had a baby. Much of this was uncomfortable reading, but it was fascinating, gripping and highly evocative of the times it passed through. A novel approach, focusing different parts of the story on the times Stella "nearly died". This will stay with me.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is a wonderful piece of storytelling. The writing is at times somewhat circuitous, but I loved it.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is an absorbing read primarily about power plays and politics within a family unit and the repercussions one event in childhood can have.

I loved the opening of The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna:

“This is the story of Mariastella Fortuna the second, called Stella, formerly of Ievoli, a mountain village in Calabria, Italy, and later of Connecticut in the United States of America. Her life stretched over more than a century, and during that life she endured much bad luck and hardship. This is the story of how she never died.”

I like how the author gets straight down to the business of her deaths but then takes her time telling exactly how they came about. So, within the first few pages we know exactly what the causes of near death were but not how they occurred.

“eight near-death experiences – or seven depending on how you count them. She would be bludgeoned and concussed, she would asphyxiate, she would haemorrhage, and she would be lobotomised. She would be partially submerged in boiling oil, be split from belly to bowel on two unrelated occasions, and on a different day have her life saved only by a typo. Once she would accidentally commit suicide.”

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is presented as being written in the form of a memoir by one of her relatives as it is told to her by Stella’s sister and closest relative Concettina or Tina as she was latterly known.

The relationship between the two sisters was a tricky one and rang so true that you could almost believe that they were members of your own family because they seemed so real. Growing up Tina witnessed most of the events described within the book as she was at Stella’s side. However, after what family members referred to as ‘the Accident’ Stella hadn’t spoken to her sister for 30 years.

The person compiling the memoir states they were almost grown before they heard Stella’s story because of the nature of family histories.

“Family memory is a tricky thing; we repeat some stories ourselves until we are bored of them, while others inexplicably fall away. Or maybe not inexplicably, maybe some stories, if remembered would fit too uncomfortably into the present family narrative.”

Tina warns her before they start that some of the parts of the story weren’t nice. It becomes clear later that Stella is seen as the mad one in the family since ‘the Accident’ and has had no problem loudly expressing some of her opinions on her near misses and the reasons why they occurred but no one in the family listens as they think she is mad. Now Tina wants to set the record straight.

“I think finally, after all these years, she wanted to set the record straight. She knew better than anyone else, alive or dead, all of the details, because she had been at Stella’s side the whole time. She has the most at stake – the most compelling reason to tell me the whole truth, but also the most compelling reason to hide it.”

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna holds a lot of charm, not least because of the old-world charm that comes across in the descriptions of the mountain village Stella grew up in. For example, Stella Fortuna translates as Lucky Star but “There’s no better way to bring down the Evil Eye than to brag about your good fortune; a name like Stella Fortune was just asking for trouble. And whether or not you believed in the Evil Eye, you have to admit Stella had plenty of trouble.”

Stella was a very well-written character because despite being smart and talented, she was also flawed, and this made her more believable. Oddly her flaws made me like her more.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna was a vibrant read and I loved it.

Don’t be fooled by the whimsical title and fantastical blurb into thinking that this is some sort of supernatural fantasy adventure or similar (although there is a little dash of superstition and spiritual suspicion too): Stella Fortuna is an intimate family narrative of one of the world’s unluckiest women.

Told from the perspective of one of Stella’s descendants, the story maps right back from Stella’s mother’s marriage and life, to the birth of young Stella, and then follows the fortunes of the Fortuna family as they attempt to survive both paternal desertion and return, and eventually, reluctantly, emigrate to America.

This is not a happy tale.

Not only does poor Stella suffer from more than her fair share of potentially fatal escapades, but in the course of the plot she must also face her greatest fears and then continue to live with them and suffer from them for a long, long life. Her name is one of the cruelest ironies that could have been bestowed upon her!

This immersion into the family life and the problems faced by immigrants, and women, is deeply compelling and I found myself holding my breath as I willed things to turn out well for the strong, suffering Fortuna females.

The ending felt somewhat deflating with its lack of any clear resolution or closure, but at the same time this left us with the indomitable Fortuna spirit, to add a tiny spark of hope that there is still time for a brighter star to shine.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a family saga, rooted in realism (and some trauma), exploring the problems faced by the displaced and the powerless.


Over the course of her hundred years, the second Stella Fortuna (I will tell you about the first inn a little bit) would survive eight near-death experiences – or seven – depending on how you count them. She would be bludgeoned and concussed, she would asphyxiate, she would hemorrhage, and she would be lobotomized. She would be partially submerged in boiling oil, be split from belly to bowel on two unrelated occasions, and on a different day have her life saved only be a typo. Once she would almost accidentally commit suicide.

– Juliet Grames, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

"The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna" is a multi-generational saga set in Calabria and America, that touches on themes of resilience, looking for a better life, and the importance of family ties as well as the fight against convention, tradition and expectations in a male dominated world. This is the story of Stella Fortuna, a beautiful, strong-minded and tough girl, who wants to live her life her own way. Despite her name - which can be translated as "lucky star" - Stella's life is punctuated by several dangerous incidents, which shape her life forever.

As she tries to navigate her life, Stella's confidence, happiness and zest for life are chipped away bit by bit. Her abusive father, her husband, and their nine unruly children - the men in her life continue to abuse their power and make her give up one thing she craves the most - her freedom. Another theme of the book is the long-lasting feud between Stella and her sister, Tina.

The story is told by Stella's granddaughter, who plays the role of the omnipotent, all-knowing narrator, as she tries to explain the reasons behind this decades long bad blood between the sisters. What is the reason behind it? And who is responsible for Stella's bad luck and constant near misses - is it the ghost of her dead older sister, jealous of Stella's life as hers was cut short, or is it someone or something else, closer to home?

"The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna" is not only a mouthful of a title. It is also an expansive family saga, beautifully told, despite a rather (in my opinion) hurried second part, I was not a big fan of the supernatural elements either, but I loved the more prosaic, realistic elements of the story, especially the Italian parts of the book. It's not perfect, but it is a riveting read - engrossing, bleak and depressing in places, a true depiction of the family striving for a better life for themselves.

As so often, I came to this book through a recommendation by a publishing colleague. I would have missed a very unusual novel otherwise, a sweeping saga spanning over nine decades, set in Calabria/Italy and in the US, a portrait of the Fortuna family but predominately that of Stella Fortuna. Stella’s fate stayed in my head when not reading which provides an idea how much I was captured by this emotional story. The archaic, barbaric patriarchy of her monstrous father Antonio affected all females in the Fortuna family, but most profoundly overshadowed the life of the two strongest, her mother Assunta and Stella’s. The narrator, whose identity is revealed much later in the book, recounts Stella’s life in an almost neutral tone giving the writing a very special edge. Stella’s battle for control over her own destiny fighting the codex decided by the men in their Italian clan is representative for countless female struggles. It left me terribly sad and furious at times but there were also some very funny moments.




Born into terrible poverty of peasant life in 1920ties Calabria / Italy, where women were slaves to their men with no rights, good only for childbearing and servitude, Stella is named after her sister Mariastella who died under tragic circumstances in early childhood. Her entire life, Stella is convinced her dead sister is casting an evil eye over her fate, responsible for the eight near death experiences she luckily survives. When her brute of a father leaves for the US trying for a better life, they are able to enjoy independence for the first time. His home visits always lead to another pregnancy for Assunta increasing the mouths to feed. Her father finally sends papers for the whole family to immigrate to the US. Their sorrow of leaving their beloved mountain village is heartbreaking only topped by their dread to lose the little independence they enjoyed while her father was away. The novel shifts into another gear when the Fortuna clan reaches the US. Stella has reached adulthood by now, a strong willed woman who has no desire to ever marry, clicking horns with her father the moment she touches American soil. What follows are 448 pages in total of gripping reading about family life versus the fight for independence with all its hardship, horrors, betrayal and also love.


The author Juliet Grames comes from a tight-knit Italian-American family herself which might be one of the reasons why this novel is so very authentic.

This book follows the life of Stella Fortuna from her humble birth in levoli Italy, through childhood, marriage, emigrating across the world to America, motherhood and finally old age.  The whole works!

It is a real roller coaster of emotions, as we hear of all the near death experiences that befall Stella and learn of her ever expanding Italian and Italian/American family. A brilliant story of social history and human character wrapped together.

Stella Fortuna meaning lucky star or maybe for this Stella unlucky as her life isn't exactly a bed of roses by any means.  We read of all of the accidents and experiences that quiet frankly would have ended it for most people but not Stella.  Each time she survives she picks herself up and carries on but always shaping her character along the way.

I loved the first part of the book.  Beautifully written it gives a marvellously vivid account of life in this small village levoli in southern Italy around the time of WW1.  This early part of the story is mainly about Stella's mother Assunta.  I loved this character. She is so well described and we see her struggle through so much hardship its hard not to love her.  After Stella is born the focus moves to her and her relationships with first her sister, then men: (suitors, her husband, her father), children and always her relationship with her mother.  This is very much a book about the women in this family.

I've struggled to think of how to write the review for this book.  I really enjoyed it, but for me the only reason that stop me from loving it was that it felt a tiny bit too long and that it was for me a sad read.  About 80% of the way into the book I started to find it a little depressing .  Clearly this is a book about the traumatic life of a woman trapped in her culture, time and social class, but most of the book is lifted here and there to make it an easier read it just lacked this for a while around this part of the book. Plus I'm not very good with sad books so that didn't help.

I did like the way it is brought to us by a later generation of the Fortuna family as she sits talking to her aunt hoping to find out more about Stella.  A family history story told with great effect with an element of trying to solve the puzzle of how Stella ends up across the street from her sister but with no contact.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is however a wonderfully written and beautifully vivid read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy.

Despite its density, as I read it speeded up, since Stella and her family are fully fashioned and she is an unusual character in difficult times.. and she prevailed. The underlying mix of male brutality, superstition, and wilful female subservience is hard to tolerate but well observed. I found myself a bit detached but sensitive to ramifications of her father's perversity in her charmed life .. the first nights with her new husband are brilliantly set out. Travelling from small, brutal town to large metropolis, reliant on a feckless father and relatives engaged in child molestation, for example, is handled well. It is not for the faint hearted but perhaps the sheer entertainment value of expert dialogue and propelling plot more than makes up for it. Ambitious and successful are two words I'd think about that describe this powerful novel.

Oh my word - I LOVED this book so much. I have never in my life been so angry with what happened to a character in a book that I've had to put it down and go off somewhere to calm my fury. In fact, i'm still angry when I think about it. Absolutely furious. How dare they do that!!

I digress....Stella Fortuna - as the book says - with a name like Lucky Star, what do you expect....this story, told by her granddaughter, takes us through Stella's life and deaths - I'm. not giving a single spoiler out! It just doesn't stop, the pace is unrelenting, and gripping, I could not put this book down, and I am ashamed to tell you that it was really quiet at work, there was only one other person in, and they were waaaay down the other end of the office out of sight, so I picked this up and read for 6 hours (I did do a 2 hours of work!)

I digress again....so Stella - a formidable woman who I love dearly, her mother, who I liked to start off...and her father - what a piece of absolute filth - and the source of my anger.

A huge family, a glimpse into Italian family life, a huge story, an absolutely fantastic read.

Thank you to netgalley.co.uk for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I love these kinds of stories, but honestly, they were getting repetitive. This story is different, told through a different perspective of someone other than the main characters and I loved it! From reading the first chapter, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of where the story was going, it was predictable and I liked it. I loved the characters, the writing was well done.

, like many other readers, often crave something refreshingly original to immerse myself in but discovering it with enticing synopsis and then finding it beautifully executed happens incredibly rarely. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, Ms Grames debut novel, right from the get-go had my undivided attention, and the further I read the greater the impossibility of being able to put it down became; it was then that I knew this was a single sitting page-turner and that sleep would have to wait.

Many writers make the mistake of thinking that there must be a certain number of characters making up the cast of a book but that is far from true. What I particularly loved here was that the story centres around one special, or even extraordinary, woman and her Italian-American family. Her family play the other major roles, or supporting roles, and the rest of the cast play small, inconsequential roles enabling the focus to be on Stella and those important to her. At its core, this is a heartfelt tale of family transgressions and the long-time twisted rifts that can occur as a result.

It is a richly told drama principally about the complexities and nuances of family relationships, betrayal, secrets and the fine line between love and hate. It's crystal clear that the author has acute observational skills and an eye for intricate detail which both contribute to the compelling nature of the plot. This is a beautifully imagined, supremely readable novel and is truly unlike anything I've ever enjoyed before. I imagine this would be superb as a quirky summer/holiday choice for lounging in the garden or in the sun. Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of Juliet Grames’ debut ‘The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna’ in exchange for an honest review.

Over the course of her childhood in Italy and adulthood in America, Stella Fortuna has experienced a number of near death experiences. These ‘deaths’ are framed by details of the daily lives of her extended family. The story is told in a linear format by her granddaughter, who is seeking to recount the history of Stella and her sprawling, complicated Italian-American working-class family.

I will say outright that I am not really a fan of family sagas though recognised that it was well written and while portraying a fictional family it felt very realistic in terms of the challenges faced by Italian immigrants to the USA during the 20th Century.

My biggest issue with the novel was that I just didn’t like Stella very much, especially in her adulthood. I want to avoid spoilers so no details of what happened but found that while I admired her sometimes there were other times I just felt perplexed or annoyed especially by her intractable stubbornness that on occasion manifested as cruelty.

I did not realise until writing up this review that the novel was based on Juliet Grames’ own family, especially of her grandmother and great-aunt. That certainly accounts for the passion of the writing and the authenticity of the portrayals of the family. I watched a very informative video by Library Love Fest of a presentation given by Grames. I am uncertain if knowing this in advance would have changed my experience of the novel though I expect my feelings about adult Stella wouldn’t change.

I have given it 3 stars as although not a great fit for me it was very readable and I expect that many readers who are into family sagas will find it compelling.

An epic tale, the background detail and setting is excellent from an Italian village at the turn of the century to America during the Second World War. The two sisters were very well drawn as was their mother. Sadly the other characters didn’t feel so real for me, when we got down to the next generation with the 10 children plus multiple cousins they seemed more like a list than real people. The story was fascinating if somewhat dark with no real happiness evident.

Thought provoking and uplifting read (eventually). I love the fact it’s told by one of the MC descendants it’s a nice touch, amazing observations on the struggles for women on the last century. Emotional and even harrowing at times, it never lets you forget, family and friends are the strength the backbone of life, especially for women. Wonderful read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Mariastella Fortuna is born in the tiny, poverty stricken, Calibrian mountain village of Ievoli. Born just after the First World War to Assunta and Antonia Fortuna, she is named for her dead sister - the sister who died from suspected Spanish Flu, brought back from the war by her good for nothing father. The father that leaves for America, when she is only a few weeks old, to make his fortune.

Antonio is more or less absent throughout Stella's childhood - only returning occasionally for brief visits home and to plant more children in his long-suffering wife's belly and terrorise his family. No one misses him when he is not there, although it would be nice if he actually sent money back to his wife to support their growing family.
Assunta bears three more living children as a result of Antonio's increasingly infrequent visits, another daughter, Concettina, and two younger sons. She does her best to support them any way she can and they are happy living their hard, simple lives - lives they understand.

Stella loves her mother and sister deeply. Her father is another matter. As the oldest child, Stella is witness to the tyranny Antonia inflicts upon them all during his visits, and is disgusted by the way makes sexual demands on, and degrades, their mother. Stella has no wish to become a wife and live the life her mother lives. She vows she will never marry and have children.

Stella is beautiful, intelligent, unconventional and fiercely independent. Unfortunately, she is also destined to nearly die several times throughout her life. Maybe calling her Stella Fortuna (lucky star) has tempted Fate and attracted the Evil Eye? Or is Stella haunted by her namesake that died?
Whatever the reason, Stella nearly dies three times during her childhood alone, but survives each time, against the odds. These will not be the last times Stella must fight for her survival - through both physical and mental damage.

Before the outbreak of World War Two, good for nothing Antonio insists that it is time for his wife and children to join him in America. Assunta and the children are reluctant. This will mean leaving everything the know behind, including Assunta's blind mother, to travel to a strange country, where they will not even be able to speak the language.

Unfortuntely, they have little choice and after one aborted attempt, which could have resulted in all of their deaths (one more attempt by Death to claim Stella), the family finally reach the shores of America in 1939. Assunta and the children now have no reprieve from Antonio's rule of iron and any freedom they experienced in the mountains of their homeland is gone forever. America is a strange new world, with strange ways, and they will all have to get used to living with their father. Can Stella remain true to herself and her vow, or will she have to bow to patriarchy in order to survive?

This is the most wonderfully written, sprawling tale that spans decades, two continents, and the dark secrets of the Fortuna family. You become totally immersed in the world and history of these characters.

Stella is fighting against subjugation by the patriarchy with every fibre of her being, but she is a woman ahead of her time. She sees no need for her life to follow the path laid down by tradition, but her options are limited. How does a young immigrant woman escape from the dictatorship of her father, especially when she has no money and speaks very little English?

Although Stella has managed to survive all that life, and death, could throw at her in her rural homeland, life in America will be very different for her. The Fortunas will be leaving poverty behind, but how much better will their lives be really?

Stella is not always likeable, but she is a survivor, even though her journey will not follow the path she desires. Stella's life will be in danger at least three more times, and she will also have to survive the death of her own spirit when she is unable to escape her fate.

There are some hard moments to read in this book, but it tells so beautifully of the struggles of women in the last century against the expectation that their lives must revolve around being wives and mothers. Most women today, thankfully, have choice and are not forced into marriage as a way to escape their own fathers. Antonio will also prove himself to be more of a monster than even Stella thought possible.

I particulary liked that the story is told by a female descendant of Stella's who has been able to enjoy the kind of life that Stella wanted for herself - free to make her own choices - but who would not exist if Stella had been able to choose.

I was completely engrossed in this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It covers some important issues through the telling of the story, as the Fortuna family pass down the decades, and will leave you with a lot to think about when you are finished. Fantastic debut Juliet Grames!

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames is the story of Mariastella Fortuna, known as Stella, a fictionalised woman who is brought to life in this spectacular debut novel. Born in a small village in Italy we follow her as she grows up in poverty to her immigration to America just before World War 2 and her subsequent adjustment to life as an Italian-American. We are also privy to the times she narrowly escapes death, something which sounds peculiar and macabre but somehow isn’t.

This is a beautifully written book which transported me to the Italian countryside and the small house in which the Fortuna family reside. Juliet Grames’ vivid descriptions of the landscape, smells, heat, people and superstitions seep from the pages and provide a stunning backdrop against which we meet Stella. She is quite forthright, brave, with an independent streak mile wide and is an exquisitely written character. It is very, very easy to fall in love with Stella so when bad things happen to her it feels almost personal. She doesn’t want to get married, she wants to live on her own and wants to be in control of her money and life and is an anachronism. In an Italian family in the early part of last Century her father rules the home and so, she rails against him whenever possible,

One of this novel’s many strengths is its sharp observations of family and relationships. The relationship Stella has with her mother Assunta and younger sister, Tina is, quite frankly, beautiful. This trio of women go through huge adversity and continue to shore each other and provide ballast when needed. The complexities and nuances of family life are perfectly executed and, with a father who is a difficult, belligerent and aggressive man these women find their own ways to cope in a home which doesn’t always feel like a sanctuary.

It is quite a dark read at times and Juliet Grames doesn’t shy away from examining human nature and behaviour. I found some sections difficult to read, there is a thread of darkness running through the novel, a sense of ominous foreboding almost. The novel opens in the present day and Stella is alive, so we know that despite being trampled by pigs and choking on a chicken bone she has cheated death, but it becomes clear that these narrow escapes aren’t the worst parts of her life. I could have cried for her, for the shattering of her hopes and dreams and for the times when decisions are made for her. It is a startling to read about such a recent past and realise just how different life was for women at that time and how far we have come in such a sort period of time. For the Fortunas assimilating into the American way of life means that women do have choices and this is a strange concept for not only the women in the family, but the men too.

I found the assimilation and cultural aspects of the novel absorbing. Distrust for the family because they are Italian and their inability to speak English are both barriers to life in America. Their gradual adjustment to life in the US and slow, gradual absorption of American culture is fascinating and really shines a light on the cultural melting pot that is America.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is an epic read which I really loved. It is part historical, part family drama, part literary fiction and is wholly absorbing. If sprawling books that you can get lost in are your thing then this book could be for you.