The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna

This is the story of the life of Stella Fortuna. The narrator is her grand-daughter who tells the story in chronological order from before her birth to her final "death". This is refeshing as so many stories these days jump from past to present. The narrator makes her presence felt in glimpses of future events and personal opinions. The narrative is punctuated with the several near-death accidents which Stella suffers. However, the physical scars are less than the mental scars inflicted upon her by her father, who basically blights not only her life but her mother's and grand-daughters' too. Stella starts off feisty and determined not to marry or bear children as she has seen her mother suffer in both aspects. However, she gets beaten down and her wishes are ignored. She has a strong bond with her sister, Tina but that too is taken away in the end. The influence of the original Mariastella adds a mystical aspect. The settings, in Italy and America, are atmospheric and give a vivid picture of the life and struggles of immigrant families at that time. I loved this.

Atmospheric family saga set in Italy and America

Stella Fortuna is the second daughter in her family to bear that name, the first having died in infancy. As she grows she feels the ghostly presence of that lost sister and soon identifies her as the malign cause of her many misfortunes. The first Stella cannot rest whilst her namesake lives.

This story starts in the mountains of Calabria where Assunta Fortuna carries the whole burden of childcare for her four children, whilst her husband Antonio tries to make a new life in America. During his years away he sends no money home and Assunta relies on her own resources and the kindness of the community to make a poor but happy and safe life for her children.

Stella witnesses her father’s brief visits home and the use he makes of her mother, each time leaving her with another child who he will not support. She determines that she will never be at the mercy of a husband’s desires and will not surrender her body to any man,

Eventually, Antonio arranges visas and the family is on the last ship out of Italy before Mussolini closes the ports. In the States Stella and her sister Tina live a better standard of life although all they earn must be handed over to the father who doles out the occasional dollar or two for them to spend on themselves. Stella is determined that the family will buy a decent house and so takes on the role of guarding their savings. Eventually, a new home is made in the suburbs, but Antonio becomes increasingly vicious and depraved. Whilst her mother and sister meet his cruelties with tears and hysteria, Stella stands firm and plans her escape.

This is a story all about relationships, love and endurance and Stella is the pivot around which all else turns. Despite her many ‘deaths’, she remains strong and resolute until the end. She is a; so a staunch feminist in time before it was fashionable.

It is also a story of a way of life in the hills of Calabria, which will never be seen again. A simple life of hard work and few rewards but lived within a community which looks after each other.

The first few pages had me questioning whether I wanted to read any more, but I am so pleased I stuck with it. It is an important book with lessons for all women whatever their nationality or circumstances.

Enjoy!

Pashtpaws

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This was a fantastic read- from start to finish.

It reminded me a lot of Marquez's A Hundred Years of Solitude from time to time although the magical realism in this one wasn't as dominant.

This is the story of an Italian American immigrant family through the character Stella Fortuna and her encounters with danger nearly resulting with her death. Starts from a small Italian village in mountains, where Fortuna's struggle to make ends, a poor life in village. Then fate takes them to America in it's complicated ways, I really loved this part where decades of the Italian immigrants lives were explored, how much they worked to make America 'great' and what it took to be a citizen.
Comparisons between the refugee crises and the people fleeing ww2 from Europe to America were spot on...

Some Trigger warnings: The book touches dark and disturbing subjects (rape, incest) from time to time but it doesn't go cringey/graphic and more importantly doesn't victimise the female characters so I did the feel disgusted like I felt in some other books. The style of writing is poetic and names are such an important part of this book- which made me think of A Hundred years of Solitude a lot!

I can go on forever but this is an epic book, could be defined as a lot of things; a family saga, a slice of history, a look at women's struggles in Italian traditions, I have read this over a weekend and literally was lost in the pages. Really enjoyed it, a five star read.

Beautiful writing capturing the essence of life for a women in a male dominated world. Both village Italy and America for migrants are truly atmospheric..The story moves along at a steady pace as we travel through Stella's life. A very good read