The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
On sale
7th May 2019
Price: £14.99
‘You don’t read this book, you live it’ Erin Kelly
If Stella Fortuna means ‘lucky star,’ then life must have a funny sense of humour.
Everybody in the Fortuna family knows the story of how the beautiful, fiercely independent Stella, who refused to learn to cook and who swore she would never marry, has escaped death time and time again.
From her childhood in Italy, to her adulthood in America, death has seemed to pursue Stella. She has been burned, eviscerated and bludgeoned; she has choked, nearly fallen out of a window, and on one occasion, her life was only saved by a typo.
However, even the best-known stories still have secrets to reveal . . . and even after a century, Stella’s is no exception.
No woman survives seven or eight deaths without a reason. So, how did she? In a tale which spans nine decades, two continents, and one family’s darkest, deepest-buried truths, the answer awaits. . .
_______________________________________
‘A sweeping story of immigration, family, betrayal and most importantly, one extraordinary woman. This book is gorgeous, harrowing and magical’ Julie Cohen
‘Fresh and intriguing’ Sabine Durrant
‘This is wonderful storytelling, seamlessly capturing the love and horror at the heart of family. Juliet Grames’s novel . . . sits the reader down at a well-laden table, and offers a hugely satisfying feast. Delightful’ Mick Herron
‘A beautifully painted portrait, majestic and masterful; a very fine novel indeed’ Laura Carlin
‘Packed with family secrets and their repercussions, the novel memorably pins down the American immigrant experience. It’s an impressive achievement’ Daily Mail
If Stella Fortuna means ‘lucky star,’ then life must have a funny sense of humour.
Everybody in the Fortuna family knows the story of how the beautiful, fiercely independent Stella, who refused to learn to cook and who swore she would never marry, has escaped death time and time again.
From her childhood in Italy, to her adulthood in America, death has seemed to pursue Stella. She has been burned, eviscerated and bludgeoned; she has choked, nearly fallen out of a window, and on one occasion, her life was only saved by a typo.
However, even the best-known stories still have secrets to reveal . . . and even after a century, Stella’s is no exception.
No woman survives seven or eight deaths without a reason. So, how did she? In a tale which spans nine decades, two continents, and one family’s darkest, deepest-buried truths, the answer awaits. . .
_______________________________________
‘A sweeping story of immigration, family, betrayal and most importantly, one extraordinary woman. This book is gorgeous, harrowing and magical’ Julie Cohen
‘Fresh and intriguing’ Sabine Durrant
‘This is wonderful storytelling, seamlessly capturing the love and horror at the heart of family. Juliet Grames’s novel . . . sits the reader down at a well-laden table, and offers a hugely satisfying feast. Delightful’ Mick Herron
‘A beautifully painted portrait, majestic and masterful; a very fine novel indeed’ Laura Carlin
‘Packed with family secrets and their repercussions, the novel memorably pins down the American immigrant experience. It’s an impressive achievement’ Daily Mail
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Reviews
A compulsive, huge-hearted novel about family, home and how women move through the world; you don't read this book, you live it.
By turns captivating, shocking, heartbreaking and life-affirming. This is no ordinary family epic; it is the story of generations of women who, in conformity and non-conformity, blaze with strength, compassion and formidable will . . . An extraordinary debut
[Its] emotional force . . . illuminates every page. A beautifully painted portrait, majestic and masterful; a very fine novel indeed.
Fresh and intriguing . . . gripping
A sweeping story of immigration, family, betrayal and most importantly, one extraordinary woman. This book is gorgeous, harrowing and magical
A magnificent debut . . . a deeply felt, richly imagined world . . . Moody, original and profound. Brava!
Reading The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is like listening to the rollicking stories of your Italian grandmother - full of memorable characters and speckled with fascinating bits of history. This is a fantastic and timely family story
This is wonderful storytelling, seamlessly capturing the love and horror at the heart of family. Juliet Grames's novel, tracing the extraordinary life - and deaths - of an ordinary woman, sits the reader down at a well-laden table, and offers a hugely satisfying feast. Delightful
Juliet Grames's epic novel . . . is rich in eccentric characters and unlikely encounters, and she inhabits a world that is tinged with magic but still limited by patriarchal values - and she carries with her a dark family history. It's an extensive, often cheeky, exploration of lineage, fate, and womanhood.
Paint[s] sensually intricate portraits of Calabria and Connecticut. With her story of an "ordinary" woman who is anything but, Grames explores not just the immigrant experience but the stages of a woman's life. This is a sharp and richly satisfying novel
Compelling
Readers who appreciate narratives driven by vivid characterisation and family secrets will find much to enjoy here . . . [Grames is] an author to watch
I loved this meaty family saga . . . I couldn't help rooting for the complicated and unstoppable hero
Thanks to gorgeous writing from Grames, it's full of beautiful passages and is the perfect book to take with you on holiday . . . a messy, complex and convincing story of women struggling to find their true power
A sumptuous inter-generational saga . . . heart-wrenching
While the subject matter isn't always easy . . . the Fortunas are so lively and sharply drawn that you'll eagerly follow their journey from pre-World War II Italy to early aughts Connecticut
Twisty and complicated, but wholly original
Superbly enjoyable . . . a darkly funny story about two sisters . . . A class act - don't miss it.
Packed with family secrets and their repercussions, the novel memorably pins down the American immigrant experience. It's an impressive achievement.
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna achieves what no sweeping history lesson about American immigrants could: It brings to life a woman that time and history would have ignored
Witty and deeply felt
This powerful and compelling story has characters so beautifully drawn you'll feel you know them personally. Mouth-watering descriptions of Italian food and fascinating social history add to the novel's ever-changing canvas. With layer upon layer of misfortune for Ms Fortuna, this is far from an easy read, but its captivating plotting will keep you rooting for Stella until the end.
A wonderful family saga that draws on every emotion