The Supreme Macaroni Company

Summary (from the publisher): For over a hundred years, the Angelini Shoe Company in Greenwich Village has relied on the leather produced by Vechiarelli & Son in Tuscany. This historic business partnership provides the twist of fate for Valentine Roncalli, the school teacher turned shoemaker, to fall in love with Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner with a complex past . . . and a secret.

A piece of surprising news is revealed at The Feast of the Seven Fishes when Valentine and Gianluca join her extended family on a fateful Christmas Eve. Now faced with life altering choices, Valentine remembers the wise words that inspired her in the early days of her beloved Angelini Shoe Company: "A person who can build a pair of shoes can do just about anything." The proud, passionate Valentine is going to fight for everything she wants and savor all she deserves - the bitter and the sweetness of life itself.

Romantic and poignant, told with humor and warmth, and bursting with a cast of endearing characters, The Supreme Macaroni Company is a sumptuous feast of delights: a portrait of a woman and the man she loves, her passion for craftsmanship, and the sacrifices it takes to build and sustain a family business while keeping love and laughter at the center of everything.

Review: I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from HarperCollins. 

Set in 2010, The Supreme Macaroni Company follows the life of Valentine Roncalli, an Italian American who is running her family's famous company, the Angelini Shoe Company. Valentine has agreed to marry the Italian Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner who produces the leather for her shoe company. Yet Valentine is determined to have her way in their marriage, and to accomplish everything on her own terms. She soon learns the difficulty of juggling a business, a large extended family, an independent husband, and motherhood is more than she can manage smoothly on her own. 

This novel is the third in a series, preceded by the best-selling Very Valentine and Brava, Valentine. I have read neither of the first two books, and while that certainly did not hinder my understanding of this novel at all, I suspect that a carry over affection for the characters and stories may be the only reason this book does well. I found this novel rushed and the relationships and emotions felt forced. It felt like I was reading a poorly acted out soap opera. Additionally, her large family makes it feel as if you're reading an Italian version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding between the controlling mother, petulant, negative aunt, and father who is supposed to have the amusing habit of mixing up vocabulary words. "Charlie was ejaculating -' 'Oh, Dad, you must mean gesticulating - talking with his hands?' My dad's malaprops gets worse when he's nervous" (18). I didn't find it particularly amusing. The relationships felt very stilted - possibly a result of too much telling versus showing. A lot of the big family drama seemed cliche and flat, "There's the famous Legoland, known for its plastics, and during the holidays, we Roncallis build our own version, Tupperware Land. [...] We disburse the leftovers in various plastic containers, which are handed out as guests leave, three to five pounds heavier than when they arrived, depart" (48). Just not very clever.

This novel had really interesting elements - I loved the idea of learning more of the behind the scenes of a shoe company and having a focus on an Italian-American family. However, the delivery did not impress me. In addition to being disappointed with the stilted relationships between the characters, the plot seemed weak. Not much really happens in this and most of the plot tension comes from disagreements between Valentine and her new husband. Although, to its credit, the first two novels may be much better, and may explain the lingering affection for Valentine and her family as characters.

Stars: 2