The Tale of Lucia Grandi

When an old woman is asked to tell the story of her life, she tells an intense and poignant tale about growing up in and surviving a warring suburban family during the 1950s and ’60s.

Written as a memoir, each chapter describes a particular incident in Lucia’s life which shows the constant struggle between her parents and the perverse effect it has on her and her family. From her complicated and unwanted birth, to her witnessing a suicide at age 3, to her stint as a runaway at age 14, the story progresses to the final crisis where as a young woman she is turned out of her house and banished from her family forever.

Told in breathtakingly beautiful prose, this is a powerful and timeless story of a dying woman’s courageous attempt to come to terms with her past and the troubled family that dominated it.

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About Susan Speranza

ONCE UPON A TIME…

…I was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island where I had an interesting and creative childhood. Once in college, I studied Psychology and Philosophy, but since “thinking” didn’t translate into earning money or job security, I worked at a variety of different and unrelated jobs both in New York City and on Long Island.

In order to keep me sane through all the craziness of life, I spent my spare time writing. Anything and everything. The culmination of this was a fantasy – The City of Light – which has recently been reissued as an ebook.

I took up the hobby of dog showing and breeding and produced many Pekingese Champions. You can see them over at our Castlerigg Pekingese website.

Somewhere in the middle of my life so far, after a great personal upheaval, I went back to school, became a High School Librarian. I managed to fulfill my childhood dream of living in the country when I finally escaped suburbia and moved to Vermont where I now happily live with my beautiful Pekes.

But I’ve never stopped writing.

My biography (as with my life, I hope) is to be continued…

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My review:

Veering off course from my usual kind of book genre I read The Tale of Lucia Grandi: The Early Years. It difficult for me to read but I still was spellbound by the ebb and flow of this story. A woman writing her dissertation seeks out Lucia and asks her to tell her story. Lucia was born into unfortunate circumstances. She endured physical and emotional abuse, though hard to read at times, it’s worth sticking to the book. Her mother was not pleased with her existence which was made known loud and clear. It’s lengthy but it needed to be to fully express the fantastic history she lives though and the essence of the character. A fantastically written book. The author truly captures the feel of the characters and it translates eloquently to the page.

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