From the first few moments of our conversation with author Adriana Trigiani on the KAXE Morning Show, Kari Hedlund and I knew this was no typical interview.
We found ourselves laughing, near tears and immersed in ideas we savored long afterwards.
Adriana's first words to us were, "Home on the range, girls! I'm home."
A New York Times bestselling author, filmmaker, television writer, podcast host and fierce advocate for libraries and women’s stories, Adriana’s roots run deep in Northern Minnesota.
Her mother was born in Chisholm to Italian immigrants, and her grandfather, Carlo Bonicelli, came to the Iron Range early in the 20th century. He returned to Italy for a time, then came back to the United States and earned his citizenship by enlisting in the military. Eventually, he opened the Progressive Shoe Shop in downtown Chisholm, where Adriana’s grandmother worked as a seamstress.
“Minnesota has a long history of supporting libraries. This isn't political folks, this is moral."Adriana Trigiani
"My God, they were working class, fabulous, happy. And then my grandfather died at the age of 39, leaving behind three children, because he was gassed in the trenches of World War I," Adriana said.
Adriana has visited Minnesota over the years, stopping to see cousins in Crosby and then to Chisholm. "I go to the library, which has not changed since I was a child when I would visit in the summers. [I] go to Valentini's, have ravioli that's homemade like your mother made it. It's an adventure."
To her, the Iron Range is "The Italy of America," a place built by hardworking families who mirror the values of her ancestors. Adriana even mentioned Chisholm newspaper founder and publisher Veda Ponikvar as an inspiration, who writer Aaron Brown has called one the most important figures in Iron Range history. Adriana has a deep connection to the history and the people of where Kari and I have put down roots ourselves.
The magic of libraries
When Adriana talked about libraries, something changed in her voice. The library she visited when at her grandmother's in Chisholm is more than nostalgia. Her bestselling series and movie Big Stone Gap centers on a librarian, an homage to her relatives, her mother's vocation and her lifelong work as a writer.
So when we told her about current threats to Northern Minnesota's libraries, like those in Bemidji and Grand Rapids, she didn't hold back.
"Minnesota has a long history of supporting libraries," she said, citing politicians like Joan Mondale, Jim Oberstar and Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz.
"This isn't political, folks," she said. "This is moral."
The wisdom of her mother's adage, "You're never worse for having read a book," resonates within her still.
"The book banning is kind of a BS operation by five people, half of which have sketchy backgrounds, who are just causing trouble," she said.
The issue is clear in Adriana's opinion. "If a book is inappropriate for a child, you do not expose a child to the book. It's common sense child rearing, common sense educating."
The View from Lake Como
Adriana’s newest novel, The View from Lake Como, moves between New Jersey and Italy. Giuseppina Capodimonte Baratta is recently divorced, living in her parents’ basement, and working for the family marble business. When a family loss takes her to Italy, she begins to rebuild a life on her own terms.
The messy, complicated, but enduring sense of family is at the core of the story.
"She has a family that has not been transparent with her, but she loves them," Adriana explained. "I didn't want this to be one of those novels where she ends up putting her family on the island and not speaking to them for years.
"If anyone's been in that situation with a friend or family member, it's torture."
Kari’s favorite character was Uncle Louie. Adriana beamed when she agreed: “Thank you, Kari. I think he’s one of my best characters ever because he is completely who he is.”
Though best known for sweeping historical novels like The Good Left Undone, Adriana wanted to write something for this moment.
“I thought, I’m going to write a contemporary comedy, and I wrote what I think will lift you out of your funk or entertain, delight or inform you.”
Adriana said Giuseppina is like many women. "When you get married as a woman, it is such a good deal for the man," she said. "But you need to know it isn't such a good deal for you, but you're going to do it anyway because you love the guy."
She said, "You need to understand, walking into it, that your role has been defined."
Through lush descriptions of travel, marble and going to her homeland of Italy, Giuseppina slowly begins to define her own life. "She knows she's not with who she's supposed to be with or what she's supposed to be doing. That's your trifecta there: love, work, relationships."
The con of a perfect life
Our conversation, like Adriana’s writing, kept circling back to big ideas about what our lives are supposed to be.
"Well, as adults, we know that this is a con. There are moments of wonderful contentment, and I happen to think the more you are laughing, the happier your life will be. But 'happy' is a word that trips us up."
For us, this interview was more than a talk about a new book. It was a reminder of why stories matter. Stories connect us, root us, and make us laugh even when times are tough.
Let us know about the books that have lifted you up. Find more author interviews with our staff librarian, Tammy Bobrowsky,
