Joelle's Bibliofile

Juliet Grames’ debut novel, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is a lush epic depicting the 100-year lifespan of a woman whose name portends an existence filled with extraordinary luck. In fact, Stella is very lucky- surviving the seven or eight close calls she has with death as described in the title. At the same time, she also experiences an exorbitant amount of suffering and loss along the way as well. Stella’s tale is narrated by one of her descendants, who elicits memories from her aunt who can bear witness to her life, even though this may mean that the story is distorted by time and perspective. At the onset the book moves at a luxurious pace, painstakingly describing Stella’s beginnings in a small village in Calabria prior to WWI. As it can feel in real life, time speeds up as the novel progresses into her later years. By the end, whole decades are consolidated into mere sentences. Stella’s story embraces the feminine point of view-there is little sympathy left for the male characters who are either brutes or nonentities. It is the women who unflinchingly bear the scars and emotional weight that propels the novel’s action. Yet, it is Stella’s refusal to adhere to the expectations and imposed limitations of womanhood that makes her both courageous and embattled. Stella is a fascinating character, and Grames does a wonderful job incorporating the experiences of the time period and the emigration of Italians to America. Comparisons can certainly be made to Marquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude in terms of tone, depth, descriptiveness and the use of magical realism. Traditional Catholic practices and faith combine with superstition to create a source of conflict and allows the author to introduce the ambiguity of direct spiritual interference. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is a novel that introduces Juliet Grames as a promising new entrant into the realm of historical, literary fiction.