The View From Lake Como

by Adriana Trigiani

The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani is written in three distinct parts, each with its own style and rhythm, which some readers might find distracting but I ultimately found purposeful. The author clearly knows her subject firsthand—the places, the food, the family dynamics all feel deeply lived‑in. Jess and her family are especially compelling as likable but imperfect characters, flawed in ways that feel honest and familiar, like real life rather than fiction. I also appreciated that the story doesn’t tie itself up with a neat bow; there is loss and there are tears, and that realism gives the novel its emotional weight and quiet beauty.