THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE

In the Italian coastal town of Viareggio, Matelda Cabrelli Roffo is at the last stage of her life, but the matriarch still has decades' worth of family stories to share.

On the eve of her 81st birthday, Matelda offers her 25-year-old granddaughter Anina the contents of her jewelry case, a family tradition for brides-to-be. Of course, Anina selects the one item Matelda isn't ready to part with: a jewel-encrusted watch with a curiously upside-down facade. Matelda's attachment to the treasure—a rare sentiment in the Cabrelli family of jewelers—leads to questions about its origins and the unfolding of a family timeline Anina's never heard. In chapters alternating between the present and the nine decades leading up to Matelda's demurring, the Cabrelli family history is deftly illustrated through a long chain of strong women. At just 11 years old, Matelda's mother, Domenica Cabrelli, witnesses her best friend, Silvio, banished from Viareggio for being a fatherless troublemaker. Years later, Domenica, now a nurse, is exiled herself when the Catholic Church learns she's offered family planning advice to a young mother in distress. She lands in a convent in Scotland, where she continues nursing and plans to join the nunnery. Conveniently, love interrupts, and Domenica's marriage to a Scottish naval captain derails her plans, as does Italy's involvement in the war. With young Matelda in tow, Domenica longs for her hometown of Viareggio, a seaside paradise elderly Matelda cherishes until her last breath. Upon learning about the Cabrelli family struggles, sacrifices, and persistence, Anina changes, reconsidering the meaning of strength, family, and the types of love worth sacrificing for. Trigiani's adept character portrayals, deliciously described settings, and carefully considered details build momentum and intrigue from beginning to end.

An epic multigenerational love story sweeping across coastal Italy, Southern France, and Scotland.