The Family by Naomi Krupitsky

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Family

Author: Naomi Krupitsky 

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: 11.2.21

Publisher’s Summary 

In the vein of an American Elena Ferrante, a captivating debut novel about the tangled fates of two best friends and daughters of the Italian mafia, and a coming-of-age story of twentieth-century Brooklyn.

Two daughters. Two families. One inescapable fate.

Sofia Colicchio is a free spirit, a loud, untamed thing. Antonia Russo is thoughtful, ever observing the world around her. Best friends from birth, their homes share a brick wall and their fathers are part of an unspoken community that connects them all: the Family. Sunday dinners gather the Family each week to feast, discuss business, and renew the intoxicating bond borne of blood and love.

Until Antonia’s father dares to dream of a different life and goes missing soon after. His disappearance drives a whisper-thin wedge between Sofia and Antonia as they become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflicted friendship. Both women are pushing against the walls of a prison made up of expectations, even as they remain bound to one another, their hearts expanding in tandem with Red Hook and Brooklyn around them. One fateful night their loyalty to each other and the Family will be tested. Only one of them can pull the trigger before it’s too late.

My Review

This novel is not at all what I expected. What I thought would be a gritty Godfather or Sopranos type story ended up being one of the best stories about female friendship I have ever read. This novel was so beautifully written and I loved the full cast of characters. One particular part of the book will stick with me forever but I don't want to give anything away to anyone wanting to read it. A stellar debut that puts Naomi Krupitsky on my list of "authors to watch."