We discussed
The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella, published in 2007.
SUMMARY FROM AMAZON
Livia Pertini, a beautiful young widow who leaves her
family's destitute country osteria to try to find work in Naples. There,
English Capt, James Gould has been assigned the task of discouraging British
soldiers from marrying Italian women. At first Gould is a stickler for the
rules, closing down restaurants and denying couples permission to marry. But
when Angelo, the maitre d' at restaurant Zi'Teresa, tricks him into hiring
Livia as the officers' cook, things loosen up considerably. Livia becomes the
captain's cook, and her cuisine inexorably opens the door to his heart
Livia Pertini's misfortunes cascade on one another like lava
flowing down the flanks of Vesuvius, but she defiantly guards her dignity and
self-respect even as other girls in war-torn Naples resort to selling
themselves to survive. Even losing a beauty competition to her cow leaves her
unshaken. When she finally does fall for a persistent, handsome soldier, he is
shipped off only to die on the Russian front. As the Allies retake Italy, Livia
exercises the one skill that sets her apart: her talent in the kitchen, especially
her knack for making outstanding burrata: fresh, rich, leaf-enrobed mozzarella.
FYI: According to Wikipedia:
Vesuvius has erupted many times since 70AD and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards explosive eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.
The eruption of April 7, 1906 killed over 100 people and ejected the most lava ever recorded from a Vesuvian eruption. Italian authorities were preparing to hold the 1908 Summer Olympics when Mount Vesuvius erupted, devastating the city of Naples. Funds were diverted to the reconstruction of Naples, so a new location for the Olympics was required. London was selected for the first time to hold the Games which were held at White City.
The last major eruption was in March 1944. It destroyed the villages of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Massa di Somma, Ottaviano, and part of San Giorgio a Cremano. From March 18 to 23, 1944, lava flows appeared within the rim. There were outflows. Small explosions then occurred until the major explosion took place on March 18, 1944.
At the time of the eruption, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 340th Bombardment Group was based at Pompeii Airfield near Terzigno, Italy, just a few kilometers from the eastern base of the mountain. The tephra and hot ash damaged the fabric control surfaces, the engines, the Plexiglas windshields and the gun turrets of the 340th's B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. Estimates ranged from 78 to 88 aircraft destroyed. The eruption could be seen from Naples.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
– We did not use these, but I thought you might find them interesting, and I
intermingled our conversations under related topics.
1. What aspects of Livia’s personality are illustrated in
the novel’s opening scenes? What parts of her identity fade after Enzo leaves,
and what aspects are intensified when she is on her own?
• The
characters seemed like stereotypes – women as prostitutes, women as cooking and
taking care of others, the gratuitous Italian “Mafioso,” men as chauvinists or
exceptional romantics (virgins, even!)
2. Discuss the different types of hunger described in The
Wedding Officer. Which ones are the most powerful—the hunger for companionship,
food, or sex? In what way do James’s and Livia’s appetites change throughout
the novel?
• The
descriptions of food, cheese making, and mixing ingredients were an appealing sensory
pleasure.
• The names of Capella’s
other books (they are also novels of “culinary seduction”) are: The Food of
Love, The Empress of Ice Cream, The Various Flavors of Coffee.
3. Chapter twenty-one ends with Livia feeling furious
because of James’s apparent lack of interest. What do their different approaches
to courtship say about their cultures?
4. Discuss the issue of language as it plays out in the
novel. How does it help and hinder the characters to have limitations in their
ability to communicate? In what ways is food a universal language? What did James’s
“food language,” which forbade things like garlic and emphasized potatoes over
pasta, say about his personality?
• It seemed
(obvious) that the book was written by a man since there was a quality in the
topics that might appeal to a 14 year-old’s interest – war, women, sex, food. Many of Livia’s mispronounced words
were made into sexual jokes.
• Some folks
thought it was interesting to read the Italian words.
5. How familiar were you with Italy’s experience with the
war, and the rise of Mussolini? What aspects of history and culture in The Wedding
Officer surprised you?
• It was
interesting to learn about this historical event which we did not know.
6. In chapter thirty, James is exasperated to discover that
Livia doesn’t measure any of her ingredients. What turning points does this
scene capture? What do they eventually teach each other about intuition and
rules?
7. Livia deeply resents the Allies. What does her story
demonstrate about the role of liberators in a foreign land?
• Some folks
liked how Livia joined the resistance army and others did not like this turn of
her character, feeling like it was another book.
8. Would you have given in to Alberto’s demands if you had
been in Livia’s position? Was the survival of her family always the top
priority in her life?
• We recognized
that women did what they had to do in order to survive.
Other Thoughts
• Some thought
the writing was poor quality, others thought some of the writing was appealing,
like the descriptions of scenery and meals.
