Take a beautiful place at table
Hello Beautiful byAnnNapolitano (Penguin, $37) ReviewedbyLouise Ward
The Padovano sisters are as close as siblings come.
Julia is the planner and fixer, Sylvie the romantic reader, Cecilia the artist and Emmeline the nurturer. Their mother Rose feels let down by life and their father Charlie is a gentle, poetic drunk but the family is a tight unit, in its way.
Julia spies exceptionally tall William Waters at their university and factors him into her plans. William is unsure of his life’s trajectory; having had a sad childhood and a basketball injury that has derailed his only ambition, he is relieved that the lovely Julia has a purpose for him.
The sisters are secure in the knowledge that they will always be together, finding strength in one another, until Cecilia throws a curve ball into the heart of the Padavano family that draws out secrets and insecurities, fracturing the family and exposing its frailties. The narrative then takes us from the 1960s to the noughties in a wonderfully constructed swirl of family drama.
The story is told from the point of view of each of the characters, but mostly through Julia and Sylvie, who know each other’s hearts as well as their own. Their perspectives are so intimately drawn that the reader comes to know them deeply too, and to feel a part of the story. It’s a testament to the strength and warmth of the writing that these wonderful but flawed characters become so real to the reader.
I was deeply invested in Hello Beautiful: its people, the cityscapes of Chicago and, later, New York. We are set a place at the Padavano table, invited to live with and love them. It was a pure delight to be a part of their story.