Silver, Josie. A Winter in New York. Random House, 2023. 304 pp. ISBN 9780593722862 $18.00

****

There was something reminiscent of Adriana Trigiani in novel: Vivien, the British daughter of musician sensation Iris Raven, attends the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy and has just eaten her weight in zeppole when the photo she snaps of Bellotti’s Gelateria sparks a memory for her. Vivien came to New York almost a year ago to escape a bad relationship, find a new job, and connect to her roots. She’s still grieving the death of her wonderful, complex, secretive, perpetually single mother. A chef by trade, Viv scores a job at a noodle joint, renting the apartment above. Once she realizes her mother knew the Belottis, she can’t stop herself from popping by and is quickly pulled into the dynamics of widowed manager Gio and his family/staff. Only two people in the family are allowed to have the famed gelato recipe at one time; one is Gio’s father, in the hospital and recovering from a stroke that has left him unable to recall the perfect proportions of cream, milk sugar and vanilla for the recipe. The other is Gio’s uncle, a peer of Vivien’s, who is still roaming Europe and out of touch.

Miscommunication and dishonesty fuel the plot. Vivien could have confided that Gio’s dad gave the recipe to Iris when he was the love of her love and her touring with his brother’s band tour them apart, but Iris chooses not to disclose it, and in fact spends hours in the kitchen trying to recreate a recipe she actually knows by heart. The other lie is that her abusive ex who haunts her is not dead, but alive and threatening. Because it’s Josie Silver is an amazing writer, Iris’s longing, pain, discomfort, and remorse are tangible and believable, and she builds a complex character who makes less than ideal choices but agonizes over them.

The interpersonal relationships really make this a wonderful novel, from Viv’s befriending of Gio’s teenage daughter, to her friendship with her relationship with Bobby Han, proprietor of Very Tasty Noodle house where she works — her landlord and his partner are charming and quirky addition to the story, and a foil for Iris to relay plot points and unpack her emotional baggage with. I loved that the story focuses on romance later in life–Gio is mature, steady, and careful, but sweet kisses and a dirty mouth, and he and Viv sneak around like teenagers in love.

There are some flashbacks in the narrative, to previous meetings of Viv and Gio (who, spoiler alert, like each other) and to Iris’s life and career trajectory and Viv’s childhood. The Brooklyn location, passing of the season, close knit family ties, and restaurant backdrop serve to set the story firmly in a rich, tasty ethnic family box, hence the sense of familiarity with Adriana Trigiani. I really love the cartooned cover art, with it’s New York City skyline in snow-globe in the same arc as the gelato cones the characters are holding.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #AWinterInNewYork from #NetGalley.