The View From Lake Como

Jess is the novel’s dynamic protagonist. She is loving, family-oriented, and deeply unhappy. In some ways, Jess has never been able to “grow up” because she’s been trying to live up to her Italian American family’s expectations. Though she worked hard and saved her money for college, when it came time to leave for her dream school, her parents told her that the money was gone, a loss they sustained in a “bad market.” She ended up commuting to a local college and working at the family business on the weekends. Then, she married Bobby Bilancia—the boy every girl in the community was in love with—though she was never happy in the marriage because she constantly put his happiness ahead of her own, as she was taught to do. Finally, as the newly single aunt, she moved into her parents’ basement and assumed the roles of cook, maid, and babysitter for her family.

Several family secrets come to light after her uncle’s death, including that the Barattas allowed Jess’s Uncle Louie to use her name on the paperwork for his secondary corporation that diverted money to offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes and that they actually used her college fund to pay for her brother’s law degree.