The Shoemaker

The Shoemaker follows the lives of two men: Pietro, an Italian who emigrates to America with his family in the 1920’s, and Manny, his great-grandson, who emigrates to California from Pittsburgh in the 1990’s. Though they have never met, they share certain personality traits and obsessions. Pietro is by trade a shoemaker, and Manny is obsessed with finding the perfect pair of shoes. They are both loud and adventurous, but uncertain of changing societal roles and the new lives they find themselves facing. Pietro is sometimes wistful of the old life in Abruzzo represented by his beloved grandfather Fiorentino, while Manny is entering a mid-life period of wondering where and why he is. Their lives intersect when Manny (a graphic artist) discovers an old, tattered photograph of Pietro and restores it back to life. The tone of this book is reflective, sometimes magical, and often humorous.