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Clara's Story #1
Looking for Clara: A Novel
Her life has become a single, low note. Will an Italian escape strike a joyful chord in her soul?
Clara Smith seems out of tune, drifting through one empty day after another. Alone in LA for Christmas and uncertain about her new boyfriend, the pianist-turned-lawyer feels as fake as the artificial snow she sees on the lawns in her neighborhood. But when her firm dispatches her to Siena, Italy to lead a major project, the rhythm of the daily grind gloriously changes tempo.
Bonding with her charismatic eighty-year-old neighbor over his large collection of photographs, she uncovers a picture of a mysterious woman. And a breathtaking cross-country adventure, in search of the framed beauty who shares her name gives voice to Clara’s long-silenced passions.
Clara Smith seems out of tune, drifting through one empty day after another. Alone in LA for Christmas and uncertain about her new boyfriend, the pianist-turned-lawyer feels as fake as the artificial snow she sees on the lawns in her neighborhood. But when her firm dispatches her to Siena, Italy to lead a major project, the rhythm of the daily grind gloriously changes tempo.
Bonding with her charismatic eighty-year-old neighbor over his large collection of photographs, she uncovers a picture of a mysterious woman. And a breathtaking cross-country adventure, in search of the framed beauty who shares her name gives voice to Clara’s long-silenced passions.
Can a melodious tour through sun-drenched landscapes restore her sense of harmony?
Looking for Clara is a heartfelt journey into women’s fiction. If you like deeply drawn characters, vivid settings, and romantic secrets, then you’ll love Simona Grossi’s life-affirming novel.
Buy Looking for Clara to listen to your heart today!
253 pages, Paperback
First published January 11, 2017
2349 people are currently reading
1161 people want to read
About the author
Simona Grossi
4 books45 followersSimona Grossi was born and raised in a small town in Italy, surrounded by books and music. After several years spent practicing and teaching law, she started writing and resumed her music career.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
March 22, 2020
I have so many questions. Why do Italian Clara and American Clara look and act the same? How does Anna come up when looking for Italian Clara? What happened to William? Why did Joe just disappear? Why is American Clara so tired and discombobulated all the dang time? How did this girl keep an apartment in downtown LA and Italy with no job for a year? Why does she keep thinking she’s underwater? Why does she keep refusing to play piano when supposedly it makes her happy? How does the author not know the word “that” is often superfluous? Does gratuitously throwing in random quotes in another language really make the reader more aware the story is set in a foreign country? I finished this book as confused as American Clara was throughout it!
Want to read
February 17, 2020Free on Kindle
February 6, 2017
Looking for Clara takes you by the hand and is quick to bring you along for the search. Along the way you'll meet some complicated love interests and a fun group of housemates/bandmates with whom you'll wish you could live and collaborate. But no character will leave you as enamored as eighty-something-year-old Mario. He first appears on a street below Clara's balcony, seemingly destined to fall into the background, just another stranger you might never see again. But as in life, you meet people that become permanent fixtures and you can hardly imagine a life without them. Mario is definitely the latter. He moves the story forward, while gently guiding Clara with aplomb.
By serendipity, I was halfway through reading this novel when I joined a friend to see La La Land in theaters. It was the perfect complement to the experience of joining Clara on her journey. The film and this novel share common threads of jazz music, love, relationships, and careers, among others. Both works left me inspired and hopeful about life, to say the least.
I will say that I don't recommend reading this book on an empty stomach because there are references to delectable Italian foods (gnocchi!) and several more to drool-worthy baked goods.
More importantly, Looking for Clara is food for the soul. Forgive the cliché, but it really did warm me up the way a satisfying meal with loved ones does.
The nostalgia- for the places I was fortunate to have seen in Rome, and by extension the train rides I took while studying abroad- was all very real. Interspersed with my own memories and images of picturesque Amalfi that I've only seen on a screen, the rest of the scenery was well-painted by the author. And paint she did.
The novel is full of striking imagery, often paired with meaningful insights.
"A crucifix to protect the church by reminding its faithful that life was pain. And fresh daisies at the foot of the altar, to remind people that life was beauty too."
I like how Clara's reflective nature manifests itself in her visualization of past scenes and in those that were unfolding instantly.
"He went to the living room window and stood exactly where I had stood earlier that morning. He stared out. Did he see our hug too?"
"I did see my movie. I was at its center."
Without spoiling anything, I will say that the scene where Clara's father makes an important appearance about 3/4 of the way through felt like a whirlwind; the pacing of the story certainly picked up, but the change of pace was not unwelcome. In fact it brought with it great words of encouragement for all of us with life questions:
"It's normal to have doubts and it's beautiful to keep looking ... it's possible you won't find all your answers. But you might find some. And they'll be good enough. Enough to keep you going. To keep you looking."
Brava!
By serendipity, I was halfway through reading this novel when I joined a friend to see La La Land in theaters. It was the perfect complement to the experience of joining Clara on her journey. The film and this novel share common threads of jazz music, love, relationships, and careers, among others. Both works left me inspired and hopeful about life, to say the least.
I will say that I don't recommend reading this book on an empty stomach because there are references to delectable Italian foods (gnocchi!) and several more to drool-worthy baked goods.
More importantly, Looking for Clara is food for the soul. Forgive the cliché, but it really did warm me up the way a satisfying meal with loved ones does.
The nostalgia- for the places I was fortunate to have seen in Rome, and by extension the train rides I took while studying abroad- was all very real. Interspersed with my own memories and images of picturesque Amalfi that I've only seen on a screen, the rest of the scenery was well-painted by the author. And paint she did.
The novel is full of striking imagery, often paired with meaningful insights.
"A crucifix to protect the church by reminding its faithful that life was pain. And fresh daisies at the foot of the altar, to remind people that life was beauty too."
I like how Clara's reflective nature manifests itself in her visualization of past scenes and in those that were unfolding instantly.
"He went to the living room window and stood exactly where I had stood earlier that morning. He stared out. Did he see our hug too?"
"I did see my movie. I was at its center."
Without spoiling anything, I will say that the scene where Clara's father makes an important appearance about 3/4 of the way through felt like a whirlwind; the pacing of the story certainly picked up, but the change of pace was not unwelcome. In fact it brought with it great words of encouragement for all of us with life questions:
"It's normal to have doubts and it's beautiful to keep looking ... it's possible you won't find all your answers. But you might find some. And they'll be good enough. Enough to keep you going. To keep you looking."
Brava!
February 19, 2020
What a thought provoking journey!
This book should be read with someone else at the same time because it generates a need to discuss and explore deep reactions, thoughts and feelings. Clara reveals her naked inner-ness and touches deeply buried questions about our own loving and reactions in life. Seeing underwater was a challenge for me to comprehend. Many of Clara’s reactions were familiar and many were foreign to me. I became so invested I desperately wanted her to find real, satisfying love. I began to realize there are many experiences that should be examined and absorbed before they fly by and join the blur of life. Do we ever choose to take the time to enrich ourselves by that kind of introspection? Do we even want to know ourselves that well? Would we be happier or dissatisfied with who we find inside? I would have a difficult struggle to find myself after 75 years of flying on auto-pilot.
This book should be read with someone else at the same time because it generates a need to discuss and explore deep reactions, thoughts and feelings. Clara reveals her naked inner-ness and touches deeply buried questions about our own loving and reactions in life. Seeing underwater was a challenge for me to comprehend. Many of Clara’s reactions were familiar and many were foreign to me. I became so invested I desperately wanted her to find real, satisfying love. I began to realize there are many experiences that should be examined and absorbed before they fly by and join the blur of life. Do we ever choose to take the time to enrich ourselves by that kind of introspection? Do we even want to know ourselves that well? Would we be happier or dissatisfied with who we find inside? I would have a difficult struggle to find myself after 75 years of flying on auto-pilot.
February 18, 2020
Having recently traveled to many of the places listed in this book, I loved falling into my memories and picturing it as described. That was the only good thing about this story. I’m not sure if it was a translation issue (if the author wrote it in Italian first), but this book struggled to have a voice. Writing in first person is hard but Clara was a disconnected mess. I didn’t understand what she was thinking or doing for more than half of the story.
February 26, 2017
Why?
Why did I slog through this sad, so sad, depressing read? I guess I was hopeful of a better ending. I was very disappointed. I wasn't in a very good mood and this made it worse.
Why did I slog through this sad, so sad, depressing read? I guess I was hopeful of a better ending. I was very disappointed. I wasn't in a very good mood and this made it worse.
February 3, 2017
Looking for Clara is an amazing book about the search of a young successful American lawyer, driven by her emotions, intuition and guts, to find the true sense of living.
It s a great pleasure to read it and be on board to a trip to the beautiful Italy. In this journey, Simona Grossi takes us to Tuscany , Umbria, Campania and we are introduced to very live characters and feel the music and the arts of these regions. It is impossible not to wish to be in Siena or at Almafi Coast, as the story unfolds.
Clara, the main character, is persistent with her decision not to hide herself anymore and let her heart be responsible for her important choices in life, in her authentical way.
It's a great book and I highly recommend it.
It s a great pleasure to read it and be on board to a trip to the beautiful Italy. In this journey, Simona Grossi takes us to Tuscany , Umbria, Campania and we are introduced to very live characters and feel the music and the arts of these regions. It is impossible not to wish to be in Siena or at Almafi Coast, as the story unfolds.
Clara, the main character, is persistent with her decision not to hide herself anymore and let her heart be responsible for her important choices in life, in her authentical way.
It's a great book and I highly recommend it.
February 18, 2020
Looking for Clara
Such a complex story and beautifully written. Once I started reading it, it was so hard to put down. Thanks for writing it.
Such a complex story and beautifully written. Once I started reading it, it was so hard to put down. Thanks for writing it.
December 14, 2019
I should have put this down right when I started it. The writing style...was awful. Little attention was paid to the old adage of showing and not telling and the narrator tells her story in the ‘and the next day, and after that, and then’ kind of way. Small details, insignificant ones are shared with the reader.
Clara, the protagonist, falls in love, has sex, quits her job, finds out she’s adopted, accepts this fact, has a best friend who dies, accepts that fact, in the matter of single paragraphs. She lacks depth or development in any substantial way.
And the end of the novel is filled with lines and lines of untranslated Italian only you want the story to be over that you’d rather not reach for google translate.
Clara, the protagonist, falls in love, has sex, quits her job, finds out she’s adopted, accepts this fact, has a best friend who dies, accepts that fact, in the matter of single paragraphs. She lacks depth or development in any substantial way.
And the end of the novel is filled with lines and lines of untranslated Italian only you want the story to be over that you’d rather not reach for google translate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2020
I read two chapters of this book one night, put it down, and could not remember a thing about it the next day other than the writing style is a little off for some reason. The chapters I read did not flow well either.
I tried reading more of this book and simply gave up.
I tried reading more of this book and simply gave up.
February 6, 2017
In the true spirit of the book, I was compelled to put everything aside and to immerse myself into a vividly crafted world of art, adventure, and self-discovery that is "Looking for Clara." The story follows Clara, a young, introspective attorney who has overcommitted herself to her career and in the process lost touch with her artistic vision and passion. As Clara is faced with the opportunity to detach herself from the constraints of a Big Law career, it becomes clear how multi-faceted, unconventional, and fascinating the heroine truly is.
With the guidance of a wise and endearing elderly man, Mario, Clara begins to discover her own identity, the rich cultural heritage of Italy, and the intersection between the two. A very beautiful and unlikely friendship develops between Mario and Clara, unveiling a world of music, photography, art, and Italian delicacies. Through Simona Grossi’s masterful descriptions and vibrant imagery I felt as if I was in the best imaginable daydream. I could even taste the pizza! And when I thought I had finally figured out the rhythm of events, the story pivoted and threw me into an emotional rollercoaster that could only be constructed through relatable and engaging characters.
"Looking for Clara" is both enchanting and inspiring to anyone, who like the heroine, has ever been stuck in the monotonous sequence of daily life. Embracing the expression, “stop and smell the roses,” "Looking for Clara" suggests stopping for chocolate cake, jazz music, and life’s simple joys. However, the book is more than a lighthearted succession of happy discoveries. It is filled with contrasts that capture the realities of life: youth and old age, the simplicity of friendship and the complexity of romantic feelings, vibrant music and reflective silences. In this perfect balance of highs and lows, the brilliant Simona Grossi, finds a way to capture and maintain a reader’s interest from page 1 to 251 (did I mention I couldn't put the book down?). The result is that I did not feel as if I was sitting on my couch and reading a book. No, I was sitting in a flower laden coffeeshop in Italy and listening to an old friend narrate Clara’s life story. A story, which was as sweet and memorable as the raspberry gelato I was sharing with my friend.
With the guidance of a wise and endearing elderly man, Mario, Clara begins to discover her own identity, the rich cultural heritage of Italy, and the intersection between the two. A very beautiful and unlikely friendship develops between Mario and Clara, unveiling a world of music, photography, art, and Italian delicacies. Through Simona Grossi’s masterful descriptions and vibrant imagery I felt as if I was in the best imaginable daydream. I could even taste the pizza! And when I thought I had finally figured out the rhythm of events, the story pivoted and threw me into an emotional rollercoaster that could only be constructed through relatable and engaging characters.
"Looking for Clara" is both enchanting and inspiring to anyone, who like the heroine, has ever been stuck in the monotonous sequence of daily life. Embracing the expression, “stop and smell the roses,” "Looking for Clara" suggests stopping for chocolate cake, jazz music, and life’s simple joys. However, the book is more than a lighthearted succession of happy discoveries. It is filled with contrasts that capture the realities of life: youth and old age, the simplicity of friendship and the complexity of romantic feelings, vibrant music and reflective silences. In this perfect balance of highs and lows, the brilliant Simona Grossi, finds a way to capture and maintain a reader’s interest from page 1 to 251 (did I mention I couldn't put the book down?). The result is that I did not feel as if I was sitting on my couch and reading a book. No, I was sitting in a flower laden coffeeshop in Italy and listening to an old friend narrate Clara’s life story. A story, which was as sweet and memorable as the raspberry gelato I was sharing with my friend.
February 6, 2017
Magical with a hint of velvet :)
"It's normal to have doubts and it's beautiful to keep looking ... it's possible you won't find all your answers. But you might find some. And they'll be good enough. Enough to keep you going. To keep you looking."
A beautifully crafted story of love, loss, self-realization and constantly changing flow of life. I read this in one breath, before my own planned trip to Italy, and it couldn't have been better. From inner misgivings and unending questions on life's purpose to the moonlight dances and jazz, the story speaks to the soul. One thing is for sure, we all need a Mario in our lives.
"It's normal to have doubts and it's beautiful to keep looking ... it's possible you won't find all your answers. But you might find some. And they'll be good enough. Enough to keep you going. To keep you looking."
A beautifully crafted story of love, loss, self-realization and constantly changing flow of life. I read this in one breath, before my own planned trip to Italy, and it couldn't have been better. From inner misgivings and unending questions on life's purpose to the moonlight dances and jazz, the story speaks to the soul. One thing is for sure, we all need a Mario in our lives.
June 27, 2021
I received a free Kindle copy of this book from BookBub, I believe. At first I thought the editing was kind of rough; however, the author is Italian and I'm not sure if this was a translation or not. It felt like it to me as some of the phrasing was awkward. So, maybe it wasn't so much poor editing as poor translation?
This is the story of an overworked attorney who discovers that the woman she thought was her mother is not actually her birth mother. She abandons her job to search for her birth mother, making new friends, reconnecting with an old friend, and fulfilling her passion for music along the way.
Neither the storyline nor the characters would compel me to read the prequel, "Like Still Water" or the sequel, which the author so humbly thanks her readers "for reading, for loving Clara, for asking me for more and pushing me to write the sequel, which is indeed forthcoming." I was not among those readers.
This is the story of an overworked attorney who discovers that the woman she thought was her mother is not actually her birth mother. She abandons her job to search for her birth mother, making new friends, reconnecting with an old friend, and fulfilling her passion for music along the way.
Neither the storyline nor the characters would compel me to read the prequel, "Like Still Water" or the sequel, which the author so humbly thanks her readers "for reading, for loving Clara, for asking me for more and pushing me to write the sequel, which is indeed forthcoming." I was not among those readers.
February 19, 2020
Looking deep within doesn't always produce happiness.
Sad and low in life, searching for what she believes will bring her happiness. Meeting friends along the way, traveling far and wide but never really finding what she is searching for. A very deep story that never really finishes. Tender and heartwarming.p
Sad and low in life, searching for what she believes will bring her happiness. Meeting friends along the way, traveling far and wide but never really finding what she is searching for. A very deep story that never really finishes. Tender and heartwarming.p
February 19, 2020
Surprise
This book was a total surprise. This was the 2nd time I ordered a book by mistake & ended up loving it. When I first started on it, it wasn 't holding my interest by for some reason I kept reading. Thank goodness because it is an amazing book. I ended up loving it.
This book was a total surprise. This was the 2nd time I ordered a book by mistake & ended up loving it. When I first started on it, it wasn 't holding my interest by for some reason I kept reading. Thank goodness because it is an amazing book. I ended up loving it.
March 1, 2020
Discovery
Feeling like you live in a dream ? Your reality is boredom yet you are intelligent with degrees that would impress any employeer. So leave for Italy to discover your roots. That is a simple description of a complex read. Enjoy as I did.
Feeling like you live in a dream ? Your reality is boredom yet you are intelligent with degrees that would impress any employeer. So leave for Italy to discover your roots. That is a simple description of a complex read. Enjoy as I did.
March 18, 2020
Love this book, the story made me feel right to the end and wanting more! I could not put it down! Thank you Simona for sharing your dreams with us.
April 17, 2020
beautiffullly written
I loved the inter woven messages and the relationship with Mario. Journeys that never end is what life is all about.
I loved the inter woven messages and the relationship with Mario. Journeys that never end is what life is all about.
February 28, 2020
Wonderful story!!
This was a very thoughtful, poignant story from beginning to end and well worth reading. Mario, so kind and considerate and Clara, a dear and loving friend and their deeply moving journey together.
This was a very thoughtful, poignant story from beginning to end and well worth reading. Mario, so kind and considerate and Clara, a dear and loving friend and their deeply moving journey together.
February 28, 2020
A beautiful story
I found myself in this story more times than imaginable. So often we don't speak our feelings and miss out on great love. A wonderful story!
I found myself in this story more times than imaginable. So often we don't speak our feelings and miss out on great love. A wonderful story!
February 17, 2020
Loved the story. She creates a wonderful sense of place in Italy. I felt like I was there.
January 30, 2020
This was a very good story but it made me go back in time to my own life and my what ifs. Kind of a little sad and nostalgic at the same time.
February 20, 2017
This is a beautifully written story about a young woman whose professional life has been a great success, but who senses there is something missing, something she still needs to find. One day her job with a Los Angeles law firm serendipitously takes her to Italy, a place she has never been before but where she immediately feels at home. It is during her stay in Siena that some of the questions that had long haunted her slowly come into focus. And, with the support of a few new friends, she begins her search for answers. Looking for Clara is the story of someone who has many possible lives but who, like many of us, took the easy path of pursuing only one of them. Yet in the end, Clara finds the courage to swim beneath the surface where she reconnects with some of the dreams and the talents she had long sought to ignore. The book is tightly written in often poetic prose, and paints a rich and vivid portrait of Tuscany. Looking for Clara offers an inspiration to each of us – an inspiration not to settle for living only at the surface of our lives.
January 6, 2019
I met Clara for the first time few days ago, when I started reading this wonderful book. She introduced me to some of her friends: Mario, her neighbor, the guys, William, etc. We walked together through the streets of the beautiful Siena, in Tuscany. We cried and laughed together.
Few minutes ago I read the words "The End", I closed the book, and I felt lost. I will deeply miss Clara and her friends. I will remember the warm feeling that this story gave me.
What a fantastic journey this has been!
Clara, thank you for the great things you taught me about life and friendship.Thank you for showing me how important small things and short moments are. Thank you for reminding me that we we should be brave in life and embrace our passions.
Simona, author of this book, thank you for creating Clara and telling us her story. Thank you for giving so much life to all the characters in this book. Thank you for beautifully painting so many magical Italian places. But now, please, go back to work, write another story of Clara, and give us a chance to immerse ourselves one more time into her world.
Few minutes ago I read the words "The End", I closed the book, and I felt lost. I will deeply miss Clara and her friends. I will remember the warm feeling that this story gave me.
What a fantastic journey this has been!
Clara, thank you for the great things you taught me about life and friendship.Thank you for showing me how important small things and short moments are. Thank you for reminding me that we we should be brave in life and embrace our passions.
Simona, author of this book, thank you for creating Clara and telling us her story. Thank you for giving so much life to all the characters in this book. Thank you for beautifully painting so many magical Italian places. But now, please, go back to work, write another story of Clara, and give us a chance to immerse ourselves one more time into her world.
February 5, 2017
What a beautiful book! It evokes the freedom and passion of jazz and celebrates the little surprises that change the paths of our lives. The story focuses on Clara, a young woman who is attempting to navigate a career, a dream, and the possibility of love. Her job sends her to Siena where she finds herself in the middle of a puzzle that may or may not have something to do with her. The narrative lingers on Clara’s thoughts, her confusions, and her growing sense of confidence, and the reader is with her all the way. At the heart of the story is a powerful friendship that develops between Clara and her elderly Siena neighbor, Mario. That relationship opens the door to everything that follows. In the end, Looking for Clara is a story about true friendship and the possibilities of the life we choose to create.
February 1, 2021
This is a really interesting book that is in a grey zone as far as genre. Neither a mystery nor a romance and yet it has a little of both. Clara, whom the title refers to, has come to a point in her life where she begins to question who she is and why she has ended up on a career path and a life that is all work. She has no close friends and tends to purposefully distance herself from those around her. Work takes her to Italy and through an encounter and gradually developing friendship with a wise old man she begins to slowly see the truth of herself. She learns that one cannot know true love until one knows oneself. There is a gentle elegance in the writing of this story that drew me in from the first chapter.
July 11, 2020
Looking for Clara is an easy, quick read and an interesting story. I didn't love the writing style, and I kept waiting to find out what would happen when she actually found Clara. When that finally happened, I found it rather anticlimactic. Additionally, when her father told her who her real mother was, there was no real surprise, horror, or even much curiosity. Why did she look so much like Clara if Anna was her mother? I found much of that part of the story pretty confusing. One of the things I liked was all the "location shots" in Italy. Having been there for the first time last fall, it was fun to picture the settings.
February 26, 2020
The author's writing style just didn't work for me. Things that should have been explained more were not, and mundane things were. And some of the sentences just did not make sense to me.
March 15, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. I think if you stop searching, learning, creating - your life gets boring.
I liked Mario the best !
I liked Mario the best !
July 24, 2024
Just finished this book and it was a very quick reading to pass my hangover after reading A Hundred Years Of Solitude.
The plot was brilliant (I’m a sucker for self-discovery journeys in Europe), but the way the author developed it didn’t really work for me. I felt like the story rushed in so many parts that a lot of questions were left unanswered and many things didn’t make sense; for example: why were American Clara and Italian Clara so similar? - how was she living in Italy and still having things in LA with no job? (…) And I felt there was a lot of “telling instead of showing” which made the whole experience of reading Clara’s story a superficial and quick recap of what actually happened while in Italy. When certain very important character died, I didn’t get the chills and watery eyes I normally get if the characters are lovable and unforgettable so I think it says a lot.
Will I read the second part knowing that this felt very regular? Yep, because as I said at the beginning, it’s a quick reading that can be fun in summer time or just when I feel like I need to light the mood with books.
The plot was brilliant (I’m a sucker for self-discovery journeys in Europe), but the way the author developed it didn’t really work for me. I felt like the story rushed in so many parts that a lot of questions were left unanswered and many things didn’t make sense; for example: why were American Clara and Italian Clara so similar? - how was she living in Italy and still having things in LA with no job? (…) And I felt there was a lot of “telling instead of showing” which made the whole experience of reading Clara’s story a superficial and quick recap of what actually happened while in Italy. When certain very important character died, I didn’t get the chills and watery eyes I normally get if the characters are lovable and unforgettable so I think it says a lot.
Will I read the second part knowing that this felt very regular? Yep, because as I said at the beginning, it’s a quick reading that can be fun in summer time or just when I feel like I need to light the mood with books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews