Details
| Details | | Series: | Revere Beach Trilogy/Roland Merullo, Books 1 |
| Size | | Length: | 320 pages | | Height: | 9.8 in | | Width: | 6.8 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 21.6 oz |
Publisher's Notes
First Line: "I am an old man now, an almost-retired priest--childless, wifeless, mostly useless--passing my days in prayer, contemplation, and, during the warm months, my passion for golf."
Industry Reviews
The author of Leaving Losapas (LJ 12/90) and A Russian Requiem (LJ 8/93) embarks here on "The Revere Beach Trilogy." Set over four days in August in a down-and-out Boston beach suburb, this story is told in the alternating voices of several members of the Imbesalacqua family: mother Lucy, in the final throes of cancer; daughter Joanna, grappling with coming out to her family and with her brother's chronic gambling; father Vito, trying to save his son, Peter, and acknowledge another son; and Peter himself, the central character, drawn deeper into deceit, debt, and danger as he tries to extricate himself from the clutches of a Mafia loan shark. Occasional voices of other characters give added perspective, but it is the central characters who propel the story as they examine the past and try to alter its influence on the present. One flaw perhaps is that it is hard to accept Peter's stuttering: he is depicted as a consummate salesman, a glib and fluid liar, and a charmer. Nevertheless, this is an impressive start to the trilogy, combining intricate story lines and fluid writing. Highly recommended. Francine Fialkoff, "Library Journal"
Kakutani
Suffocating secrets prey upon family love and loyalty in this sympathetically drawn, though ultimately lumbering first volume of a projected Revere Beach Trilogy. Over the course of one week, Merullo (Leaving Losapos) focuses on the Imbesalacqua family and its life among the Italian-Americans of Boston's North End. Vito, who came to America in 1936, believed in hard work, religion, frugality, honesty and the sanctity of the family, but he has lived to see most of his dreams compromised and unfulfilled. His wife, Lucy, is now dying, and Vito still frets over his decades-old infidelity to her. Peter, their disappointing son, grapples with his failing real estate business and a gambling addiction. He owes a debt of life-threatening proportions to a mob-connected loan shark, Eddie Crevine, who is being investigated by Vito's daughter, Joanna, a famous TV news anchorwoman with secrets of her own. Alfonse Romano, a Revere police captain, also battles some private demons as he tries to help the family save Peter from himself. The author was raised in Revere and clearly possesses a heartfelt awareness of the unique rhythms of its Italian-American community. Vito, in particular, is a richly drawn character, balancing wisdom with na?vet? while resisting stereotype. The other first-person narrators (of which there are many) are less distinctive, though Peter's gambling sequences are deftly handled. Unfortunately, Merullo fails in his attempt to negotiate a treacherous middle ground between the literary and suspense novel forms. The dramatic elements are merely commonplace, thus sabotaging any chance for a surprise denouement. The result is a high-stakes family melodrama with a curiously small payoff. Editor, Tracy Brown; agent, Cynthia Cannell Literary Agency. (Sept.)
Bukey
Suffocating secrets prey upon family love and loyalty in this sympathetically drawn, though ultimately lumbering first volume of a projected Revere Beach Trilogy. Over the course of one week, Merullo (Leaving Losapos) focuses on the Imbesalacqua family and its life among the Italian-Americans of Boston's North End. Vito, who came to America in 1936, believed in hard work, religion, frugality, honesty and the sanctity of the family, but he has lived to see most of his dreams compromised and unfulfilled. His wife, Lucy, is now dying, and Vito still frets over his decades-old infidelity to her. Peter, their disappointing son, grapples with his failing real estate business and a gambling addiction. He owes a debt of life-threatening proportions to a mob-connected loan shark, Eddie Crevine, who is being investigated by Vito's daughter, Joanna, a famous TV news anchorwoman with secrets of her own. Alfonse Romano, a Revere police captain, also battles some private demons as he tries to help the family save Peter from himself. The author was raised in Revere and clearly possesses a heartfelt awareness of the unique rhythms of its Italian-American community. Vito, in particular, is a richly drawn character, balancing wisdom with na‹vet‚ while resisting stereotype. The other first-person narrators (of which there are many) are less distinctive, though Peter's gambling sequences are deftly handled. Unfortunately, Merullo fails in his attempt to negotiate a treacherous middle ground between the literary and suspense novel forms. The dramatic elements are merely commonplace, thus sabotaging any chance for a surprise denouement. The result is a high-stakes family melodrama with a curiously small payoff. Editor, Tracy Brown; agent, Cynthia Cannell Literary Agency. (Sept.)
Publishers Weekly (08/10/1998)
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