Romano, Tony. When the World Was Young.
The
world was young in 1957 when the Peccatoris, an Italian family in Chicago,
suffer the loss of two-year-old Benito. This death precipitates dramatic
change, as family members begin revealing secrets or creating new ones to
hide. When oldest brother Santo tries to keep his sister, Victoria, from
hanging around with local hood Eddie Milano, they spot an older Italian
woman attacking their father, Agostino. After the death of Benito, Santo is
determined to discover what precipitated the attack, and Victoria becomes
even more determined to see Eddie. Agostino sees Benito's death as
punishment for his philandering, and wife Angela Rosa believes she could
have saved Benito; their guilty feelings lead to an iciness in their
marriage affecting all the children. Eventually, Agostino confesses his sins
to his brother Vincenzo, which enables Santo to find out the truth.
Examining the loss of innocence, respected short story author Romano
gracefully considers whether knowing the truth is always for the best while
capturing the values and characters of a 1950s Italian neighborhood.
Recommended.