From Publishers Weekly
In his second novel, the author of the well-received Men with Debts takes an entertaining and insightful look at a young man grappling with the problems of coming of age. With high expectations, Nicholas Battaglia leaves his Massachusetts home to attend college in New York. It is 1970, a time of campus unrest and free love. The Jesuit campus of Fordham University, however, proves almost as tradition-bound as the home Nick left behind. While his roommate Tommy revels in his own sexual exploits, Nick begins a surreptitious affair with a married English professor, Cynthia Branner. Interwoven into the story of this ill-fated romance are glimpses of Nick's relationship with his family. A brunch with Nick's seedy Uncle Billy and Billy's tacky fiancee Judy offers a wonderful contrast to a dinner with Nick's loving but old-fashioned parents, Joe and Josie. Giardina's ability to portray these characters with both humor and affection makes this book a pleasure to read.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This coming-of-age story deals with Nicholas Battaglia, a young Italian college student, and his obsession with his married, Jewish English instructor. Both are self-destructive, and their affair has near-tragic consequences. Set in the early 1970s, this novel is reminiscent of Scott Spencer's Endless Love as it chronicles a boy's single-minded pursuit of his love object, but this goes further in also dealing with relationships and duty within a working-class Italian family. The author's strength lies in his ability to put the reader inside Nicholas's head and in the three-dimensional quality of his characters. Giardina reminds us what it was like to be young: so self-absorbed and rebellious. Not a happy book, but a rewarding one. Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Cty. Lib., Seaside, Cal.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
