Synopses & Reviews
In the late 50s and early 60s, in the rough, Italian-American neighborhood of East Liberty in Pittsburgh, Bobby Renzo is growing up fatherless in the care of his beautiful and mysterious mother, Francene. At school the nuns regard him with pity and concern because of his single-parent home, but Bobby and
Francene are happy. Occasionally she brings a man to her bedroom and shuts Bobby out, but that doesn't happen often. Most evenings mother and son watch movies or wrestling on TV while eating snacks from Francene's job at Sears' candy counter.
Bobby likes school, too, and is intrigued with the possibility of becoming a priest. But he's also driven to commit small crimes with his tough friends. And he wants to be a Big League baseball player. And he can't help daydreaming about the father he has never known, whom Francene won't discuss.
Over time, Bobby is forced to confront the realities of his situation. When his mother becomes estranged from her Italian-born parents, Bobby knows this has something to do with his father. His calling to the priesthood is challenged by his awakening sexuality. His world view, shaped equally by old movies and baseball and the teachings of the Church, can't possibly be "normal." Or
can it? In this lively, literary coming-of-age novel, Bobby begins to come to terms with the contradictions that rule his life.
Review
"East Liberty is a beautiful, stunning feat." Michael Parker, author of Hello Down There and The Geographical Cure