DIFFERENT STORY

In the course of each year, newspapers receive a number of unsolicited, self-published books begging to be reviewed.

In most cases, after reading a few pages, it becomes evident why these books had to be self-published , and they’re sent on their way to either the recycling center or to the landfill.

I USED TO BE ITALIAN, by John V. Lonero, however, is a different story. It’s a tale of growing up during the Depression in the Italian neighborhood once centered in the Clark Avenue-Fulton Road area of Cleveland.

It takes its protagonists through high school at West Tech, through the World War II years, and finally, into careers that couldn’t be more different.

Jamie LaBianca is bright, somewhat mild-mannered and warm-hearted. His best friend Vinnie Grosso, is a different breed. A year older than Jamie, it best could be said that, wherever Vinnie goes, trouble follows. Together, and with the help of friends and families they lead the reader through a series of escapades that are often hilarious and sometimes heart-touching.

Take one of the early episodes. Jamie’s papa makes moonshine in the attic. The family knows a raid is imminent, but papa’s sick. The efforts to dismantle the still and hide the evidence make a scene almost worthy of the Keystone Kops. Or, when the police are distracted by another of the book’s characters, Vinnie purloins a nightstick, blackjack and handcuffs from the back of the police car.

At West Tech, Jamie’s talent for art is recognized. It’s also where he finds Jenny , and anyone who recalls their first bout with love will smile at the joys and pangs the two experience during their sweet courtship. Vinnie, on the other hand, is big on the football team, with hormones to match, but never gets the girl. Yet they remain friends, even though, by this time, its obvious their lives are headed in different directions.

The war years bring different realizations — those of friends and family members returning home wounded, or not returning home at all. Jamie has won a scholarship to the Cleveland Institute of Art, and now lives on the East Side, but the old neighborhood still acts as a magnet.

His return to the neighborhood brings another realization — that the horde of indigents lured to the city by the promise of wartime jobs had changed the neighborhood, the start of urban blight that affected not just Cleveland, but cities across the nation. His visit to the house where Jenny lived is especially poignant — he sees homes and yards in disrepair and finds that Jenny and her family have moved to where no one seems to know.

The reader follows Jamie and Vinnie into the 1950's, where Jamie ends up a rising star in advertising in New York. Vinnie, on the other hand, has stepped into the unsavory side of life (he gets deported twice and becomes a target for the Sciciian Mafia.)

Anyone who’s eavesdropped on conversations at an Italian wedding reception will identify with this book, with its steady stream of anecdotes interspersed with touching remembrances. Just as anyone who’s lived in Cleveland for awhile will identify with it, with action taking place at the Aragon Ballroom, the Garden Theater, Brookside Park, Puritas Springs Park, Little Italy and even suburban Independence.

Lonero knows of what he writes; the book is admittedly autobiographical in many ways. He grew up in the neighborhood he describes so vividly, attended the art institute and worked in advertising both here and in New York. Currently, he lives in North Carolina where he paints, sculpts and operates an art studio.

I USED TO BE ITALIAN is available at Borders, Joseph-Beth Booksellers and Barnes and Noble. One caveat, however — those offended by blunt language might want to look for other reading material.

Signed copies of his book are available directly from the publishers for $15.95. (Continental USA only. Others add $4.50 ground freight, $8.50 air freight, for shipping and handling.) Send check or money order to Pacolet Pines Publishing Co., P.O.Box 1047, Tryon, NC 28782.