I USED TO BE ITALIAN 

The backgrounds of author John Lonero and that of Jamie LaBianca, the main character in Lonero's novel I USED TO BE ITALIAN, are so similar that one wonders just how autobiographical the work is.

Lonero's foreword confirms that the book is "creative nonfiction." He and alter-ego Jamie grew up in pre-World War II Cleveland, committing petty crimes with his loyal friend, Vinnie Grosso, and their cronies.

The book is packed with anecdotes like a triumph over neighborhood bully Cookie Occarro, a Christmas Eve that Jamie spent in the doghouse (literally) and a spectacularly bad date he shares with dream girl Jenny Lange. (This one makes THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY look like a grammar-school play.)

Jamie develops his talent in art, joins an advertising agency and eventually hits it big by opening his own New York office. He losses the fair Jenny but meets spunky Mata, whom he marries.

But life is not all roses. Vinnie turns up with serious problems: Born in Italy, he's in danger of being deported for tax evasion, and he wants Jamie's help. How far will Jamie go for his friend?

Many episodes in I USED TO BE ITALIAN are very funny. Accounts of Jamie's prize of a live chicken at a movie theater and the Lonero family's frantic attempt to dismantle a Prohibition-still before the G-men show up are riotous.

Although Jamie is pretty much a boy-next-door, parts of the story are for adults only. There's some pretty frank language. Descriptions of Jamie's family life ring true, especially a painful father-and-son estrangement.

Reading I USED TO BE ITALIAN is like listening to an uncle tell stories over a long holiday dinner: You may have heard them before, but you're going to hear them again, and you're going to laugh.

John Lonero moved from the hangout corner of Clark and Fulton to North Carolina, where he operates an art studio. He earned a doctorate in art education.

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.