Reviews

Philadelphia Inquirer – August 5, 2007
When the World Was Young, the first novel by Romano, a writer and teacher from the Chicago area, is a multilayered, often dark and edgy saga of one Italian American family in the mid-to-later decades of 20th-century Chicago. In ways, what this book does is set cliches on their heads. When the World Was Young is also a tale of the otherness that then and now is so much a part of the immigrant-family experience. Tony Romano draws characters well… [and] can indeed write.” – Rita Giordano

Chicago Tribune – May 19, 2007
“Compelling… breathtaking… vivid and eloquent… Romano is a careful and evocative writer who takes time with his descriptions to give his fictional world depth and texture. As adept as he is at rendering visual images, Romano is even more skilled at presenting his characters’ psychic landscapes. These narrative threads provide internal drama, but there is plenty of good, old-fashioned, external plot as well… When the World Was Young is a most-accomplished first novel, rich in characterization, setting and psychological acuity.” – Jessica Treadway

Library Journal – May 11, 2007
“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.”

Booklist – April 15, 2007
“Tenderhearted… Romano describes the mourning process in heart-wrenching passages even as he relays the love and the secrets… that bind and separate family members. In addition, he offers a finely detailed depiction of the Peccatoris’ West Side Chicago neighborhood, from its Italian beef stands to its majestic Catholic church.”