Out of the Bronx — Jerome Kass

OUT OF THE BRONX, a stunning collection of stories by Jerome Kass, follows Joel Sachs, from his childhood in the Bronx to his adult life in Manhattan. Along the way we encounter his friends and family: his father, Lou, an inveterate gambler; his mother, Rose, whose anger toward Lou is often tempered by her need to take care of him; Joel's older sister, Fanny, whose sense of being unloved makes her want to tear the family apart; and his beautiful younger sister, Gloria, who will end up uncovering the family's deepest secrets. And of course, there is Joel, who as a boy tries to hold the family together and make the abnormal seem normal-and as a man seeks to break free from the people and places that still have him in their grip.