Berto's World

These stories follow Dr. Robert Galen, aka Berto, as he traverses the memories of the tenement neighborhood of his youth and those that resid. Meet the Mad Russian—why does he always carry a meat cleaver whenever he goes to get a shave from Thomas the barber? Then there's Giuseppe—Joe the Junkman—who roams through a neighborhood too poor to throw anything away. There are the Old Guys, veterans of the Great War, one a radio repairman who returned home with shell shock, the other a shoemaker with nothing below the waist. There's Mr. Buck, the clockmaker, who shares a secret with his young apprentice. There's the Candy Lady, who isn't so sweet, and the little Jewish dentist who defeated the Nazis but falls victim to Cupid's arrow from a most unexpected direction. Be sure to meet Sal, Tomas, and Angie, Berto's pals who help him confront life's greatest mystery: the opposite sex. And above all there is his mentor, Dr. Agnelli, who along with a dead lady sets Berto along his life's path. Come and meet them—and all of the unforgettable denizens of Berto's world.