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David Prete |
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Say That to My Face |
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Transcending all the limitations of "ethnic literature" and mobster stereotyping, David Prete flawlessly (and seemingly effortlessly) nails Italian-American life to the page and elevates it to a new place in American writing.
“Told in short, picaresque episodes of compelling and graphic dialogue and suspenseful drama, this fast-paced novel will especially appeal to reluctant readers, who will sympathize with the hero's troubled preadolescence, be touched by his poignant love affairs and the bonding among his buddies, smile at his pranks, and ultimately cringe at his reckless confusion.” - Library Journal
"To read David Prete is to read a fiction of effortlessness: his use of colloquial speech and simple language rather than self-consciously literary syntax; his preference for subtle truths over fancy artifice; above all his ability to get hold of real feeling-his gifts call to mind those of Raymond Carver. Only a profound talent can write stories that are at once simple and deep." - Darin Strauss, author of Chang & Eng
"David Prete is scary good. Having come to writing rather accidentally, after years spent working in the theater, he spilled out these stories with an effortless, natural grace that any seasoned writer would regard with jaw-dropping envy....He is a heartbreaking talent, born to this line of work, our very own Bronx Chekhov." - Elizabeth Gilbert, best-selling author of The Last American Man
“The creative use of language, honest depiction of character and setting, and occasional laugh-out-loud scenes will satisfy all readers of good fiction.” - Booklist
“Prete's complicated affection for neighborhood life-and his ability to produce vivid thumbnail sketches of the kind of men who feel at home in dingy pool halls-gives his debut authority and individuality.” - Publishers Weekly
“A heartfelt first book … Joey is rebellious and charming . . . Prete aptly draws Joey in all his posturing and hesitant glory.” - Kirkus Reviews
“I love the words in these stories … Prete is especially good at creating indelible characters.” - Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times
“The stories that comprise this coming-of-age novel are powerful distillations of everyday life that arrive with all the peace of the mundane & leave you thinking about how close some of us can come to living truly desperate lives … You’ve got to buy this book.” - Fred Gardaphe, Fra Noi
“Brilliant short stories in which portraits of life in Yonkers are captured in a series of coming of age and lost innocence tales. Prete is a very gifted writer.” - Bookviews.com |
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Photography by John Zibell |
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“David Prete so clearly loves the characters in this book — this strange, eccentric, damaged Italian family. He does the bravest thing possible, never passing judgment on any of them, instead he makes you fall in love with them.” — Edie Falco of The Soprano's |
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“Prete’s stories are as casually virtuoso as a neighborhood knuckleball.” — Entertainment Weekly |
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For a detailed description of the book, read the jacket copy of Say That to My Face.
To purchase an autographed copy of Say That to My Face by check PayPal, email your request to David Prete.
Read a detailed interview with David Prete about Say That to My Face. |
