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Book Review

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Above, Kerriann Flanagan Brosky kicked off her Fall book tour at the Country House Restaurant in Stony Brook hosted by owner Bob Willemstyn on September 30.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

The versatile Kerriann Flanagan Brosky’s works include Historic Crimes of Long Island (reviewed in this paper October 2017), Ghosts of Long Island, The Medal, and Delectable Italian Dishes for Family and Friends, among others. Haunted America (a division of The History Press) presents her latest work, Haunted Long Island Mysteries, a well-crafted overview of various sites of supernatural activity from Sag Harbor to Port Washington. Brosky has once again teamed up with medium and paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto to explore a range of “spirited” hauntings. 

Author Kerriann Flanagan Brosky

This is Brosky’s fourth ghost book: “The journey of investigating over one hundred presumably haunted locales on Long Island has led me to understand many things, including the importance of these spiritual beings and how they relate to our past and history, to the continuity of life after death and to the ability to communicate with our loved ones after they have passed.” Brosky finds the place where history and the spirit world eloquently intersect with the paranormal.

Both Brosky and Giaquinto come from a grounded and focused point of view. They are not looking for converts. Instead, they ask the reader to keep an open mind. “We are simply putting our research and investigations out there for one to ponder while at the same time teaching you about local history and the importance of preserving it.”

Each chapter focuses on a specific location: a house, an inn, a cemetery, a restaurant, etc. From Setauket to Patchogue, Babylon to Stony Brook — many of these places (18 in all) will be familiar to the readers from reading about or even visiting them. 

First, Brosky provides a meticulously researched background, with detailed notes on the construction and physical elements. Next, she succinctly proceeds to accounts of the occupants’ lives throughout the years—the families, the marriages, the breaks, the affairs. Finally, having established context, she arrives at the present, interviewing caretakers, directors, docents, and board members. She then connects past to present, highlighting any of the unusual occurrences. 

The final section of most chapters is composed of Brosky and Giaquinto’s actual work in the location, including photography, video, and, most interesting, the use of a ghost box. A ghost box (also known as a spirit box) contacts spirits using radio frequency. The result is EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena): human-sounding voices from an unknown source heard on recorded data from an audiotape, radio station noise, or other electronic media. The book contains portions of transcriptions, but readers may listen to the actual recordings by visiting www.ghostsoflongisland.com, then clicking on Haunted Long Island Mysteries.

The book contains accounts of orbs of light, dark silhouettes, footsteps in the middle of the night, and slamming doors. There are rooms where the temperature is exceptionally and inexplicably cold. There are scents with no source. But it is not about things that go bump in the night (though many do, including the voice of a screaming woman). Instead, it is about the energy and the presence (perhaps more blessed than haunted). Most of the encounters are with benign and even welcoming entities. Whether focusing on a member of the Culper Spy Ring, a library custodian, a mother guilty of filicide, or victims of a shipwreck, Brosky shows respect for her mission. 

For believers, the book presents an ideal blend of history and mystery. For others, the exceptional scholarship provides an undeniably detailed examination of a range of Long Island settings. The work celebrates the scientific, not the sensational. This world is not populated by fanatics or conspiracy theories but people who have experienced events and connections for which they cannot find an explanation. 

Brosky offers many perspectives in the dozens of interviews. “People always ask us if we have ghosts,” states Frank Giebfried, a docent and board member at Meadow Croft in Sayville. “I have not really experienced anything, just a little voice here or there, but nothing that I would attribute to anything supernatural. I’m a skeptic, but I’m not going to not believe the things people tell me they experience.”

Brosky honors groups like the Bayport-Bluepoint Heritage Association, the Ward Melville Heritage Organization and the Oyster Bay Historical Society for their work in preserving these historical sites and making them available to the public.

The last two chapters are devoted to the Sundance Stables in Manorville, with the final chapter focusing on Rebecca Weissbard, who died in 2016 at age twenty-two. A gifted equestrian, “Becca” died in a horseback riding incident. Her detailed story is the ideal coda because of the resonance of its deeply personal nature.

Giaquinto best sums up Haunted Long Island Mysteries: “There is something for everyone in this book. If you love history, it’s in the book. If you like to read ghost stories and urban legends, there are many to peruse here. And if you’ve ever been curious how a paranormal researcher does their work, you’ll find it here as well.”

Haunted Long Island Mysteries is available online at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Learn more about the author at www.kerriannflanaganbrosky.com.

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'The Whale's Daughter'

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

There is a long tradition of Man vs. Nature in young adult literature. The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Hatchet, and even Call of the Wild (which straddles the world of adult and young adult fiction) are examples of the genre. These novels reflect how the individual changes when interacting with greater forces. Jerry Mikorenda’s The Whaler’s Daughter (Regal House Publishing) smartly explores the world of whaling in a 1910 New South Whales community.

Author Jerry Mikorenda signs a book for a fan.

In a small Australian station, the whalers have joined forces with orcas to hunt whales. Savannah Dawson, a twelve-year-old living with her widowed father, dreams of working alongside him on the boats, joining the family’s long whaling history. Her gender strongly impedes her desire. In addition, she believes that the orcas caused the death of her two brothers, Eli and Asa.

The book seamlessly weaves Savannah’s two journeys. First, her realization that the orcas were not responsible for her sibling’s death. Second, her struggle for acceptance as a crew member. The author addresses both issues throughout, using detailed research to infuse the book with a vivid portrait of life on ship and shore, the challenges of the sea, and the camaraderie of the men themselves. He touches on superstitions and familial connections. In addition, he contextually integrates both regional dialect and nautical/whaling vocabulary. (There is also a helpful appendix of terms.)

Mikorenda sets the tone and pace with Savannah’s declaration: “I began my day as I always did, lugging those dreaded pots to the fire pit to make a bushman’s stew. Their big iron bellies slogged through the sand as if they were drunken sailors being dragged to Sunday service.” He presents a life of physical toil with a heroine who has a wry sense of observation. She begins as a cook and ends on the boat. 

Savannah’s palpable frustration seats in her knowledge of being a Dawson and the weight the name carries. But being female has relegated her to a second-class citizen. Apart from an unwanted suitor, she is almost unseen. So driven to claim her birthright, she boldly chops off her hair: “If Papa needed a boy for the boats, I’d meet him halfway.” The portrait is a girl coming to terms with maturity. She questions the father-daughter relationship. “How could things go so wrong between us when all I did was grow into who I am?” More telling is her realization that “Having your dreams trampled by someone who could help you realize them is worse than not having them at all.”

Savannah’s father, both distant and damaged, shows sensitivity in a revelation centering around a letter. His opening to Savannah is one of the most touching moments in the book. In addition, Mikorenda has populated the station with a blend of interesting and colorful sailors and their families. The locale is vibrant, with special note of the wonderfully eccentric Old Whalers and Seafarer’s Home, dubbed the Pelican House. 

Certainly, the hyper-articulate Calagun is the book’s unique character. Nicknamed “Figgie,” the aboriginal boy’s eloquence is a marvel: “Your perceptions of my intentions are somewhat askew.” A new oarsman in the Dawson crew, he becomes Savannah’s companion and champion. He serves as the gateway in her shift in perception. Through him, she sees the orcas anew and, subsequently, the world. Their interactions root in genuine respect and affection. “Some people are like empty bowls we can pour all our problems into, and Figgie was that way for me,” muses Savannah. 

There is remarkable enculturation as Savannah learns from Figgie’s life experiences. Their burgeoning closeness hews tightly to the book’s heart. Figgie’s spirituality, acquired from his people, confirms man’s connection to the world: “We don’t own the earth, the earth owns us … This is where we began; this is where our spirits return to be reborn as a rock, bird, or fig tree.” 

Figgie’s explanation of the balance of nature tempers Savannah’s anger with the orcas. Her newfound comprehension leads to an encounter with an orca bringing her to shore. Confusion leads to frustration, to awareness, to acceptance. Later, they witness the birth of an orca, furthering her understanding of the pod’s dynamic.

The novel offers a sense of the hard life in New Wales. It also gives a rich glimpse into aboriginal culture and beliefs. The blend matures Savannah in ways that life solely under her father would not give her.

The Whaler’s Daughter is an engaging novel. The plot is intense and eventful, and the language vivid and resonant. But the true strength lies in the growth of Savannah Dawson, a complex girl with challenging aspirations and the drive to see them fulfilled

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

A resident of Northport, Jerry Mikorenda’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Herald, The Gotham Center History Blog, and the 2010 Encyclopedia of New York City. His short stories have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, BULL, Cowboy Jamboree, and Gravel Magazine as well as other journals. His biography America’s First Freedom Rider: Elizabeth Jennings, Chester A. Arthur, and the Early Fight for Civil Rights was published in 2020. His latest, the coming-of-age historical fiction novel The Whaler’s Daughter, is perfect for middle-grade readers and is available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

For more information, visit www.jerrymikorenda.com. 

 

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The Country House Restaurant
Author Kerriann Brosky

Join author Kerriann Flanagan Brosky on Thursday, September 30th at the Country House Restaurant, 1175 North Country Road, Stony Brook for a Lunch and Learn program beginning at 12:30 pm.

Brosky will be joined by the proprietor of the Country House Restaurant, Bob Willemstyn, as they recount their experiences with the spirits and the strange happenings of the Country House Restaurant. Haunts of other local properties owned by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) like the Brewster House (c. 1665), and the Thompson House (c. 1709) which is featured on the cover of Brosky’s new book “Haunted Long Island Mysteries”, will be discussed. $45 per person, includes signed book, program and appetizer luncheon, plus tax and gratuity. Beverages are additional.

The Country House Restaurant was originally a residential home from 1710 to 1970. Annette Williamson, daughter of the family that owned the house, resided there before the Revolutionary War. She is said to haunt the restaurant, as she was murdered by local townspeople for supposedly being a British spy. In the late 1800s it became the home of a famous British actor, Thomas Haddaway – who would hold meetings of spiritualism, including séances to contact the dead, with local neighbor, artist and poet William Sidney Mount. The Country House Restaurant has been the destination of ghost hunters and those fascinated with hauntings for centuries.

To learn more about this Lunch and Learn program and to register, call the Country House Restaurant at 631-751-3332. To learn more about the Brewster and Thompson Houses, call the Ward Melville Heritage Organization office at 631-751-2244.

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John Broven, left, celebrating the book’s launch with Larry Simon in Brooklyn. Image courtesy of John Broven

By John Broven

New York has been at the heart of international musical activity ever since the far-off days of Tin Pan Alley, from Broadway show songs through Brill Building pop to jazz, folk, mambo, doo wop, rock, disco, punk, rap/hip hop and other styles in between.

There was also a neighborhood blues scene. It has remained little known and scantily documented until now, with the publication of New York City Blues: Postwar Portraits From Harlem to the Village and Beyond by Larry Simon (University Press of Mississippi) which I have had the pleasure of editing. The period covered is from the 1940s through the 1990s.

The book’s cover (with guitarist Jimmy Spruill). Image courtesy of John Broven

For too long, New York has been under the shadow of major blues conurbations such as Chicago, Memphis and the West Coast. Many of the local artists made a familiar trek up the Eastern Seaboard, particularly from the Carolinas, as they escaped the segregated South looking for the bright lights of the big city.  

Simon, a Brooklyn-born guitarist, became interested in New York blues musicians in the 1980s after reading articles in Juke Blues, a highly respected British magazine. In search of new material, Paul Harris and Richard Tapp made trips with myself from England to the Big Apple in the mid-1980s through early ‘90s. The people we interviewed were hardly household names, certainly not to the public at large: Bob Gaddy, Larry Dale, Jimmy Spruill, Harlem record man Bobby Robinson, even songwriters Rose Marie McCoy and Doc Pomus — both of whom wrote hits for Elvis Presley.

Yet the Juke Blues stories struck a chord with Simon, so much so that he initiated a New York blues revival movement with Gaddy, Dale and Spruill, also Rosco Gordon (a famous Memphis R&B artist) and Dr. Horse (Al Pittman, who had been singing with the Ink Spots). Besides playing clubs in Manhattan and the Bronx, they even traveled to Europe to ecstatic reaction.

Realizing the importance of these artists and the stories they had to tell, Simon had the idea to write this first-ever book on the subject. “I had the foresight to interview the guys and have my photographer friend, Robert Schaffer, take pictures,” he said. “Thus began a 35-year odyssey that resulted in our just-published book, not to mention all our wonderful years of performing and touring.”

After I agreed to edit the book, which includes my scene-setting introduction, Harris and Tapp were brought on board. Harris contributed many photos mainly taken in the Harlem of the 1980s, while Tapp interviewed Bob Malenky, a guitarist with a fascinating story of New York’s underground blues activity. 

Larry Dale outside the Apollo Theatre, Harlem, 1986. Photo by Paul Harris.

At the last minute, we felt we needed a chapter on Tarheel Slim — another talented but overlooked East Coast blues guitarist. Step forward Val Wilmer, a noted U.K. jazz photographer and writer, who contributed her 1973 interview with Slim and his wife Little Ann, plus photographs. Then Wilmer came up with features on classic blues singer Victoria Spivey and country blues guitarist Larry Johnson.

Simon conducted last-minute interviews with important bluesmen Paul Oscher and John Hammond Jr., and with a location map designed by Debbi Scott Price, of Stony Brook, the book was ready to go.

While much of the New York blues activity was centered on Harlem, flowing out to Greenwich Village, the Bronx and Brooklyn, there was a respectable Long Island contingent. Local interviewees included record men Hy Weiss from Woodbury and Jerry Wexler from East Hampton, ballad heartthrob Arthur Prysock from Searington and Doc Pomus from Lynbrook. 

As a matter of interest, there is a Prysock exhibit on permanent display at The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook. Also featured in the book are no less than three photographs of the Celebrity Club in Freeport, a somewhat forgotten harbor of Black entertainment in the 1950s and ’60s. 

Said Tapp of his Malenky interview, “In the early ‘70s, Bob was a member of blues singer Charles Walker’s band. It was a hand-to-mouth existence with gigs being played in small Black neighborhood clubs in areas like the South Bronx and out onto Long Island where Malenky recalled clubs in Roslyn, Wyandanch and Huntington Station. They were tough times but, looking back, Malenky said he was proud of his association with Walker and I’m pleased that the story has now been told.”

Other people covered include saxophonist Noble “Thin Man” Watts and his wife June Bateman (a supremely soulful singer), the Rev. Gary Davis (the guitar maestro), Billy Bland (hit recorder of “Let The Little Girl Dance”) and Billy Butler (a master guitarist of “Honky Tonk” fame, an instrumental known to almost every working band). 

Sadly, time has caught up with almost every interviewee in the book, except Hammond and Malenky, so New York City Blues champions their memory rather than attempts to revive a long-gone scene. Moreover, Oscher, who once played harmonica with the famed Muddy Waters blues band, and photographer Harris both sadly died in April just prior to the book’s publication.

It is hoped that musicians of all ages will find suitable inspiration from the trendsetting artists who operated in the different and difficult social circumstances that bred the blues. Others can immerse themselves in YouTube to discover yet another stylistic element of the many timeless sounds of New York as they devour the words of pioneering blues people, record men and songwriters.  

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New York City Blues by Larry Simon, edited by John Broven, is available from usual book sources including Amazon.com. Broven is a member of the TBR News Media editorial staff and lives in East Setauket.

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The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Bleyer on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. for a discusses the true story of the Culper Spy Ring that helped to win the Revolutionary War and George Washington’s earlier attempts at gathering intelligence including Nathan Hale as detailed in his newly released book “George Washington’s Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide.” (The History Press, 2021)

After the book discussion, enjoy a final opportunity to see the newly discovered Culper Spy letter while it is still on vie. The handwritten letter that is dated November 8, 1779, and is from Benjamin Tallmadge (using his alias, John Bolton) to Robert Townsend (alias, Samuel Culper Jr.) is the only known surviving letter between the two.

The program, which will take place in the Carriage Museum’s Gillespie Room, is free with museum admission, but pre-registration is strongly recommended due to capacity limits.

Please note: Your spot will not be guaranteed until you are contacted by the education department to confirm your registration. All attendees are required to be fully vaccinated to attend this live program. Based upon current health determinations, the program may need to switch to a virtual format if needed. For more information, call 631-751-0066 or visit www.longislandmuseum.org.

Register Here!

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'Down the Ways' cover

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

“The success of Long Island shipbuilding was due in part to its rural location and the three things Long Island had in abundance — water, men and material. Surrounded by water, Long Island was an ideal location for shipbuilding.”

Above, author Beverly C. Tyler at the helm of America’s Cup yacht NZ41 in the Hauraki Gulf, from Auckland, New Zealand in September, 2002. Photo courtesy of NZ 40/41

Last fall, History Close at Hand published Beverly C. Tyler’s informative Setauket and Brookhaven History Through the Murals of Vance Locke. His most recent offering is Down the Ways – The Wooden Ship Era. Subtitled “East Setauket Shipbuilders, Ship Captains, Maritime Trades and Dyer’s Neck Homes,” the book is a celebration of an industry seen through a very local prism. 

As with his earlier work, Tyler leads with the deepest and sincerest respect for the indigenous people of Long Island — and, in particular, the Setalcotts. And while the title suggests a narrow exploration, the introductory pages place the topic in context. Fiscal, political, and agricultural information is presented, including the influence of the Erie Canal and the effects of the War of 1812.

Tyler references a wide range of sources, some dating back to the seventeen century. His research is meticulous, organized, and marvelously well-documented, with facts and figures as well as many dates to give the arc of the shipbuilding experience. Here are shipbuilders and ship workers, captains and crewmen. The rise and fall of the whaling industry and life on the sea give additional scope. Tyler does not shy away from touching on complicated issues, including slavery and the freed descendants whose treatment onboard was little better.

The focus of the book is on one area adjacent to Setauket Harbor. Tyler has cleverly constructed Down the Ways as a tour of the Dyer’s Neck Historic District. There are thirty-two stops, beginning on Bayview Avenue and ending with Scott’s Cove. A history of the place, its relationship to the shipbuilding industry, and the home’s inhabitants are vividly presented with each location. Facts blend with interesting trivia. These include Thomas W. Rowland, who had twelve children — six by each of his two wives; Mary Swift Jones’ voyage to eastern Asia, including Japan and China; Town of Brookhaven historian Barbara M. Russell’s account of Shore Acres boarding house; among other anecdotes. 

In addition, detailed but succinct descriptions of a range of careers and businesses, including blacksmith, ship joiner, carpenter, and ship chandlery, are explained. (A special note of the use of color in the text will make it easier for younger readers to discern the shift in focus and allow for easy location of information. Little doubt that this book will be an excellent resource for both the general reader and the student studying Long Island history.)

A special section focuses on the author’s grandfather, Captain Beverly Swift Tyler, who was a ship captain, boat builder, racing sailor, and boarding house owner. This unique and personal inclusion further brings to life the living history element of the writer’s undertaking.

Visually, this is a striking tome. Down the Ways includes reproductions of maps, paintings, murals, clips of period newspapers, and a wealth of beautiful photos, both historical and current. All of them have been richly integrated into the text. In addition, dozens of pictures juxtaposing the current residence with those from early periods display both the changes and what remains the same. 

Down the Ways is more than just a book. It is an opportunity to explore a Long Island neighborhood in a completely different way. So, pick up a copy of the book, make your way to 41 Bayview Avenue, and let Beverly C. Tyler guide you on a course that will take you on an enlightening journey through time and place

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Beverly C. Tyler is a writer, author, photographer and lecturer on local history. He has conducted walking tours and field trips as Revolutionary War farmer and spy Abraham Woodhull and as a 19th-century ship captain. 

Mr. Tyler writes a local history column “History Close at Hand” for the TBR Newspapers’ Village Times Herald. He has written more than 900 local history articles since 1975. His most recent book, Setauket and Brookhaven History through the Murals of Vance Locke was published in November 2020.

Down the Ways — The Wooden Ship Era is available through the Three Village Historical Society online gift shop at www.tvhs.org.

 

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Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

“Good friends, a hot summer day, on their way to the beach, and not a care in the world.”

Author Robert Lorenzo

It’s never too late for an engaging summer read. Sunday Gravy by Robert Lorenzo is a sincere, brisk novel that is just the right blend of naivete and coming-of-age. Dealing with the day-to-day heartaches of adolescence and greater issues, the book is a page-turning adventure exploring the chasm between childhood and maturity and the burgeoning self-awareness.

Set in the fictional Heatherwood, in the very real Setauket of 1974, the streets sit on what were once potato fields. The setting is Suffolk County, post-pastoral but prior to the siege of condos and developments. 

The story depicts the highs and lows of summer in the height of a heatwave, viscerally painted throughout. Here, boys gather in a fort made from abandoned crates, ride their bicycles to get ice cream, and dream of girls. Lorenzo shares the universal yet is always specific. While the boys’ experiences are easily recognizable, they are uniquely detailed. 

Eastern Long Island is a world of fathers who work in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens and mothers who stay home: 

“Their long days of chugging to work on the train and fulfilling their forty-hour work weeks kept them away from home for too many hours […] Up before dawn and home after dark, the task of disciplining the kids fell onto the sturdy shoulders of their loyal wives. Tired from running their households every day and raising their kids virtually on their own, a lot slid by the moms, who were very willing to ignore minor infractions.”

At the center of the story is thirteen-year-old Eddie Ragusa, who idolizes his brother, Tommy, two years his senior. Good looking and self-assured, Tommy has his first girlfriend, the beautiful and slightly older Maria. “Maria was another puzzle piece, but more like a silky one he’d found unexpectedly on the floor that didn’t quite fit anywhere in the current puzzle. She was unexpected, but welcome. The way he felt about her was new and exciting. This was his first real relationship, and he had real feelings for her.” 

Tommy and Maria are Our Town’s George and Emily for a savvier time. While they are actively intimate, there is still innocence and awakening. Tommy is in the rush and flush of first love, where every moment means something: hours of phone calls, of anticipation. Lorenzo writes with accuracy, of hormones and hope, but also with kindness. His young people wade through their own truths and struggle with hypocrisies. There is sex and drugs, but there is also a genuine connection.

Joining the brothers in the narrative are Eddie’s buddies Darren O’Leary, Michael Dorazio, and K.K. Krause, a ragtag crew of mixed ethnic backgrounds, enjoying the freedom of being young in the suburbs. Whether fantasizing about the divorcée on the corner or sharing an illicitly “borrowed” magazine, their bond is genuine.

Lorenzo introduces a range of characters into the mix, creating a landscape of family and community. The recluse Anne Clarkson is notable in the roster. Dubbed “Old Lady Annie” by the kids, she is a smart blend of bogeyman and tragic figure. Her introduction to the narrative bears interesting fruit.

There are plenty of local references —Smith Point County Park, Carvel’s, the Port Jefferson Firemen’s Carnival, West Meadow Beach, The Dining Car 1890, Mario’s restaurant, Ward Melville High School, Comsewogue High School, etc. — that ground it in its Long Island locale. 

The fort, central to the story, is cleverly shown through three different perspectives: the adolescents who embrace it as a refuge; the young adults as a haven to cut loose; and the adults who regard it warily. Best of all, Lorenzo understands the fine line and great divide between ages thirteen and fifteen.

Ultimately, the Ragusas are the driving force and center. Lorenzo insightfully explores both functional and dysfunctional domestic dynamics with a revelation that separates and reunites the clan. Finally, in the wake of a terrible accident, there is a portrait of the power of neighborhood, where disparate people set aside their differences and come together to help their children recover.

With Sunday Gravy, Robert Lorenzo has fashioned an honest, entertaining tale of the joys and heartaches of youth. He celebrates the untidiness of life and what it means to hurt and heal, to live and forgive.

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Author Robert Lorenzo was born in Queens and grew up in East Setauket.  He spent his childhood playing outside, riding bikes, exploring the woods in and around his home, and visiting the beautiful beaches all over the region. He began his first career in the advertising industry in New York City and now teaches high school English in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Lorenzo is currently working on his second novel, inspired by the recent worldwide pandemic. 

Visit his website at www.robertlorenzobooks.com and pick up a copy of Sunday Gravy online at Amazon.com.

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Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Author Bruce Stasiuk

Everything you need to know is on the copyright page: “Maybe some of the names have been changed to protect the identities of certain characters. Maybe not.” The “Non-Dedication” follows.

This book defies categorization. It almost—but not quite—defies description. 

With Something to Remember Me. BYE, Bruce Stasiuk has created a work that is edgy, raw, and darkly comic. There is not a word wasted; the writing produces chills because it is, quite simply, brilliant. 

Subtitled “Short Stories about a Long Life,” the over three dozen interconnected pieces find extraordinary depth in even the most everyday topics. His stark prose captures a deeper essence. The stories could be read individually—or perhaps randomly—but the underlying structure gives strength to the whole. And while they are not chronological, the order possesses an indescribable logic.

The book is a memoir—of a sort. It is also a collage, a reflection, and many more things all at once. As a young man, Stasiuk was a first-rate athlete: stickball, baseball, diving, and basketball. He covers them with a keen eye. Girls are discussed in almost pastoral terms. And yet, Stasiuk makes everything “other” and somehow “more than.”

At age seventeen, a devastating trampoline accident changed his life’s trajectory. A long recovery set him on a different path, eventually becoming a teacher. Yet, he is never self-pitying, whether describing the hospital, the rehab, and the many losses that ensued. He has not overcome challenges; he has transformed them. Somehow, his struggles manage to be simultaneously germane and tangential. It is never less than personal and self-revelatory, and yet there is unique and contradictory objectivity that only enriches his account.

“The war ended and new customers were marching home, toting duffle bags over their shoulders, and the Spanish flu in their lungs.” Few authors possess the art and the skill to be both simple and unnerving in the same sentence. Stasiuk possesses a remarkable elegance: “Marie buried her daughter and took her grandchild in.” The synthesis of the rhythmically poetic and the prosaic reality weaves throughout the slender volume.

Succinctness is not just a strength but a gift. In “The Apology,” a picturesque father-son venture to a baseball game builds to a coda, both sad and inspiring. Stasiuk’s family exists within the pages as painted shadows, hovering around the edges, peeking in, sometimes coming into bright focus, but then receding.

One of the finest pieces is “Uncle Jack”:

He spoke fast, compressing conversations, rarely offering the courtesy of a comma. As he flooded the air with words, his eyes scanned the room like an oscillating fan, hunting for a larger audience. Uncle Jack was always trolling to see who wasn’t listening. Since the adults weren’t, he aimed for us, his nieces and nephews; little pairs of ears to be filled.

In a trip to Provincetown, his ruminations on seemingly absolute truths of childhood are revealed to be anything but. He offers nostalgia laced with tension. In “Knuckles,” whimsy and death go hand-in-hand in astonishing ways. The book is rich in dark humor. The final sentences of “Consanguinity” are hilarious and epiphanous. He refers to his colonoscopy as “the age of the medical scavenger hunt.”

In describing his second career, he states: “Nothing spectacular. Nothing extraordinary. No heroics.” The self-effacing statement resonates throughout the entire book. He never touts his accomplishments; he presents them.

He poses the rare direct messages with eloquence and subtlety. The thoughts, ideas, and musings sneak up, land, and then quickly retreat. His one nod towards commentary references the assistance he received: “Sometimes, if the government invests in a person, especially one trapped in a difficult spot, it might be the best investment the government could ever make.”

The report of a close friend, remembered on his death, is not a hagiography but a detailed and heartfelt portrait. A celebrity encounter. An autopsy. Nothing is arbitrary, with seemingly candid narratives turned into almost twisted parables. The piece titled “The Happy Ending” is subtitled, “This is a true story up to the point where it is not.” In some ways, this is the perfect bookend to the copyright page.

Sometimes a piece of writing defies description. Something to Remember Me. BYE does not ask or beg to be read. Instead, it demands to be experienced. And shared. Such is the case with Bruce Stasiuk’s book. Purchase. Read. Repeat.

A resident of Setauket, author Bruce Stasiuk presently teaches a workshop at Stony Brook University’s OLLI  program. Something to Remember Me. BYE: Short Stories about a Long Life is available through the publisher, bookbaby.com, Book Revue in Huntington, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

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Kyle Marshall. Photo by Matt Smoak

Pack a picnic, bring a blanket or chair and settle in on the grounds of the Reboli Center for Art & History, 64 Main St., Stony Brook to welcome Kyle Marshall, a Long Island native, and author of the recently published book, Americana: Farmhouses and Manors of Long Island, on Sunday Aug. 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. Kyle Marshall is creative director at Bunny Williams Home, known for distinctive furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. Previously he was a furniture designer at Ralph Lauren Home. 

The cover of Kyle Marshall’s new book.

Marshall will talk about the homes featured in his book and explore some of these architectural treasures during his presentation. Mr. Marshall’s book features 15 historic private and public homes on Long Island, including Lloyd Manor in Lloyd Harbor; Thatch Meadow Farm in Head of the Harbor; Point Place in Miller Place; Sagtikos Manor in Islip; Sylvester Manor in Shelter Island and more.

One home of particular interest is The Homestead in Nissequogue. The house was originally owned by Ebenezer Smith, the grandson of Richard “Bull” Smith, the founder of Smithtown. It was built along Long Island Sound. The house has been in the family for centuries, and various family members have added rooms, extensions and a wraparound porch. In the early 1900s it was sold to someone outside of the family. Owned once again by the Smith family, the home is currently being sold.

In an interview with Architectural Digest, Mr. Marshall explained that his research process entailed visits by foot, bike and car or, in one case, subway, to the houses to photograph and meet with the owners or caretakers. Collections at libraries, historical societies and universities aided his research. According to Mr. Marshall, “I selected properties that illuminate the range of the subject, so it’s a banquet of examples, not an exhaustive survey. So everything was shot with daylight, so readers could have a sense of what it feels like to walk, or sit and drink and eat and gossip, in the rooms.”

“We are excited to have Kyle Marshall at The Reboli Center, and for him to share his experience visiting these homes with a designer’s perspective. The book and his photographs are just exquisite,” said Lois Reboli, the co-founder of The Reboli Center and wife of the late artist Joseph Reboli. Admission is free and guests may purchase the book at The Center for him to sign.

For more information,  call 631-751-7707 or visit www.rebolicenter.org.

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'The Vision Experiments'

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Videre cras ante alli vivere: being able to see tomorrow before others live it.

Author John P. Cardone

John P. Cardone’s The Vision Experiments (Waterview Arts) is an entertaining thriller with a unique premise: What if the great minds and movers in history could see into the future? Speculation about figures such as Alexander the Great, Leif Erikson, Oliver Cromwell, Jonas Salk, J.P. Morgan, Thomas Edison, and Madam C.J. Walker form the hypothetical core of this unusual thesis. Explorers, inventors, and financiers—even the Oracle at Delphi—are part of the theoretical nucleus. 

And while these individuals are referenced, the center of the novel focuses on the present-day work of the shadowy Fisher Research Institute, located in Los Angeles. Founded by Southampton billionaire Lawrence Fisher III, the medical lab uses homeless men to perform experiments to understand the phenomenon, all connected to various eye treatments. When the procedures fail, the clinic dispatches the men by making them seem victims of a satanic cult.

The Institute has employed Professor William Clarkson to recover documents throughout the world to prove and  further the ideas. Clarkson began his work at the Penn Museum before taking a position at Stony Brook’s Southampton’s campus. From here, he was recruited by the Institute with “what was, in his mind, the possibility of altering the world in every possible way.” As an archaeologist and an expert in parapsychology, he presents the ideal “modern day Indiana Jones.”

Dr. Melissa Speyer, a speech-language pathologist, is dealing with her mother’s passing, a marriage ended by her husband’s departure, and both her father’s deterioration and refusal to go into much-needed care. While dealing with a possible eye infection, a pharmaceutical error provides her with eye drops that enable her to have visions of the future. This fluke comes to the attention of the Institute, resulting in Clarkson’s assignment to find out more. He approaches her, unaware that they will become emotionally involved. 

Here the story kicks into high gear as Los Angeles detectives, as well as the FBI, begin an investigation of the Los Angeles laboratory. From Oxford, England, to Los Angeles to New York City to Long Island, the book zooms across the world in brisk, succinct chapters, intercutting the action in a cinematic fashion. There is a sizeable roster of well-developed characters revolving through the action, with Speyer and Clarkson’s burgeoning romance at the center.

Cardone has done his research, cleverly integrating the ideas behind the all-seeing eye symbol (best known for its placement on the dollar bill). In addition, there are connections to the Eye of Horus and the Staff of Asclepius, associated with the medical profession. Whether Cardone is imparting the background of symbols such as these or explaining forensic examination, he keeps the narrative moving briskly forward.

Elevating the novel is the ethical considerations in the use of knowledge: whether used for gain or good. Because there is the ability, does it justify the action? The Institute does its work in the name of science but in complete denial of any sense of humanity. Cardone addresses the moral dilemma of power, the individual, and society as a whole.

Those who enjoy speculative fiction and a solid, quick summer read will enjoy John P. Cardone’s The Vision Experiments.

Author John P. Cardone is the founder of the Long Island Authors Group, a nature photographer, a wildlife photography instructor, and a lecturer on nature topics. The Vision Experiments is his fifth book and is available at Book Revue in Huntington, Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

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