Berto's World: Stories

Come and spend a little time with Dr. Robert Galen, aka Berto, as he traverses the memories of the tenement neighborhood of his youth. 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,… (more)

Come and spend a little time with Dr. Robert Galen, aka Berto, as he traverses the memories of the tenement neighborhood of his youth. 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.