The Logic of a Rose: Chicago Stories

by Billy Lombardo

Fiction. "Lombardo gets everything right, from a sensitive boy's struggle to say and do the right thing in delicate situations to Chicago's impossible weather, as he celebrates the marvels of boyhood and everyday life"--Booklist. "THE LOGIC OF A ROSE is as rich and vital as Bridgeport, the blue-collar Chicago neighborhood in which these stories are set"--Stuart Dybek.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

146 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Shari Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to a day of flights and flight delays, I was able to read this entire collection of stories in one day, fully immersing myself in the Chicago neighborhood of Bridgeport and the life of Petey Bellapani — and I loved it. Billy Lombardo deftly paints a portrait of the life of a middle school-aged boy in a tightly knit, Italian blue collar neighborhood in the 1970’s. I felt I was experiencing Bridgeport with Petey for just a few hours of my own life, and I hope to have learned a little more about creating real people and real places on the page. (And by the way, Gladys Swan is not a co-author. She selected this collection for the G.S. Shariat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction. Billy Lombardo should get all the credit for the work, and Ms Swan should get credit for bringing the work to readers.)

[Natalie Vaswani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just stumbled upon this book while purusing the stacks at my local library. How fortuitous! What wonderful stories, sensitive and poetic. A snapshot in time of a boy growing up in an Italian neighborhood.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible work full of short stories dripping with imagery. One of my all time favorite book of short stories, and definitely worth reading.

[Upom · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, what a great title for a book. The juxtaposition of the cerebral and the aesthetic always brings warmth to my heart, which made me notice the book in the first place. Second Lombardo's short story collection is a really charming and wonderful account of life for adolescents in a working-class neighborhood in 1970's Chicago. The vivid description of characters and places brought Bridgeport and Petey Bellapani's childhood to life. Full of moments that define childhood and show pain, triumph, and humor in Petey Bellapani's coming of age, it is a both local in its description of Chicago, but universal in its description of growing up. The author's experience as a poet clearly comes out through his imagery, and use of figurative language. Of particular note to me were the pain, spirituality, and redemption in "Blessed Fruit", the tragedy in Mrs. Higgins's Heart and the Smell of Fire," and the strange imagery of "The Logic of A Rose." The book really isn't a book of ideas, but its something beautiful and simple that reminds you of childhood.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This look at growing up through the eyes of a boy in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood recalls a bygone era, but is not overly sentimental. It's a group of short stories that could easily have taken place in any one of a dozen Italian American enclaves, but is more about growing up than a specific neighborhood or culture. Its characters are known to us, painted with love, but not cliched. Whether the events are happy or tragic, the boy's discoveries of life are filled with that wonder of observation unclouded with adult judgement.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks, Betsy for suggesting this! My rating is really 4-1/2 but not quiiite a 5. This is a set of short stories set in Bridgeport, most of them from the perspective of an italian-american boy coming of age in the early 70s. It was sweet and very familiar, even though I grew up in the 'burbs about 10 years later. I want to recommend it to all my tough city-raised sport fan guy pals but they may be too chicken to take the tender parts. The writing is just lovely.

[Joe Brunory · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well done. Besides artfully painting a classic Chicago neighborhood and it's relationships, this book captures the process of growing up, showing a boy's mind develop from carefree to the time he makes considerations for those around him. It captures the process, life, with such a sensitive consideration for each detail that you want to share the book with everyone else you know that would appreciate stories so well told.

[Nancy Mcdaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I officially have a new favorite author: Billy Lombardo! Both of his books (this and How to Hold a Woman) are beautifully written. Had they not been library books, I would have been highlighting passages like mad: "It is fair to say that Rain had a crush on the world." and "She was never far from a broken heart because of the things she loved, but it was worth the crush of them.:
PLEASE WRITE MORE, BILLY!!!

[Joseph Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Petey Bellapani grew up in Bridgeport, Chicago were at a very young age begna to be exposed to different scenerios that has altered his growth mentally. There were a series of events that occured leading petey to basically fall to the point in which it took something significant to change him again.

[Robertha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lombardo has a great ear for dialogue -- I can hear his characters as easily as I heard the shouting match outside my window at 3:00 a.m. this morning (also in Bridgeport). The first-person narration by preadolescent Petey Bellapani was vivid and convincing, even during moments that I thought verged on a maudlin reconstruction of child-like thinking.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I live in this city in the very area the stories take place. This is a very well written book, however my pleasure in it might have a lot to do with the facts of recognizing so many of the places they are set in.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent book, it jogged my memory but his recollections are far different than mine, but still interesting to see someone else's perspective. If you're from Chicago you may like it, if you're from Bridgeport you'll like it even more.

[Len or Len · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title story is easily the best one- Lombardo's other stories are just okay.