Author: by Salvatore Scibona

Publisher: Graywolf Press

Pages: 300

Price: $24

In a nutshell: Centering on the state of Ohio, Salvatore Scibona has written a debut novel of impressive proportions. He has four distinctly different characters whose lives connect with the date Aug. 15, 1953. The characters — a jeweler, an elderly abortionist, a drapery seamstress and a teenage boy — draw the reader into a fascinating story. This is the kind of book in which the reader loses himself because he becomes so much a part of the world he is reading about.

Some of the issues here are immigration, broken loyalties and racial hostility. The writing is beautiful. The chances seem good that this talented novelist will still be writing major novels in 20 to 30 years.