Publisher's Synopsis
Equal parts Falstaff and Fredo, a true loser by anyone's definition, and arguably one of the most self-absorbed, pathetic anti-heroes in the modern history of urban literature, Brooklyn born-and-bred Bobby Casanova is the Last of the Creeps. The bald, broke and burnt out 40-something man-child, whose once Italian-American dominated neighborhood has been infiltrated and overtaken by the "Russkies, Chinks and Ay-rabs," is lost in a Roman wilderness of pain - in Bensonhurst! The residue of a well-chronicled late-'70s strip-club murder-suicide, Bobby finds himself shuffling through a mind-numbing existence as a linens warehouse security chief, overnight gas station attendant and ultimately, a part-time chauffeur; first for his mob-connected Cousin Al and then, for Freddie "The Stiff," a former cohort and confidant of his long-diseased father. Bobby's search for love pairs him with the seemingly unattainable Anne-Marie Gambale, the middle-aged spinster Marnie Bellachio, and his self-proclaimed "Forever Girl," Nima, a plump Palestinian beauty whom Cousin Al describes as "an honor killing waiting to happen." Whether he's watching 11 1/2 hours of Sunday football, torching "Oil" from his trusty pipe, fending off the ill-fated matchmaking of his devoted and doting Aunt Ce or battling his all-too-frequent night terrors, Bobby always seems to come out the loser. Told in his own inimitable vernacular, Bobby's story unfolds in three volumes - Book One: " ... you don't exist," Book Two: The Lowdown and Book Three: The Last of the Casanovas. In his debut novel, Umit Torenli has created a well-crafted first-person narrative that promises to offend you, as well as make you understand that the dying voice of a dying neighborhood and generation can be entertaining and well worth listening to. Umit Torenli has been the sports editor at the Brooklyn Daily Eagle since 1999. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Last of the Creeps is his debut nove
