She Loved Me Once, and Other Stories

Lester Goran. Kent State University Press, $26 (306pp) ISBN 978-0-87338-576-3

Tall tales abound in the wonderful sequel to Goran's acclaimed Tales from the Irish Club--and so do the tellers of tall tales. They frequent ""The Irish Club,"" or Local 9 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Pittsburgh, where Goran grew up, a Jewish boy in a staunchly Irish working-class neighborhood circa WWII. Delivered with passionate realism, fine dry humor and a commendable handle on old-time Irish-American vernacular, these invented legends mingle wisecracks with romance. Small-time scam artists, wartime heroes, dreamers, losers, cheating wives, boozers, gamblers, murderesses and lost loves--they all feature in Goran's wonderful, funny and poignant prose, which (whether it wraps a one-liner or rambling family lore) is addictive and entertaining stuff. (Sept.)

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