Duck Alley

A nostalgic revisiting of childhood shenanigans during the 1950s and '60s in a tough section of Long Island called Duck Alley turns sinister when a murder committed years later, in 1973, divides the narrator, Jay Tasti, whose family is Italian, from his lifelong buddy, Hungarian immigrant Albert Niklozak. The two meet in grade school, and they are so close that when Albert is in basic training, he calls Jay instead of his mother. Later, Jay becomes a high school English teacher, while Albert earns his livelihood as a small-time fence and pimp. Jay meets his future wife, Annetta, while both are working at a warehouse Albert manages. When Jay's troubled student, the aggressively flirtatious Arlynn Svenson, unsuccessfully tries to seduce him, and then claims she's pregnant, Jay asks for Albert's help. Arlynn ends up dead. The actual sequence of events is unclear, and though Albert's guilt seems evident, the observer is left with doubts. Those doubts drive the story forward and the characters apart, as Jay feels obliged to testify against Albert. To Jay, the mystery is only part of the larger story of his conflicted relationship with Albert, in which manifestations of love, trust and honor are not always what they seem. The story is excellently paced and imaginatively told, in a series of flashbacks, imaginary scenarios and straightforward narrative sections, all enlivened with vernacular dialogue. DeFilippi's (Blood Sugar) novel is as much about emotions as it is about actions, and it delivers a jolt of a surprise ending that entirely fits the plot's milieu. (Sept.)