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If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues
On his eighteenth birthday, which is also his senior prom night, a boy in the Bronx struggles with heartbreak, the loss of his brother, and threats of violence from a local gang as he searches for true love. A bittersweet, comic coming-of-age story set in the 1960s.
156 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 15, 2020
3.5 stars
A day in the life, a coming of age story of teenage boy in the Bronx in 1960. Hunt has a lot on his mind, not just the prom and Debbie Ann, the girl he loves, but he thinks every day of the little brother he lost. The prom is a disaster when he finds out that Debby Ann really wants to be with Sal. There are rumors of a gang coming to their neighborhood to fight and that adds to the tension. I couldn’t help but love Hunt, even with all the typical teenage angst that seeps through the pages. He’s serious and he wants to be a writer and a DJ. He’s a feeling, caring young man, even though very naive and idealistic. There are funny moments, especially if you went to a Catholic school like I did, you’ll be able to relate to his waiting in line at the confessional. It’s poignant at times as his grief is reflected over his little brother, and in his genuine friendship with a homeless man, a former teacher who lost everything because of his drinking. This would be a perfect story for someone who could relate to the time and place, New York in 1960, as I’m sure it would provide a nostalgic journey down memory lane. It wasn’t that for me, but I found in Hunt to be a character to remember. He reminded me a little of Holden Caulfield.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Livingston Press/University of Alabama
A day in the life, a coming of age story of teenage boy in the Bronx in 1960. Hunt has a lot on his mind, not just the prom and Debbie Ann, the girl he loves, but he thinks every day of the little brother he lost. The prom is a disaster when he finds out that Debby Ann really wants to be with Sal. There are rumors of a gang coming to their neighborhood to fight and that adds to the tension. I couldn’t help but love Hunt, even with all the typical teenage angst that seeps through the pages. He’s serious and he wants to be a writer and a DJ. He’s a feeling, caring young man, even though very naive and idealistic. There are funny moments, especially if you went to a Catholic school like I did, you’ll be able to relate to his waiting in line at the confessional. It’s poignant at times as his grief is reflected over his little brother, and in his genuine friendship with a homeless man, a former teacher who lost everything because of his drinking. This would be a perfect story for someone who could relate to the time and place, New York in 1960, as I’m sure it would provide a nostalgic journey down memory lane. It wasn’t that for me, but I found in Hunt to be a character to remember. He reminded me a little of Holden Caulfield.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Livingston Press/University of Alabama
February 24, 2020
3.5 stars!
My parents grew up during this time of jukeboxes and early black and white television sets. I love the 50s and 60s and recreating in my mind what it must have been like to grow up during that time.
Hunt’s story takes place in just one day. He’s turning eighteen and will be attending his senior prom. I found it an original premise to have the coming-of-age story happen in just that one day. I also really enjoyed getting to know Hunt within these pages.
If Anyone Asks is a quick read. Thin on pages but with ample heart.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
My parents grew up during this time of jukeboxes and early black and white television sets. I love the 50s and 60s and recreating in my mind what it must have been like to grow up during that time.
Hunt’s story takes place in just one day. He’s turning eighteen and will be attending his senior prom. I found it an original premise to have the coming-of-age story happen in just that one day. I also really enjoyed getting to know Hunt within these pages.
If Anyone Asks is a quick read. Thin on pages but with ample heart.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
December 31, 2019
If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues by Philip Cioffari is a nostalgic journey into a specific time and place. A novel this personal can be limiting for the reader, but Cioffari's hero's transformative experience is moving and universal.
The day Hunter turns eighteen is also the night of his Senior Prom. His date is the girl of his dreams. Beginning in the morning as his job takes him across the hot beach sand, fearful his date would see him hawking orangeade, he holds huge expectations that it will be a very special night.
Little did he know it would be a night of rejection and of finding love, of fear and heroism, an episodic journey from childhood to manhood.
Music and movies ground the novel in a specific period. I loved, for instance, his description of the sound of the sax in Harlem Nocturne as "the hollowed-out echo of a soul's longing."
Poetry is a part of Hunt's life. He is friends with a homeless man whose academic career was lost to "wine and Irish whiskey." Hunt stops by to hear the man's latest rewrite of T. S. Eliot's Hollow Men. Hunt and Johnnie Jay banter phrases of The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock while wandering the nighttime city streets.
I noted similarities to The Catcher in the Rye: the New York setting, the teenage protagonist's episodic encounters across a varied landscape, hanging out in bars and getting a beating, the deceased brother. But whereas Holden is unable to act on his vision of saving children from the realities of adulthood, Hunt takes selfless risks to protect others several times over.
I was intrigued to know more about Cioffari's motivation for his novel and invited him to contribute his thoughts.
*****
Nostalgia and its Benefits
by Philip Cioffari
One way of looking at nostalgia is that it is a strategy for whitewashing the past, of remembering only the good things. The way, for example, folks of a certain age talk about the good old days. Of course the truth of the matter, if we take a sober look, is that the good old days were in fact a mixture of good days and bad days. Each moment we live through has its share of stress, struggle, highs and lows. We can select which side of the equation we want to emphasize. To some extent, it’s a matter of conscious choice. But not, I think, completely so.
When I look back upon the period of the late fifties/early sixties, the time period of my novel, If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues, I have a generally warm feeling for both the age and the setting, the Bronx, where I grew up. But if I step back a moment, I realize that the era was also an emotionally turbulent one for me. I mean that in the sense of the growing pains we all suffer through in the process of figuring out who we are and what our place is in the world. So to write a truthful book I knew I had to present both the joys and sorrows of coming of age at that time.
Childhood (including adolescence) is a flame that throughout our lives, no matter to what advanced age we live, burns inside us. I choose the verb burn advisedly because I don’t think any one of us makes it through that period of our lives without experiencing a significant amount of hurt. The extent to which that affects the way we live thereafter varies with each of us. I know, for me, it colors a lot of what I do and think. It works its way into my writing in various ways, sometimes pushing my stories to the darker side. With this novel, however, I wanted to take a lighter approach, to present our growing pains in a more amusing, if not outright comical, manner.
So I chose senior prom night, which also happens to coincide with my main character Hunt’s eighteenth birthday, making the day and the event doubly significant. The story unfolds over that twenty-four hour period. Romance, heartbreak, recovery, new beginnings—all make an appearance.
Among the many influences on the story I would mention the music of that period as one of the strongest. I spent a lot of time listening to old records, each with its particular memories attached, and I chose song titles for the novel’s four sections: Try the Impossible; In the Still of the Night; Shake, Rattle and Roll; and Earth Angel.
The movies of that era were another influence. Rebel Without a Cause, The Wild Ones, East of Eden, Some Came Running, King Creole (an early Elvis film), Singing in the Rain, Marjorie Morningstar—to name but a few. I loved the strength of both the male and female characters—their ability to rise above adversity, their hope and resilience.
Perhaps the strongest of my influences, though, were literary ones: the passion of the Beats in their poems and essays, the works of Tennessee Williams and Graham Greene and Carson McCullers, among others. But if I had to choose one particular work it would be, most assuredly, The Catcher in the Rye. It’s a novel I cherish as much now as when I first read it. What strikes me most about it is the way Holden offers help to those he encounters throughout the story. Though he is trying to manage his own problems, which are significant, though he has this tough exterior that he shows to the world, he never fails to extend a helping hand to those in need. That ability to rise above one’s own burdens to help others is what I see as my main character’s strongest virtue.
Which brings me to that other side of nostalgia I alluded to earlier—the unconscious side of it. As a species, we are continually drawn back to the past. Whether it is a disguised yearning to return to the warmth and safety of the womb, an anchor to hold onto during unhappy periods in our lives, a way of enhancing the present moment, or simply a chance to relive our experience with people and places no longer available to us, nostalgia serves many purposes.
In the most positive light, it’s a way of bringing our lives full circle, of preserving and relishing our most significant experiences, reminding us of all the good things that have made us who we are.
*****
I love a good memoir, fictional or nonfiction. Cioffari's is rooted in a specific time and place, and yet readers will recognize the timelessness and universal human experience so beautifully rendered.
I received an ARC. My review is fair and unbiased.
The day Hunter turns eighteen is also the night of his Senior Prom. His date is the girl of his dreams. Beginning in the morning as his job takes him across the hot beach sand, fearful his date would see him hawking orangeade, he holds huge expectations that it will be a very special night.
Little did he know it would be a night of rejection and of finding love, of fear and heroism, an episodic journey from childhood to manhood.
Music and movies ground the novel in a specific period. I loved, for instance, his description of the sound of the sax in Harlem Nocturne as "the hollowed-out echo of a soul's longing."
Poetry is a part of Hunt's life. He is friends with a homeless man whose academic career was lost to "wine and Irish whiskey." Hunt stops by to hear the man's latest rewrite of T. S. Eliot's Hollow Men. Hunt and Johnnie Jay banter phrases of The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock while wandering the nighttime city streets.
I noted similarities to The Catcher in the Rye: the New York setting, the teenage protagonist's episodic encounters across a varied landscape, hanging out in bars and getting a beating, the deceased brother. But whereas Holden is unable to act on his vision of saving children from the realities of adulthood, Hunt takes selfless risks to protect others several times over.
I was intrigued to know more about Cioffari's motivation for his novel and invited him to contribute his thoughts.
*****
Nostalgia and its Benefits
by Philip Cioffari
One way of looking at nostalgia is that it is a strategy for whitewashing the past, of remembering only the good things. The way, for example, folks of a certain age talk about the good old days. Of course the truth of the matter, if we take a sober look, is that the good old days were in fact a mixture of good days and bad days. Each moment we live through has its share of stress, struggle, highs and lows. We can select which side of the equation we want to emphasize. To some extent, it’s a matter of conscious choice. But not, I think, completely so.
When I look back upon the period of the late fifties/early sixties, the time period of my novel, If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues, I have a generally warm feeling for both the age and the setting, the Bronx, where I grew up. But if I step back a moment, I realize that the era was also an emotionally turbulent one for me. I mean that in the sense of the growing pains we all suffer through in the process of figuring out who we are and what our place is in the world. So to write a truthful book I knew I had to present both the joys and sorrows of coming of age at that time.
Childhood (including adolescence) is a flame that throughout our lives, no matter to what advanced age we live, burns inside us. I choose the verb burn advisedly because I don’t think any one of us makes it through that period of our lives without experiencing a significant amount of hurt. The extent to which that affects the way we live thereafter varies with each of us. I know, for me, it colors a lot of what I do and think. It works its way into my writing in various ways, sometimes pushing my stories to the darker side. With this novel, however, I wanted to take a lighter approach, to present our growing pains in a more amusing, if not outright comical, manner.
So I chose senior prom night, which also happens to coincide with my main character Hunt’s eighteenth birthday, making the day and the event doubly significant. The story unfolds over that twenty-four hour period. Romance, heartbreak, recovery, new beginnings—all make an appearance.
Among the many influences on the story I would mention the music of that period as one of the strongest. I spent a lot of time listening to old records, each with its particular memories attached, and I chose song titles for the novel’s four sections: Try the Impossible; In the Still of the Night; Shake, Rattle and Roll; and Earth Angel.
The movies of that era were another influence. Rebel Without a Cause, The Wild Ones, East of Eden, Some Came Running, King Creole (an early Elvis film), Singing in the Rain, Marjorie Morningstar—to name but a few. I loved the strength of both the male and female characters—their ability to rise above adversity, their hope and resilience.
Perhaps the strongest of my influences, though, were literary ones: the passion of the Beats in their poems and essays, the works of Tennessee Williams and Graham Greene and Carson McCullers, among others. But if I had to choose one particular work it would be, most assuredly, The Catcher in the Rye. It’s a novel I cherish as much now as when I first read it. What strikes me most about it is the way Holden offers help to those he encounters throughout the story. Though he is trying to manage his own problems, which are significant, though he has this tough exterior that he shows to the world, he never fails to extend a helping hand to those in need. That ability to rise above one’s own burdens to help others is what I see as my main character’s strongest virtue.
Which brings me to that other side of nostalgia I alluded to earlier—the unconscious side of it. As a species, we are continually drawn back to the past. Whether it is a disguised yearning to return to the warmth and safety of the womb, an anchor to hold onto during unhappy periods in our lives, a way of enhancing the present moment, or simply a chance to relive our experience with people and places no longer available to us, nostalgia serves many purposes.
In the most positive light, it’s a way of bringing our lives full circle, of preserving and relishing our most significant experiences, reminding us of all the good things that have made us who we are.
*****
I love a good memoir, fictional or nonfiction. Cioffari's is rooted in a specific time and place, and yet readers will recognize the timelessness and universal human experience so beautifully rendered.
I received an ARC. My review is fair and unbiased.
May 1, 2020
This is an nostalgic, day in the life, coming of age story about Joey "Hunt" Hunter. The year is 1960 in the Bronx, it's the day of his eighteenth birthday which is also the day of his highly anticipated senior prom. Debby Ann is the girl of his dreams and his date for the prom. At the dance Hunt soon realizes his girl has eyes for another, Sal, the leader of a gang who soon has Hunt on his radar for even liking HIS girl, Debby Ann. Along with Sal, Hunt is chased with the constant guilt of feeling responsible for his younger brothers death years ago.
Oozing with atmosphere and descriptive settings, this one is at once comedic and also emotional. Coming in at 156 pages, a lot is packed into those pages but is easily a one sitting read. Although bittersweet, I enjoyed going along for the ride with Hunt as he navigates this one incredible day of his life. I recommend this book to those of you who have a few hours to spend with a new friend who's name is Hunt.
Thank you Livingston Press, Caitlin Hamilton Marketing and P and Suzy Approved Book Tours for including me on this tour.
Oozing with atmosphere and descriptive settings, this one is at once comedic and also emotional. Coming in at 156 pages, a lot is packed into those pages but is easily a one sitting read. Although bittersweet, I enjoyed going along for the ride with Hunt as he navigates this one incredible day of his life. I recommend this book to those of you who have a few hours to spend with a new friend who's name is Hunt.
Thank you Livingston Press, Caitlin Hamilton Marketing and P and Suzy Approved Book Tours for including me on this tour.
February 10, 2020
Book Review:
If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From The Heartbreaking Blues~
by author and award-winning film maker, Philip Cioffari
A 24-Hr. journey into manhood~
It's musical, it's raw, heroic and honest...An 18th Birthday and Senior Prom all in one day~ the unexpected turns and with the threat of danger, how will he survive it all.
Although a quick read, it packs a punch- it's unique, tragically comic, intricate and stays true to the time period of the Bronx, specifically on June 22nd of 1960.
Joey Hunter, a.k.a. Hunt, finds himself careening through one of the toughest days he'll experience while searching for love and inspiration.
With memories that haunt, the ups and downs of first love, gangs, vendettas, and in search of the compass that will guide him to some kind of normalcy, it just doesn't seem to be in the cards for this young man- but he's bound and determined to change all of that.
Cioffari has written a tale that will bring you back to the 60s as the nostalgia of long-ago images, and music, play through your mind and the story moves you to a meaningful and purposeful end.
4 Stars
ARC
#PhilipCioffari
Wild Sage Book Blog
Novels N Latte Book Club
If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From The Heartbreaking Blues~
by author and award-winning film maker, Philip Cioffari
A 24-Hr. journey into manhood~
It's musical, it's raw, heroic and honest...An 18th Birthday and Senior Prom all in one day~ the unexpected turns and with the threat of danger, how will he survive it all.
Although a quick read, it packs a punch- it's unique, tragically comic, intricate and stays true to the time period of the Bronx, specifically on June 22nd of 1960.
Joey Hunter, a.k.a. Hunt, finds himself careening through one of the toughest days he'll experience while searching for love and inspiration.
With memories that haunt, the ups and downs of first love, gangs, vendettas, and in search of the compass that will guide him to some kind of normalcy, it just doesn't seem to be in the cards for this young man- but he's bound and determined to change all of that.
Cioffari has written a tale that will bring you back to the 60s as the nostalgia of long-ago images, and music, play through your mind and the story moves you to a meaningful and purposeful end.
4 Stars
ARC
#PhilipCioffari
Wild Sage Book Blog
Novels N Latte Book Club
February 1, 2020
One night in Hunt’s life, his birthday and night of his senior prom, he’s out for the entire night. The events that unfold in those short hours wrap up what the years leading up to his 18th birthday - his thoughts, fears, regrets, instincts, and dreams - have led him to.
This is a quick read that offers a personal glimpse into the life of a Catholic boy coming of age and facing the realities of life as a man.
Thank you NetGalley and Livingston Press for the advance copy.
This is a quick read that offers a personal glimpse into the life of a Catholic boy coming of age and facing the realities of life as a man.
Thank you NetGalley and Livingston Press for the advance copy.
April 24, 2020
Philip Cioffari, author of "If Anyone Asks Say I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues" has written an enlightening coming of age novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction and, Young/ Adult Fiction. The timeline for this story is in the 1960s and takes place in the Bronx. The author describes his characters as young adults in search of self, and adventurous.
Joey "Hunt" Hunter has an 18th Birthday, which coincides with his taking Debra Ann Murphy to the prom. Joey is still traumatized by the death of his younger brother many years ago. Joey has high hopes for his date and finds himself disappointed.
I appreciate the author vividly setting the scene for the prom with music that holds special memories for me. Joey's date informs him that he doesn't know how to properly dance slow dances. It also seems that Debra has the eye of the head of the local gang, and bully, Sal.
Joey will be headed to college, and often will communicate with the homeless people who are poetic and musical. Now they are facing the wrath of Sal, and his gang. Sal also seems to have it in for Joey for liking his new gal "Debra".
Joey wants to make his birthday special and goes to drink with his buddies. A rival gang is in the town, and there is a rumor that there will be trouble. I recommend this coming to age novel for readers who enjoy an entertaining story.
Joey "Hunt" Hunter has an 18th Birthday, which coincides with his taking Debra Ann Murphy to the prom. Joey is still traumatized by the death of his younger brother many years ago. Joey has high hopes for his date and finds himself disappointed.
I appreciate the author vividly setting the scene for the prom with music that holds special memories for me. Joey's date informs him that he doesn't know how to properly dance slow dances. It also seems that Debra has the eye of the head of the local gang, and bully, Sal.
Joey will be headed to college, and often will communicate with the homeless people who are poetic and musical. Now they are facing the wrath of Sal, and his gang. Sal also seems to have it in for Joey for liking his new gal "Debra".
Joey wants to make his birthday special and goes to drink with his buddies. A rival gang is in the town, and there is a rumor that there will be trouble. I recommend this coming to age novel for readers who enjoy an entertaining story.
May 10, 2020
Now, I wasn't born in the 1960's but the nostalgic feel of this novel was so palpable, I felt like I was dragged back right into a sepia-toned old time movie.
I was hovering above it, watching this timeless tale about a boy, nervous and excited to go with a girl he liked to prom. The entire novel takes place the day of and the night through prom.
Yet, it's not written in a juvenile way and I really enjoyed being there. Just so you understand the intellect of the writing here's a quote, "He thought perhaps she was insecure, as shy inside as he was, waiting for someone to help her express her inner being." Or in describing oncoming loneliness, "A low, empty feeling that changed the world around him, or the way he felt about it, maybe both." There's a whole host of characters, with decades-old names like "Johnnie Jay" and "Debbie Ann" and even a bully named "Sal the butcher." I hate to use such a trite word but really the best way to describe this novel is just...fun!
I thoroughly enjoyed this little blip back in time. I would say it's the perfect in-between-books kinda read, and I don't mean to diminish it's own merit in saying that.
Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours @livingstonpress and @philipcioffari for transporting me back in time during a time when I needed it most
I was hovering above it, watching this timeless tale about a boy, nervous and excited to go with a girl he liked to prom. The entire novel takes place the day of and the night through prom.
Yet, it's not written in a juvenile way and I really enjoyed being there. Just so you understand the intellect of the writing here's a quote, "He thought perhaps she was insecure, as shy inside as he was, waiting for someone to help her express her inner being." Or in describing oncoming loneliness, "A low, empty feeling that changed the world around him, or the way he felt about it, maybe both." There's a whole host of characters, with decades-old names like "Johnnie Jay" and "Debbie Ann" and even a bully named "Sal the butcher." I hate to use such a trite word but really the best way to describe this novel is just...fun!
I thoroughly enjoyed this little blip back in time. I would say it's the perfect in-between-books kinda read, and I don't mean to diminish it's own merit in saying that.
Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours @livingstonpress and @philipcioffari for transporting me back in time during a time when I needed it most
May 3, 2020
If Anyone Asks, Say I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues is a coming of age story. The story is one day of Joey (Hunt) Hunter's life. It is June 22, 1960, in the Bronx. It is Hunt's 18th Birthday and also the day of his Senior Prom. His date is Debbie Ann, the girl of his dreams. But Debbie has eyes for Sal the, the Butcher, a varsity linebacker and leader of the local gang, the Brandos.
We meet Hunt's friends Johnny Ray and Auggie. There is a rumor that the gang Golden Gunieas want to take over the Brandos territory and are after Sal. Sal is after Hunt for taking Debbie Ann to the Prom.
This book is only 156 pages and the action never stops. I found it sad when Hunt reflected on the death of his younger brother Toby. You cannot help to feel for Hunt as he realizes Debbie Ann wanted nothing to do with him.. The book is also full of laughs and excitement. It is a true coming of age store. I highly recommend this story as a change of pace from your usual genre. Thank you to Philip Cioffari, Livingston Press. for a copy of this book and this is my honest review.
We meet Hunt's friends Johnny Ray and Auggie. There is a rumor that the gang Golden Gunieas want to take over the Brandos territory and are after Sal. Sal is after Hunt for taking Debbie Ann to the Prom.
This book is only 156 pages and the action never stops. I found it sad when Hunt reflected on the death of his younger brother Toby. You cannot help to feel for Hunt as he realizes Debbie Ann wanted nothing to do with him.. The book is also full of laughs and excitement. It is a true coming of age store. I highly recommend this story as a change of pace from your usual genre. Thank you to Philip Cioffari, Livingston Press. for a copy of this book and this is my honest review.
April 30, 2020
At just under 160 pages, this book brings back all the nostalgia of New York in the 1960s in this coming of age novel. A one day story about a young man grieving the loss of his younger brother and going through the motions of his 18th birthday and his senior prom that happen to be on the same night and his anxious hopes for his crush to be there. With it such a short novel, saying too much would give the story away. Just know this is a book that is well written and captures you through every page. A perfect read for those who enjoy short novels and coming of age with the perfect amount of the nostalgic feel.
Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @livingstonpress for my copy for an honest review.
Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @livingstonpress for my copy for an honest review.
May 3, 2020
Review:
This coming of age story packs an emotional punch from this being Hunt’s 18th birthday, his senior prom and his date being the first girl he’s ever been in love with, Debby Ann.
But as in any coming of age novel, the character makes mistakes (present and past) and these are tough lessons that will possibly come with tough consequences. Yes, he takes his 1st love to the prom, but that love also has a connection with Sal, a leader of a gang. Does Hunt really want to go down that path?
This day in the life story of Hunt is emotional and packed with guilt in more ways than one. This is a one sitting read that has all the feels, great read for the stresses of our current lives that has the power to take your mind to another day and time.
This coming of age story packs an emotional punch from this being Hunt’s 18th birthday, his senior prom and his date being the first girl he’s ever been in love with, Debby Ann.
But as in any coming of age novel, the character makes mistakes (present and past) and these are tough lessons that will possibly come with tough consequences. Yes, he takes his 1st love to the prom, but that love also has a connection with Sal, a leader of a gang. Does Hunt really want to go down that path?
This day in the life story of Hunt is emotional and packed with guilt in more ways than one. This is a one sitting read that has all the feels, great read for the stresses of our current lives that has the power to take your mind to another day and time.
May 12, 2020
A good coming of age story and very well written. Also a quick read!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews