I can't believe that this book of short stories by Frederic Tuten has not been rated or reviewed yet on LibraryThing. I am liking it so much that I had to stop reading to write about it. I have only read the first three short stories, and so far, Self Portrait with Bullfight is my favorite.

The author grew up in the Bronx and is of Sicilian heritage. His family life, including the language of the household, was strongly flavored by old world culture and this is enmeshed in the stories he tells. There's an unreal, almost ethereal feel to the writing as he floats from one image to another, and back and forth between the Bronx and Sicily. The language is poetic, the stories are at times humorous, the style, magical realism.

The third story, "Self Portrait with Bullfight", is about a couple on their honeymoon. Her parents have paid for it, flights and luxury hotel, right down to tips and laundry, and it does not appear to be heading in the direction of a happy marriage. The best part of this story is told after the bullfight is rained out, over dinner, when she finds out about a previous lover of his, a gypsy woman. He proceeds to tell the story of being an orphan taken in off the streets by this woman, to a house where beneath it ran a stream "flowing with gold flakes, gold dust, and apple sized nuggets beneath our feet, beneath the floors of the rooms where we ate and slept and dreamed". This is the gold that the conquistadors missed, that flows under the Bronx. As he's telling this story of magic and love, he and his bride banter and spar with sharp tongues and pointed humor in contrast to the fairy tale that he is spinning.

This collection of short stories seems like it would be great to read out-loud. ( )