Paradise Salvage is both a taut thriller and a lyrical coming-of-age story following twelve-year-old Nunzio Paradiso’s last summer of innocence.
For Nunzio, each new wreck towed into Paradise Salvage is a desultory gift from Fortune, a random opportunity for discovery. But on a hot summer day in 1979, in the trunk of an abandoned Pontiac Bonneville, he uncovers a secret that will change his life. Then, in the blink of an eye, all evidence is lost to the crusher, and only his older brother Danny Boy believes Nunzio’s story.
Enlisting the help of a cousin, an ex-cop with a dark history of his own, they embark on a bizarre and dangerous journey that proves to be as much one of personal discovery as an unraveling of the mystery behind the corpse at Paradise Salvage.
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"I really liked this book. I would give it a little higher than a 4 if I could. It was a coming of age story, relationship between a boy and his brother. Loved reading about "Italy" in America. It was also a mystery." — Ellice (4 out of 5 stars)
"I really liked this book. I would give it a little higher than a 4 if I could. It was a coming of age story, relationship between a boy and his brother. Loved reading about "Italy" in America. It was also a mystery."
“John Fusco has given us a book with a large and loving heart. Paradise Salvage is a work of triumph.”
“Proves home is where the heart is...Corruption may drive Fusco’s plot, but quirky characters definitely hold the steering wheel.”
“Fusco’s fiction debut has many simpatico characters [and] some charming scenes.”
“If you’re hoping for a leisurely, sentimental study of time and place, Fusco delivers.”
“[An] ambitious coming-of-age pseudothriller debut.”
“Hilarious and touching. With a screenwriter’s flair for the sensuous, the book is an explosion of visual and tactile and olfactory impressions. We are catapulted into Little Italy.”
“The story, set in a working-class Connecticut town in 1979, brims with suspense, adventure, and Italian-American culture as Nuncio and his older brother must face incredulous adults, corrupt officials, violence, death, and Italian superstitions.”
“Fusco does so many things so well in this novel.”
" It's a murder mystery and a coming-of-age story and an exploration of family and culture in a certain time, but it manages to weave it into an interesting story with a kid narrator who is never annoying and always recognisable as a child. "
" This book started off slow and I didn't know what to expect as I have never read from this author before, but it actually gets pretty good. I would recommend it to anyone that can get through a slow begaining "
" Written by the screenwriter who gave us Crossroads, Young Guns I & II, Hidalgo, Babe, etc. "
" Couldn't get into characters or style. Author has talent, but just wasn't my thing. "
" Very enjoyable, great characters, and a terrific chase scene! "
" "Paradise Salvage" has a great plot line with a well written story. I love a mystery and the mystery thread was throughout along with the wonderful warmth and strong ties in the Italian community. "
" A great read if you grew up in Waterbury or have spent a significant amount of time there... "
John Fusco is an American novelist and multi-award-winning screenwriter. His debut novel, Paradise Salvage, was shortlisted for the 2001 Crime Writers of America Debut Dagger Award for best first crime novel. His screenplays include The Forbidden Kingdom, Crossroads, Young Guns, Young Guns II, Thunderheart, Hidalgo, and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. His screenplay for Hidalgo won the Spur Award in 2005 for best western drama script, and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron won eight film awards and a nomination for an Academy Award in 2003 for best animated feature. He was born in Connecticut and is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Brian Emerson is an actor and technical director with a long career in the Washington, DC, and Baltimore areas.
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