A Beautiful Castle of Mud

Caesar Campana 2 stories

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Summary

Tony Lazio begins his story– "My mother died in the second quarter of my last high school football game. Dad insisted I play even though Dr. Franklin said she only had a few hours. 'I'll be with her,' my father said, 'It's more important that you play in the game.'” Set in 1960’s Camden, New Jersey, A BEAUTIFUL CASTLE OF MUD is a dark coming-of-age story narrated by Tony Lazio, the only child of Antonio and Anika Lazio. Tony’s father is a tough, violent Camden bartender who rules his world with his fists. He goes to Mass every Sunday to ask God for forgiveness. Anika Lazio is a cerebral godless woman who teaches her son Norse mythology and warns him about the Catholic Church. “It’s nothing but the mafia with priests,” she says. Tony describes his upbringing– "It was a long struggle between my parents. My father's classroom was direct and painful. He slapped me when I was noisy, cursed when I spilled my milk. Mom read poetry, coddled me when I was hurt...Like toddlers yanking on a ragdoll, they pulled me back and forth." After his mother dies, Tony leaves Camden to enroll at Carolina Tech to start a new life–to find his way. He majors in Literature but he also joins the CTU football team. Tony– "I eventually understood both of my parents–Mom wanted a civil, kind man–my father wanted a college football star–a tough fighter. In the end, he had the last say."