Save The Last Dance

The prologue shows Fanny today at age 92, showing a glimplse at her life now as she remembers Charlie. Then the novel begins going back to July 26, 1912, setting the historical scene in Little Italy in New York with the beginning of the story of a seven-year-old Fanny Coscia and eight-year-old Charlie Imperale. As Fanny and Charlie age, readers are there beside them watching, rapidly turning pages to keep up with all that occurs between and around them.

Based on a true story, this novel does not disappoint. In this reviewer’s opinion, writing a novel about a true story many times falls short in the telling, bringing with it a sense of being unbelievable.

Crisci, however, brings a mastery of his fiction writing skills to all areas of this novel. The plot, historical setting, pacing, dialogue, and character development excel. His scenes are authentic with characters true to their time. Photographs that look taken from a family album add credibility and historical validity to the story.

Absorbed in the story of Charlie and Fanny, readers additionally are privy to a time in the past they may not have lived, but feel like they are living now beside them. Readers will relate to their story, discovering a time when things were concurrently simpler and more difficult.

Thinly veiling the identities of Charlie and Fanny, Crisci has shared much more than had he written just a historical memoir. The novel illustrates enduring, unconditional love that transcends decades and circumstances. This is a love rarely found, and one easily misunderstood. It is a love that seeks only the well-being of the loved one, standing strong in all human frailties. It is a tribute to this love that Crisci has so expertly crafted, allowing readers to be part of the experience.