NEVER COME MORNING

Chicago pours forth from Stefan Rudnicki—not the satirical “da Bears” version but not a variety that is overly familiar, either. Algren’s masterpiece, which deserves a much higher readership, takes place in the brutal, dead-end, largely Polish enclaves of Wicker Park, Chicago, circa 1942. Bruno “Lefty” Bicek is a twenty-year gifted boxer who foolishly believes the ring offers him passage to his American Dream. But his world is circumscribed by organized crime, Chicago-style ward politics, and violence that is as casual as it is unpredictable. Dreams do not come true in such places. Seeming to arise from these gritty streets, Rudnicki’s narration conveys a despair and a terror that do not quickly dissipate. M.O. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2011]