Description
Little Bernie's learning fast. Aged 3, he already knows the taste of blood and the ringing noise that fills his ears each time Daddy clouts him round the head. What he doesn't know is why Daddy does it. No-one else hurts him. He's scared to tell Mummy. Daddy hurts her too, which scares him even worse. Then, when he gets that bit older, he makes a discovery: not all men are like Daddy. Some are kind, some even do things that make him feel nice. That can't be wrong... can it? By age 14, Bernie's found a wholly different life.
Bernard Mendoza has been journalist, sub-editor and editor of the magazine 'Film User'; press officer for a Chicago-based transnational company, PR consultant and, more lately, author of a plethora of short fiction, published on both sides of the Atlantic. Before the days of fanfic, he was already exploring the realms of pastiche, bringing back to life characters originally created by Damon Runyon, P.G. Wodehouse, Dorothy L. Sayers and Christopher Isherwood - and thoroughly enjoying such chutzpah! He turned to autobiography more recently with 'Little Boy Bruised', which tells the tale of the terror and pain he discovered at the hands (rather, fists) of his deranged father, who 'never tired' of battering him. "I survived!" he says, "with a few adjustments along the way."