Carlo Capotorto, who simply translated his family name for the title, gives a great account of growing up under a father he loved through fear, a mother who taught him how to put up with men like his father, and sisters who challenged him to defy the status quo of his time and place.
Until he learns that he can control his own life his head is twisted in a number of ways: first, in relation to his family; next, in relation to the boys in the hood who tease, tempt, and taunt him as he finds a way to express his sexuality in New York's late 1970s and 19080s. What makes "Twisted Head" rise above most other memoirs is Capotorto's ability to write as though he has his arm around your shoulder and is walking you through his neighborhood as he makes it through his fears, foibles, and fantasies.
- Twisted Head (2009) | Read Review
- Vertigo: A Memoir (2002) | Read Review