Sunday Macaroni Club

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Summary: yo.....you gotta read dis book!
Review: As a displaced Philadelphian, The Sunday Macaroni Club was a trip through the old neighborhood. Lopez writes about Philadelphia, its people, and its politics, like a master. I wonder, though, if a non-Philadelphian might not be lost.

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Summary: An oasis in a desert of trash
Review: By pure luck I stumbled upon this at my local library. Sorry, Amazon! (I will buy a paperback to send to a friend.) It is rare, for me, to read a book where you are rooting for BOTH THE GOOD AND BAD GUYS!! Steve Lopez is a find and I will get more of his books.ElliottB@mindspring

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Summary: The congressional committees haven't a clue!!!
Review: Since I work in Philadelphia, it was great to get Steve's "insights" into Philly politics. His terrific cast of characters seem to be right out of stories we read about our local mob and politicos--not a surprise, since Steve did some great writing for the "Philadelphia Inquirer". I loaned my copy to a friend who wondered why the cogressional committees couldn't figure out the campaign financing "irregularities." "The Sunday Macaroni Club" should be required reading for the committee members

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Summary: a well written book
Review: this book about an attorney living in philadelphia and working on a case about a an oil caompany thats been polluting the city.this book manages to keep you interested from page one and the story keeps you laughing as well.the ending will satisfy you as well.highly recommended.

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Summary: A Rare, Great Book
Review: This is one of those books that actually makes you feel for the characters. It revolves around a small-time politician and his devoted assistant/henchman. The tone it's written in, and the blend of humor and pathos will make is a very special experience for anyone who reads it. I read it three years ago and still remember scenes and lines in it. I wish Steve Lopez would write more books.

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Summary: A Cavalcade of Cliches
Review: Tough cop Mike Muldoon is on the trail of corrupt councilman Ham Flaherty with the assistance of crusading D.A. Lisa Savitch, but the lovely lawyer, whose prickly exterior conceals a heart of gold, is more concerned with local children dying of leukemia. Her own brother died in an industrial accident - could powerful polluter Liberty Oil be to blame for the deaths? Handsome doctor Singer thinks so, but can't PROVE it. Little does the sensitive Ms Savitch suspect, but wealthy WASP Whitey Pritchard III, owner of Liberty Oil, is funding Ham's campaign to squash the investigation. The money, handed out in cash by Whitey's arrogant attorney Abbington, is being laundered by Augie Sangiamanno, a runyonesque rascal with a heart of gold ("Dis is beautyful, youse guys"), who is a fixer for the faithless Flaherty.

Will Muldoon catch the incompetent Flaherty? Will the wickedly wealthy WASPS get their comeuppance? Will the elderly Augie somehow escape the dragnet? Will Muldoon find love in the arms of a woman more age-appropriate than Savitch? Will Snidely Whiplash foreclose the mortgage and tie lovely Lisa to the tracks of the Paoli Local, only to be foiled by heroic Dudley?

If you answered "tough call" to any of these questions, this may be the book for you - or it may be all just a LITTLE too predictable. This is not to say the book doesn't have some imaginative ideas - Whitey sending Abbington out to make a hit on some talkative junior executives, and the shootout finale, are as insightful a look at big business as anything else in "RoboCop II." Readers hoping for a witty look at Philadelphia's corrupt municipal politics, however, are going to be disappointed.

If it seems hard to believe that a columnist who spent 12 years carping at Philly's largest newspaper would rely wholly on stereotypes when imagining urban politics, bear in mind that the Philadelphia Inquirer is notoriously uninformed about local issues and is routinely scooped by the city's free weeklies, which exist solely on advertising and classified sales. Steve Lopez brought his preconceptions to the city of brotherly love in 1985, and returned to California without reexamining them. His sanctimonious columns are a topic for a whole other review.

Some readers have suggested that this novel is based on the career of Philly politico Jimmy Tayoun, but it would be fairer to say that Lopez has heard of Tayoun, read Riordan's "Plunkitt of Tammanay Hall," and wishes "The Last Hurrah" would come true.

The best book on Philly politics remains (despite some inaccuracies) "A Prayer for the City," but for entertaining Philadelphia-based fiction with a handle on the shenanigans of Philly's REAL power elite (the lawyers of the Raquet Club), try Lisa Scottolini.