Gangster

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, even if predictable.
Review: This is the first book I have read (or heard on audio CD) by the author. After having read some of the other reviews, I see threads with both the good and the bad that I agree with.

On the good side, the audio CD version is performed very well by Joe Mantegna. His voice inflections really get you into the thick of the story. The story itself gets you to feel for the characters and want the "good guys" to win out. You get somewhat of a feeling what it is like to be in a gang, and actually understand the "honor" or "loyalty" that mobsters have for their criminal family.

However, this story is like many movies that I have watched (and enjoyed). The characters are somewhat one-dimensional and predictable. The story is also somewhat predictable (including the ending). Also, there are big jumps in the story and plot twists which are not very developed and only at the end does it come together, but this is not because it was suspenseful, only not well developed). It would probably make an exciting entertaining action movie.

That said, I enjoyed listening to it. Despite my criticism, the performance on the CD was entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Carcaterra is only getting warm.
Review: GANGSTER is hard evidence that Lorenzo Carcaterra
is hitting his stride as a craftsman. But I sense--and predict--
that he is only warming up for what he can really do as a storyteller. GANGSTER is a great read, and a good way to get in
on the ground floor of a novelist who is going to be huge.

Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding at the least
Review: Had it on my list to read for some time and found it in my daughters library on vacation, well, it is on its way back to Denver with a note to read it as quick as possible. Carcaterra. beyond research shows he has insight of the streets and their protocols. I would venture his upbringing exposed him to much of his background for this book. Cetainly a page turner and I will continue to look for future writings knowing his abilities.

Rating:
Summary: Good gangsters and bad gangsters in a wonderful story
Review: This recent book by Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of "Sleepers" and other bestsellers, has a familiar theme. This is a story of a Mafia boss and the boy he raised to be a gangster but has nevertheless rejected the life. The younger man, Gabe, now sits in a hospital room as the old man is dying and recalls the old man's story and the lessons he taught him about life. Alternating between flashbacks and narrative insights, the tale of Angelo Vestieri unfolds. We learn the secret that traveled with him from Italy; we see his lonely childhood on the streets of New York, the people who influenced him, his friends and his enemies. We follow his rise to power and cheer him on, understanding what makes him tick and identifying with him. And again get a sense of the crime culture in New York in the early and mid 20th Century.

Of course there's violence. It's gruesome and ugly and awful. But, like many other books of this kind, there are bad gangsters and good gangsters. The bad gangsters are cruel to children and animals and say mean things to insult the good gangsters. Certainly, they all deserve to die. The good gangsters have a sense of honor and have suffered betrayal and tragedy and loss. They protect the innocent and drink milk or coffee instead of alcohol. They have good manners and keep a low profile and are always smarter than the bad gangsters. It's stereotype all the way for everyone, including a colorful female character who runs a café and is not only a mother figure, but also knows how to use a gun.

Carcaterra writes well. His words just slide across the page and make it all seem real. This is the Hudson River before Battery Park City. This is downtown Manhattan before the World Trade Center. This is violence and evil without blowing up buildings or biological terrorism. This is nostalgia for the more innocent world of mob wars and retribution and revenge. Ah - the simple life! I loved it. Couldn't put it down. And will probably forget about it tomorrow. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: new found favorite
Review: I have been a huge fan of mafia books - but this was - well let's just say, unexpected. This book was incredible, the struggles of a young man growing up with influence (like The Pilgrim & A Bronx Tale) but with a totally different outcome. Nice ending - actually nice throughout. I truely could not put this book down.

Rating:
Summary: Carcaterra - the king of characterization
Review: Although Carcaterra's stories are generally unsettling (such as APACHES, where drugs are smuggled in the corpses of dead babies) his characters are fabulous. The same holds true with GANGSTERS. Angelo and Pudge are gangsters in the truest sense, and its fun to root for the "bad guys". We follow their lives from adolescence, when the mob was just getting started in America, to adulthood, with the mob in full swing. Even though the twist at the end does not come as much of a suprise, we're so involved with the characters to care.

I've really enjoyed all of Carcaterra's 3 works of fiction and would recommend them to anyone with a strong stomach. The horror just adds to the alure.

Rating:
Summary: Hey Tony! Have I gotta offa for ya.....
Review: Yep, its a mob book. But even for those who don't really care for mafia-based lore, hang on. This book is a bit different in that you REALLY get to know the characters here. And, for those of you who love "La Cosa Nostra," stop reading now and buy the book!

The author of Sleepers and Apaches provides a complete and absolute sketch of Angelo Vestiere. Angelo is a boy when we first meet him and then a man who has earned his respect yet, as most mobsters earning their bones, he has few redeeming character qualities. In my opinion, Lorenzo Carrcaterra does a fabulous job of introducing Angelo to the reader and presents him in a wide open backdrop allowing the reader to get inside Angelo's head. You'll meet Pudge, Angelo's best friend from childhood and into their geriatric years; Angus McQueen (Angelo's mentor), and Ida the Goose. This threesome provides the setting for Angelo's rise to "Don" status and also provides for enthralling dialogue and action.

Carcaterra's first journey into the mob scene is a success. He has created a fine cast of characters and, unlike many books of this ilk, we actually get to know the main character. Frankly, as I completed the book, I found myself liking Angelo.

Well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Not a page-turner
Review: Unlike some other reviews, I did not find Carcaterra's 'Gangster" a page turner. I just completed the book last night, having started nearly two months ago. I must say that the author is an excellent writer. His manipulation of the English language is extraordinary, especially in the last few chapters. His words and sentence structure are often magical. While the story-line was a good one, it did not give me the suspense and page-turning material I would have expected from a book that encompasses the life of a gangster. I believe that type of information would have kept me more involved with the book. I found the storyline to be slow-paced, and in all likelihood, could have been wrapped up in half the print. I, too, found the ending to be predictable with much foreshadowing that led me to the conclusion midway through the story. I did, however, like Angelo's character and thought Carcaterra did an admirable job in developing his coldness and in revealing the character of a mobster. He gave the reader enough to see Angelo, without giving us too much of his personal side - something indicative of the gangster's persona.

Rating:
Summary: Road Trip
Review: I picked this audio book up in a small store somewhere in the south west part of Pennsylvania. I listened to it the whole way back to DC and absolutely loved it! But then I lost it, and did not get to finish...So here I am buying another copy just to hear the ending.

Rating:
Summary: Mob Dud
Review: This book was so vacuous and derivitive I couldn't finish the last 50 pages. What the author knows about the Mafia had to have come from watching movies. But we've all seen all the movies, so this book was just warmed over, imitative drivel.

Operating on the "greater fool" theory, I quickly listed the book for sale and sold it ... I actually feel a little guilty I took money for it.