Little Caesar

Rating:
Summary: First gangster novel ever - a classic
Review: Imagine yourself being flown back in time to the late 1930's and dropped of into a dark and lonely alley on the north side of Chicago, commonly known as Little Italy. This area, ruled by the mob, forms the setting for Little Caesar, world's first gangster novel.

Sam Vettori is one of the toughest gang-bosses of Little Italy, but his days are counted. A new ambitious predator is on the verge of throwing Sam from his throne. Cesare Bandello, commonly known a 'Rico', is that guy. On more than one area has Rico proven to be Sam's superior, but on pulling the strings Sam stays the expert. That's why both decide to co-operate. But when a robbery turns bad -a captain of the police gets killed- everyone starts fending for themselves.

Little Caesar is simply a masterpiece. Not only because it is the first of its kind and it gave birth to a whole range of gangster fiction, but also because the peculiar way it is composed. Although it is written in an almost objective and factual style -almost like in a newspaper-, it still succeeds in getting the reader emotionally involved into the action. The action itself, of which there is plenty, is being reported in a very compact narrative, which gives the story a fast and suspenseful pace.

One warning though: the book contains quite some thirties-slang, which might disturb the inexperienced reader. Do you know what happens if someone turns yellow, for example?

Rating:
Summary: classic gangster novel
Review: This novel is a masterpiece of spare prose, vividly telling the story of the rise and fall of a 1920s gangster in 1/2 to 1/3 the number of pages that a present-day writer would take. The novel is fast-paced and expertly evokes the era, though readers unfamiliar with the times might have a little trouble with some of the slang expressions. Like his The Asphalt Jungle, this became the template for numerous subsequent imitations, including the films The Long Good Friday and Scarface.

Rating:
Summary: classic gangster novel
Review: This novel is a masterpiece of spare prose, vividly telling the story of the rise and fall of a 1920s gangster in 1/2 to 1/3 the number of pages that a present-day writer would take. The novel is fast-paced and expertly evokes the era, though readers unfamiliar with the times might have a little trouble with some of the slang expressions. Like his The Asphalt Jungle, this became the template for numerous subsequent imitations, including the films The Long Good Friday and Scarface.

Rating:
Summary: Penzler Been Very, Very Good To Rico
Review: Written in a straightforward and almost colorless style, this book reads a bit like a docudrama, or even a long film treatment, so it's not surprising to learn that the author went on to a very successful career as a screenwriter. Author Burnett gives us an entertaining peek at a presumably typical rise-and-fall in the Chicago underworld of the early twentieth century, long before this type of material was well-mined by others. As usual, we are indebted to Otto Penzler for a beautiful edition; the jacket art is a deco masterpiece.