Usually not into these kind of things

I'm usually not a big fan of thrillers and murder mysteries but this was an interesting read. Combining worlds which clash together as hard as the mafia and Orthodox Judaism is promising and I feel Goldberg delivered. After listening to the book the whole morning I almost ordered a salad with the threatening coldness of Sal. I simply forgot that I don't live in a world of gangsters.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Goombah Goes to Vegas and Becomes Tony with Torah

I really liked this easy-to-listen crime novel with its dryly witty, yet dark, plot I'd sum up as:

Great Lakes Goombah Guns Down 4 G-men, Goes to Vegas, and Turns into a Tony with a Torah.

Rabbi David Cohen (aka Sal Cupertino, a 35-year-old shadowy hitman with a bad plastic surgery job) appears to go through a existential crisis-lite as he misses his wife and young son and considers the Torah that he's basically committed to memory (his mob nickname was "Rain Man"), but maintains his killer karma. While Mr. Goldberg has fun playing with the interplay among Italian mobsters, a hitman's rabbinical conversion and perhaps a reptilian shedding of the Jewish skin, he doesn't glamorize gangsters, the mob lifestyle, Jews or G-men. The novel maintains a diabolical darkness in 1990's Las Vegas despite the comedic diversions.

I'd not heard of Tod Goldberg before seeing the good reviews for this book, but he really seems to have hit his mark. I'll be looking forward to his next book.

If you loved "The Sopranos" and "Bugsy," you should revel in "Gangsterland."

My only complaint is the narration. I hate it when a narrator botches an easily recognizable, nearly household name, like Brett Favre (as Fave-ruh), a Hall of Fame QB, in an important part of the story, and then repeatedly mispronounces it. Of course, the Producer is just as much at fault for not correcting this.

4 persone l'hanno trovata utile

started slow

the storyline started slow I thought it was going to be another Italian gangster story but I was wrong I love the hit man I'm looking forward to the next book

fun story. seems original and thoughtful

enjoyed the performance. definitely made me root for the "bad" guy. ended leaving me with ideas as to what the future holds

Uninspired

I didn't get much out of the book. Strange story, but it really just felt like fluff. I just wanted it to end

Fun But ...

I listen to books on the treadmill and in the car, so I like my books to be fun and fast moving, which Gangsterland was. I also like my books to be a wee bit plausible, which Gangersterland most definitely was not. Also, I think the author had no idea how to end the book so he just sort of ended it. The performer did an excellent job with only adequate material.