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A review by jakewritesbooks
Honor Thy Father by Gay Talese
4.0
One of the things that made The Sopranos such an excellent television show was depicting the banality of mafia life. Yes, there are hits and double crosses and informants and affairs but Tony Soprano was largely a negligent husband and sometime father who suffered from physical and psychological ailments, dealt with obnoxious relatives, and just tried to make it in the day-to-day.
In the 1960s, when people were still associating Italian-Americans with the mafia, Gay Talese wanted to tell this story through the eyes of Bill Bonanno, son of Five Families crime boss Joseph Bonanno. I'm listing it as "true crime" because there are crimes (the Bonannos are a crime family, no matter how much Talese tries to paint over this) but by and-large, this is a tale of a family in transition. Bill trying to follow in his father's steps but unsure of the why or if he should; Joseph growing disenchanted with the industry that made him so successful and which is proving impossible to reform; Rosalie, Bill's mafia princess wife who is paying the consequences for her family and her husband's family sheltering her from the nature of their respective jobs.
In order to tell this tale, Talese had access that had to be unparalleled in that era of mafia secrecy. There's no way men like Carlo Gambino or Chin Gigante were going to let a reporter anywhere near their respective situations. The result is a complete, frequently fascinating, occasionally tedious portrayal of a family in transition. A family that just happens to revolve around the business of crime.
This isn't loved by mob aficionados and I can see why. Talese has no interest in telling a pulpy tale of gentlemen gangster a la The Godfather. This one is far more accurate. If you can suffer Talese's lengthy descriptions of traveling, meals, and legality, you may appreciate this one.
In the 1960s, when people were still associating Italian-Americans with the mafia, Gay Talese wanted to tell this story through the eyes of Bill Bonanno, son of Five Families crime boss Joseph Bonanno. I'm listing it as "true crime" because there are crimes (the Bonannos are a crime family, no matter how much Talese tries to paint over this) but by and-large, this is a tale of a family in transition. Bill trying to follow in his father's steps but unsure of the why or if he should; Joseph growing disenchanted with the industry that made him so successful and which is proving impossible to reform; Rosalie, Bill's mafia princess wife who is paying the consequences for her family and her husband's family sheltering her from the nature of their respective jobs.
In order to tell this tale, Talese had access that had to be unparalleled in that era of mafia secrecy. There's no way men like Carlo Gambino or Chin Gigante were going to let a reporter anywhere near their respective situations. The result is a complete, frequently fascinating, occasionally tedious portrayal of a family in transition. A family that just happens to revolve around the business of crime.
This isn't loved by mob aficionados and I can see why. Talese has no interest in telling a pulpy tale of gentlemen gangster a la The Godfather. This one is far more accurate. If you can suffer Talese's lengthy descriptions of traveling, meals, and legality, you may appreciate this one.