Bones of Brooklyn continues the saga of
Howard "Windows" Fenster, the reluctant gangster extraordinaire. In
Debasements of Brooklyn, Howie fights his way out of Sheepshead Bay, using
insights gleaned from his father's collection of Penguin Classics and an
automatic handgun provided by his late boss Vinnie Five-Five. Accompanied by
his girl Ariel, they mean to make a brief stop at her studio in Greenwich
Village before they escape to points west, north, south or east, anywhere out
of the murderous precincts of non-gentrified Brooklyn. But inertia and
post-traumatic stress nail them in place. Howie grows a top-knot and finds
Bohemian café, while Ariel loses herself in the enticing winter scenes painted
inside the Grey Goose bottle. It doesn't take long for Pauli Bones, Howie's
psychopathic patron, to track him down. Howie owes Pauli, and Pauli needs Howie
because war decimated the old crew and his new crew consists of inept second
stringers and unreliable mercenaries. The journey to self-discovery brings
Howie to the very point where he started, this time with a new awareness of his
powers. Shock and disappointment overwhelm Howie when he learns just how
skilled a gangster he is. Pauli Bones, Rose Spoleto (widow of Vinnie
Five-Five,) and the Slavic Goddess Alexandra Rachmaninoff all rely on his
professional competence to take care of business. Is this it for Howie? Is his
dream of living the life of the mind over for good? Can Ariel, whose career in
marketing is only tangentially related to extortion and murder, adjust to
Howie's new/old life? And if she can, can Howie still love her if he loathes
the gangster in himself? The answer to these questions may not satisfy Howie,
but they will amuse and horrify everyone else.
Bones of
Brooklyn (Mob Fiction)
By Ira
Gold
ISBN
#978-1579625269
208
Pages
Price
$25.60 (Hardback)
Rating
3-Stars
Jewish gangster, Howard
Fenster and his girlfriend Ariel, between sexual romps, decide to leave
Brooklyn. However, Pauli Bones has other plans for him. Pauli, a mob boss
without top men under him, wants Howard to kill Russian, Ivan Rachmaninoff. Howard owes
Pauli, but he doesn’t want to kill the Russian.
The publisher sent me a copy
for an honest review. I think this novel was supposed to be funny, but I found
it anything but comical. The sex and profanity running throughout the story
left little time for good world building, and I just couldn’t relate to any of
the characters. I’m sure it will bring smiles to many, but I found it crude and
of little interest.
Tom Johnson
Author of THE MAN IN THE
BLACK FEDORA
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