Review of The Bootlegger's Friend
-
Nzube Chizoba Okeke
- Book of the Month Participant
- Posts: 1093
- Joined: 15 Sep 2019, 11:12
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 445
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nzube-chizoba-okeke.html
- Latest Review: Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress by Gustavo Kinrys, MD
Review of The Bootlegger's Friend
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Bootlegger's Friend" by Clare Blando.]
We read about several people in The Bootlegger's Friend by Clare Blando. Johnny Lazzio/Lazia had come a long way from the boy he used to be, constantly harassed by bullies. Not one to use brute force to achieve his goals, he learned to show interest in people, smile always, and win people through generosity. These methods served him well throughout his political career. However, as he became more powerful, one question kept coming to his mind: "Why weren't they enough?"
On the other hand, Giovanni Blando came to America at his uncle's behest. There was a job offer for him. Eagerly taking the opportunity, he was introduced to Kansas City and its workings. Johnny and Giovanni form a tight friendship, despite their outward differences. For a while, things progress steadily. However, their personalities were tested in every way imaginable when disaster struck.
This book was well written. The author's writing style was engaging and easily understood. It allowed the book to retain the reader's interest even during the slower parts of the story. The book focused much on people's thinking and behavior, and the author made the reader know what a person was thinking and feeling without too many words. Even side characters could easily be understood by the reader. For instance, despite Johnny being liked by most people he'd had dealings with, we could see the rising discomfort he was causing his gang member, Rusty Sheehan.
How she described the characters made each of them stand out in the reader's mind. They took on distinct personalities. It got to a point where the characters felt so familiar to me that even if a character's name was not mentioned, I could tell who was being referred to by their actions. Their quirks and idiosyncrasies gave them that quality. Giovanni's habit of repeating words and phrases and Johnny's gum chewing were perfect examples. These were things that the reader could pick up on even without being told. The development of each character was well done, especially the two main characters, Johnny and Giovanni. For instance, I liked that Johnny's progress from a prisoner to a leader was not abrupt or unrealistic.
This book had a slow, steady progression; nothing was rushed or jumped into. This made the book boring at times, especially in the second quarter, where there was very little plot development. The story seemed to go nowhere, and we were just moving in circles. It read like a documentary: "The life and times of... ." Towards the second half of the book, the pace picked up.
Another challenging thing about the book was the political aspect. There was too much political discourse for a casual reader to get into.
The life history and details provided for almost all the side characters in the book caused too much deviation and often distracted me from the main point, which I could only figure out almost at the end. Because too many people were introduced and expanded on, I could not figure out what was supposed to happen until later in the book, when all their roles began to come together.
There were errors in the book; it could use another round of professional editing. Because of the number of errors and the issues raised above, I'd rate this book three out of five stars. I'd recommend it to readers who love historical fiction based on political events.
******
The Bootlegger's Friend
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
We read about several people in The Bootlegger's Friend by Clare Blando. Johnny Lazzio/Lazia had come a long way from the boy he used to be, constantly harassed by bullies. Not one to use brute force to achieve his goals, he learned to show interest in people, smile always, and win people through generosity. These methods served him well throughout his political career. However, as he became more powerful, one question kept coming to his mind: "Why weren't they enough?"
On the other hand, Giovanni Blando came to America at his uncle's behest. There was a job offer for him. Eagerly taking the opportunity, he was introduced to Kansas City and its workings. Johnny and Giovanni form a tight friendship, despite their outward differences. For a while, things progress steadily. However, their personalities were tested in every way imaginable when disaster struck.
This book was well written. The author's writing style was engaging and easily understood. It allowed the book to retain the reader's interest even during the slower parts of the story. The book focused much on people's thinking and behavior, and the author made the reader know what a person was thinking and feeling without too many words. Even side characters could easily be understood by the reader. For instance, despite Johnny being liked by most people he'd had dealings with, we could see the rising discomfort he was causing his gang member, Rusty Sheehan.
How she described the characters made each of them stand out in the reader's mind. They took on distinct personalities. It got to a point where the characters felt so familiar to me that even if a character's name was not mentioned, I could tell who was being referred to by their actions. Their quirks and idiosyncrasies gave them that quality. Giovanni's habit of repeating words and phrases and Johnny's gum chewing were perfect examples. These were things that the reader could pick up on even without being told. The development of each character was well done, especially the two main characters, Johnny and Giovanni. For instance, I liked that Johnny's progress from a prisoner to a leader was not abrupt or unrealistic.
This book had a slow, steady progression; nothing was rushed or jumped into. This made the book boring at times, especially in the second quarter, where there was very little plot development. The story seemed to go nowhere, and we were just moving in circles. It read like a documentary: "The life and times of... ." Towards the second half of the book, the pace picked up.
Another challenging thing about the book was the political aspect. There was too much political discourse for a casual reader to get into.
The life history and details provided for almost all the side characters in the book caused too much deviation and often distracted me from the main point, which I could only figure out almost at the end. Because too many people were introduced and expanded on, I could not figure out what was supposed to happen until later in the book, when all their roles began to come together.
There were errors in the book; it could use another round of professional editing. Because of the number of errors and the issues raised above, I'd rate this book three out of five stars. I'd recommend it to readers who love historical fiction based on political events.
******
The Bootlegger's Friend
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress by Gustavo Kinrys, MD
