Book Review: Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra

Where to begin. I must admit that I've never enjoyed reading a book as much as this one. If you are familiar with the movie, you know the grim details of the story, but there were several instances where I found myself giggling uncontrollably. Although the book was published in 1995, I never realized it existed until my wife found a copy of it at the thrift store.



I always been a huge fan of the movie that this book inspired. It had an excellent cast of characters and stars including Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman, and Minnie Driver. I fell in love with Minnie Driver the first time I saw it. It was well made and had some memorable supporting characters. I really connected with the main characters, although not having endured anything the likes of their torment, but in growing up poor in the city and having those guys that you get into trouble with and would do anything for. I still have many scenes from the movie etched in my subconscious, especially the Fat Mancho "Hell's Kitchen" monologue. I crack up every time I see it. I could imagine someone saying something similar about the neighborhood I grew up in.

Now to what we came here for. I've heard this many times before, "The book was better than the movie" This book is the epitome of that statement. I experienced this to some extent when I read The Taking of the Pelham 123. The book had some back story on the characters that wasn't included in the movie. With this book it was like watching the movie with director's commentary. I could visualize the movie as I read along. The movie flowed just as the book was written. Many of the poignant scene's dialogue and description came from the book word for word. There were some minor side stories that were left out in the film. There were also more intrecate details of why certain things happened in the movie. I was enthralled by the book. The best part for me (a person that doesn't consider himself a reader) were the short and easy to follow chapters (some were only a page long) I also enjoyed a lot of the ribbing the boys indulged in. Great one liners and wise cracks.

I was slow stepping my way out of the park, toward the bar on 52nd Street. The inside of my chest felt as seared as the outside. But more than anything, I was humiliated.

'I don't want anybody to know', I said. 'Might be in the papers tomorrow', John smirked. 'Not every day one of King Benny's Boys gets his ass bopped by some girls' 'It would've been better if they killed me', I said. 'You're right', Tommy said. 'Much easier to explain' 'This only proves what we always new', Michael said. 'What?' 'You can't fight for shit' 'I hear they make guys have sex with 'em' John said. 'Now I'm sorry we came along', Michael said. 'You might have finally gotten laid' 'I think I'm gonna faint', I said. 'Ugly sex is better than no sex', John said. 'Anybody asks, tell 'em a gang from Inwood came down and kicked my ass', I said. 'Which gang?' Tommy asked. 'The Cougars', I said. 'They're pretty tough' 'How about the gang from the School for the Blind?' John said. 'You could say they bumped into you on the street. You had no choice. You hadda fight 'em' 'There was eight of them and only one of you', Tommy said. 'The deck was stacked' 'And they had dogs too' John said. 'You didn't have a chance' 'All I know is the Count of Monte Cristo never got his ass kicked by a girl', Michael said. 'He was lucky', I sighed. 'He didn't know Janet Rivera'

As the story progresses the young, innocent boys from Hell's Kitchen end up in a juvenile facility for a prank gone wrong. There lives are forever altered by the constant mental, physical, and sexual torture they endured. Ten years later two of the boys get the ultimate opportunity to get revenge on one of their tormentors. The two others see it as the opportunity to get sweet revenge on the foursome that took their innocence and made their adult years a living struggle to forget the abuse. It's very clever how they pull it off. They use a network criminals, cons, cops, and even a priest to expose those predators for what they are and feel some sense of relief. After the culmination of the book the guys reunite for one last time with their best girl friend. Even after becoming men, and being hardened by the cruel fate they were dealt, they were able enjoy each other's company and laugh and play as they once did ask kids. They weren't the same people but they loved each other and trusted each other more then ever before. I thought this was a fitting end to the book and the movie.

Eventually, the beer, wine, and liquor took hold and we switched gears, laughing over simpler times, in the years before Wilkinson starved us of laughter. Over and over we recalled our many pranks, relishing the freedom and foolishness a Hell's Kitchen childhood allowed.

'You guys remember when you formed that stupid singing group?' Carol asked, pouring water into a glass. 'The Four Gladiators', Michael said, smiling. 'Best quartet to ever hold a Hell's Kitchen corner' 'Remember what Shakes wanted to call the group?' Johnny said, lighting a cigarette. 'The Count and His Cristos', Tommy said. 'Man, that woulda sent albums flyin' outta the stores' 'We weren't that bad' I said. 'Some people wanted to hear us sing' 'That group from the deaf school don't count', John said. 'Why not?' I said. 'They applauded' 'You guys were awful', Carol said, laughing. 'Kids cried when they heard you sing' 'They were sad songs', I said. 'Fat Mancho was gonna be our manager', Tommy said. 'And King Benny was gonna be the bankroll. You know, get us suits and travel money, shit like that' 'What happened to that plan?' Carol asked. 'They heard us sing', I said. 'Fat Mancho said he'd eat flesh before he put his name next to ours', John said. 'What'd King Benny say?' Carol asked. 'He didn't say anything', I said. 'He walked back into his club and closed the door'

Overall it was a great book. It felt like something I would have like to have written. It was gritty, real, and honest. There were good moments and bad moments. You really get to know these guys and root for them. My wife was amazed that finished it so quickly. In the time she has known me, she has never known me to finish reading a book in a few days. I would fly through 10 chapters. I would then try to go to sleep, but I couldn't, so would turn my light back on and read a few more to get it out of my system. I genuinely recommend this as a good, and easy read book for the guy that gets bored with books.