The Five Points [Paperback]

Rocco Dormarunno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2001

19th Century New York's most dangerous neighborhood comes back to life. The Five Points neighborhood, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, was home to the world's most dangerous criminals and impoverished immigrants. These two gritty stories ensure that this part of New York's history will not be forgotten.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rocco Dormarunno is a native of Brooklyn. He received his MA in English from Rutgers University in 1982. New York history, especially of the 19th Century, has long been his study. The Five Points is his first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (November 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595204465
• ISBN-13: 978-0595204465
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,849,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One star away from a perfect rating, December 26, 2001

By 

"ryan114" (White Plains, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Five Points (Paperback)

A few things kept me away from giving this story (actually two stories) a perfect rating. One: it was too short--I enjoyed the story-telling and most of the characters, and I wanted the book to go on more. Two, I needed more facts, more background. It took me a while to understand the relationship between the gangs, the police, and Tammany Hall. Once the connection was made clear, it made pretty good sense. I am a nitpicker though. I also notice no other titles in this author's bibliography so I'm assuming it's Mr. Doramunno's first book. In that case, it's a very good first novel.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scary, February 15, 2002

By 

Dana Rochele (Canton, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Five Points (Paperback)

There's a lot in these two novellas that seem too strange, too scary to believe that it really happened. But I had read two of Caleb Carr's fictional books on New York history and seen the History Channel's documentary on The Five Points, and it turns out that a lot of the horrible situations that this book covers is maybe only a little exaggerated. I liked the author's style; he's a little removed from the horrors but when things turn out well for some characters, he wants you to celebrate with him. There are some memorable scenes and sometimes it seems like the parts are better than the whole. Still, there's a reward at the end of each story that makes it all worthwhile. The book ends very abruptly. I think he [the author] is getting us ready for a follow-up. If there is one, I will buy it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Hell on Earth, December 15, 2001

By 

"jerrox" (Allentown, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Five Points (Paperback)

I admit that I'm not much of a reader of historical fiction because authors kind of always make the past seem so much more superior to the present. THE FIVE POINTS is a very detached look at the poverty of a New York town in the 1800s. Although some of the characters seem two dimensional, the key characters come off as being very rounded out and intriguing. The pacing is fast most of the time, and very deliberate when it needs it. I really enjoyed this book and already lent it to two friends.