Saraceno [Kindle Edition]

Djelloul Marbrook (Author)

Book Description

Not many writers about the Mafia listened to the notorious Frank Costello, Vito Genovese, and Tony Gallo drinking marsala and chatting in a kitchen, but Djelloul Marbrook, author of Saraceno, did, and he celebrates it with a poet’s ear in this haunting, unique tale of redemption. "Not just another run-of-the-mill Mafia novel." --Small Press Bookwatch

In its first hardcover edition, review copies were sent out, warm reviews were written, but the book was never distributed because the small press that issued it failed. These rare copies are traded actively on the web, often at much higher prices than the original issue. It is now reborn as an ebook here on Kindle.

See this Reader Views interview about the hardcover edition:
http://www.readerviews.com:80/ReviewMarbrookSaraceno.html

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This lyrical and violent, funny and sad, hot and cool novella haunts us. Try it." --Ann LaFarge, Taconic Weekend

"...an admirable first novel." --Paul Smart, Woodstock Times

"...a mature artist whose rich body of work is finally coming to light." --Brent Robison, editor, Prima Materia

From the Author

Billy Salviati just wants to be a good soldier, to follow orders and live under the radar. It's all going well until he meets Hettie Warshaw one night on a dark street in Hell's Kitchen. Then his life unravels. Saraceno is the story of a hit man whose good looks are equalled only by his gift for friendship. He survives the vicissitudes of good looks, but his gift for friendship puts him in the crosshairs of friends and enemies.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 215 KB
• Print Length: 122 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0971890889
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Bliss Plot Press; 1 edition (May 16, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0051RGGEG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,506 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One Hell of a GREAT Read February 5, 2006

By Craig A. Perkins

Format:Hardcover

Mr. Marbrook has a reporter's eye for detail and an editor's gift for language and still he captures the nature of the individual character's speech and thoughts.

Who does not enjoy a great story involving the mafia so please put your tray tables and seats in their upright and locked positions and fasten your seatbelts for when this story takes off and does not land until the last pages.

I immensely enjoyed this work and I am sure most will find it not only fun but thought provoking.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It starts slow and ends too fast! March 9, 2006

By Daniel Wilson

Format:Hardcover

First, allow me to say that I do not consider myself a "well-read" person. I think I am of slightly above average when compared to my constituents of equal education, but moreover what attracts people to me and I to them, is mostly my philosophy of "goodwill toward men".

I like books of drama and inter-weaving plots, mostly non-fiction.

As a kid:

Charles Dickens

Mark Twain

Jack London

Jules Verne

Victor Appleton 11

Herman Melville

As an adult:

D. H. Lawrence

Sloan Wilson

Clive Cussler

Tom Clancey

(And now) Djelloul Marbrook

When I read Djelloul Marbrook's book, I had trouble out of the gate. My vocabulary fell short of his and I decided early on that I would plod forward without it and come back later to retrieve the broken parts.

Good thing I did, for if I had not, I would have lost momentum.

Before long, I grew accustomed to his writing style. It became fluid to me and I found that his pictorial descriptions and extraordinary depth of vision made more and more sense. The characters were difficult to keep tract of at first, but that too became easier as I relaxed and "let it happen". By the end of the book, I couldn't put it down (always a good sign to me) and I was sorry but relieved when I caressed the last page.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Saraceno by Djelloul Marbrook March 1, 2006

By BRUCE

Format:Hardcover

Saraceno draws the reader into the world of immigrant Sicilians in the first half of the twentieth century. It's a world of Prohibition and hard times. The author captures the patois and gestures language of the sub-culture so well. Not surprisingly, Djelloul Marbrook spent much of his youth in contact with Sicilian immigrants on the sidewalks of Hell's Kitchen on Manhattan's west side. Apparently the book is highly autobiographical, drawing on anecdotal memories of real people. The author's ethnographic style is reminiscent of Burgess' Clockwork Orange.

In the process of reading Saraceno we learn a lot about Sicilian history and culture and how that rich ethnic tradition translated into American materialism and hedonism on the streets of New York. Marbrook offers up a rich slice of Americana.

More About the Author

Now available on Amazon, 'Guest Boy,' the first novel of Djelloul Marbrook's 'Light Piercing Water' trilogy (2012, Mira Publishing House Ltd, UK), debuted at the London Book Fair in April 2012. 'Artists' Hill,' an excerpt from the trilogy, won the 2008 'Literal Latté' first prize in fiction. His novel, 'Saraceno' (2012, Bliss Plot Press, Woodstock, NY) is available in paper, ebook, and audio on Amazon. His two other novels are 'Artemisia's Wolf' (2011, Prakash Books, India) and 'Alice Miller's Room' (1999, OnlineOriginals.com). His first poetry book, 'Far from Algiers' (2008, Kent State University Press), won the 2007 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize and the 2010 International Book Award in poetry. His second book of poems is 'Brushstrokes and Glances' (2010, Deerbrook Editions). Recent poems were published by American Poetry Review, Barrow Street, Oberon, Northport Journal, Meadowland Review, The Same, Reed, The Ledge, Poemeleon, Poets Against War, Fledgling Rag, Daylight Burglary, Orbis, Le Zaporogue, Atticus, Long Island Quarterly, ReDactions, Istanbul Literary Review, Arabesques Literary and Cultural Review, Damazine, Perpetuum Mobile, Attic, and Chronogram. His short fiction has been published in Orbis (UK), Potomac Review (Maryland) and Prima Materia (New York). He maintains a lively Facebook presence. A retired newspaper editor and Navy veteran, he lives in Germantown, NY, with his wife Marilyn. During a newspaper career including the The Providence Journal (RI), Elmira (NY) Star-Gazette, Baltimore Sun, Winston-Salem Journal, Washington Star, and Media News dailies in Ohio and New Jersey, he won a number of awards for newspaper writing, page design and photography. His career spanned two major transitions in modern journalism, one from hot lead typography to photo-offset and one to the Internet. He blogs frequently about the media, literature and culture at www.djelloulmarbrook.com.