A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints: A Memoir (Paperback)

~ (Author) "when i was a kid there was this priest in my neighborhood at the Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria, Queens, named Father Angelo Pezullo..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Bruce Weber, Lari Anne (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Montiel's saints run the gamut from omniscient priests to wacky con artists. In his rambling memoir of growing up in the 1970s and '80s in a tough Queens neighborhood, he escapes to the East Village to emerge as a Calvin Klein underwear model and lead singer of the punk band Gutterboy. Montiel's childhood was rough but thrilling. "[I]n our neighborhood we would take your everyday type of kids' game and throw in an extra little consequence clause that no one else seemed to have." Games escalated from stealing from the church poor box (consequence: 50 Hail Mary's from saint number one, Father Angelo) through peeing through the windows of Mafioso hangouts (consequence: "being chased by crazy Dimitrios with a meat cleaver") to gang fights (consequence: Montiel's pal Antonio [another saint] kills a guy with a baseball bat and spends six years in prison). When the scene shifts to the sex-, drugs- and punk rock-ridden Lower East Side, Montiel's love affair with Manhattan predominates, as he roams the city with girlfriends, junkies and his mother (more saints) and hangs out with Allen Ginsberg (whose photos of Gutterboy appear in the book) and Warhol protegee Cherry Vanilla. Several Kerouac-like road trips feature the thrill and beauty of being "crazy high" in a non-New York world. Montiel tells his entertaining, sad tales with a combination of affection, glee and nostalgia. He's managed to escape the dismal fate of many of his childhood cohorts, while still cherishing and embracing their humanity.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"It's gritty, it's sexy . . . " -- New York Post, June 3, 2003

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560254742
• ISBN-13: 978-1560254744
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #617,802 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an old and new fan, April 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints (Paperback)

I was a big fan of the writers original work with his band Gutterboy. When I first heard about the book i was very excited to get it. I had criticisms all throughout reading it. All until i came onto one chapter in particular. Since that chapter I've changed my tone and can honestly say i haven't read a more beautifully simple, easy to read book that has inspired me more than this one. It seems you have taken your advice from Allen Ginsberg and taken it well. "Most information-Least Syllables." Thank you for this book Dito. Put out more MUSIC!!!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neo-Beat Redux, June 26, 2003

By A Customer

Montiel's memoir brought back so many amazing memories of a time in New York that simply no longer exists. The kind of man Dito was also no longer exists, making us girls shudder at the types we are left with (i.e. stock-market mongering, CNN watching, Sex-in-the-City obsessed, Cappucinoists). Montiel's coming-of-age is so engrossing that it left me yearning for a more interesting, diverse and, well, fun New York. His prose is as honest as it gets and his stories startling in its violence and courage. And yet, the tender tone in his nostalgic love of New York brought it home. Brilliant!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars inspirational, April 11, 2001

By	johann "johannw2" (Venice) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints (Paperback)

I was originally told this was a self help book . It's not but it is but it's not but it is and i feel great after reading it. To my surprise i guess it is!