Shades of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend blend with Mario Puzo’s The Godfather in this gorgeous historical literary debut, set in Brooklyn across the decades of the 1920s through to the end of the 1940s.

Violence and love coalesce on the page to create an unforgettable story about family, friendship, loyalty, and loss. Playing out against a background of a rapidly changing New York, this novel is so beautifully written, moments of pure poetry are frequent and the historical atmosphere was just sublime.

I have seen some criticism whereby the novel is accused of being all tell and no show. I dispute this. The novel has an omniscient narration combined with a literary style, two writing techniques that don’t necessarily suit all readers. In this case, I felt that it was perfect for the story the author was telling, allowing for an all-encompassing and deeply immersive experience.

I adored this novel and lingered over it for the better part of a week. I can’t say that it’s a novel that will suit everyone, but I do highly recommend it to those who appreciate literary historical fiction that focuses on character exploration and the lives of people set within a certain era, as opposed to a fast-paced plot driven thriller. The themes explored were thought provoking and written within the framework of intelligent and probing discourse unique to the era and circumstances of the characters.

A stunning debut from an author of great talent. Bravo.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

I read about 90 pages of this book but just couldn't get into it at all. It didn't hold my interest so unfortunately I did not read it all. I was hoping for more action or a faster pace, but I didn't get that with this story.