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jade_valenzuela's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kategci's review against another edition
3.0
This was really 3 1/2 stars. I was having a hard time choosing what to read next and found this under a pile. I had borrowed it from the library soon after it came out, but a smoker had borrowed it before me and I was unable to read it, because it smelled so bad and made me wheeze. I bought a copy and then had other things to read for book clubs and then could not find a book I wanted to read. Gangsterland broke me out of my slump ( it only took me so long to read as work interfered!). It is the story of a Chicago mob hitman and what happens to him after he kills the wrong people. His life is spared, but he enters an illegal variation of a witness protection program. Tod Goldberg tells Sal Cupertine's story very well and provides an interesting look at a darker side of Las Vegas . Tod is one of the cohosts of the Literary Disco podcast and while Sal is absolutely nothing like him ( best as I can tell), Tod's voice and wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor came through in the dialogue. This is definitely a slump breaking book and a more thoughtful mob story than many that I have previously read.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Like a lot of other reviewers, I liked what Goldberg envisioned and appreciated it in spots but not sure he found the best way to tell the story. Parts of it dragged and I think I would've appreciated more introspection on Sal/David's growth in Judaism and less cliched stuff about disgraced FBI agents. It's definitely unique among most crime novels and I appreciate it for that reason.
ardaigle's review against another edition
4.0
Gangsterland had been on my "to read" pile for some time. I am what I would define as a super fan of the podcast "Literary Disco." This novel is the newest book by Tod Goldberg, one of the contributors of the podcast. If you haven't heard it, you MUST. Here is their description of the shenanigans they get up to.
We're Julia, Tod, and Rider -- three good friends who also happen to be huge book nerds. Scattered to the far reaches of Southern California, more Southern California, and mid-Connecticut, we desperately missed each other's company and yelling at each other about Stephen King. We decided to rekindle these friendly intellectual discussions using the magic of the internet and fancy microphones. We're writers, but we've always been readers first and foremost. Since the three of us have been talking and arguing about books for years, we decided to start recording some of our conversations. And since 2012, we've been doing just that. You can read about our humble beginnings on The Rumpus. or you can simply go back to the first episode and begin binging.
And if the name Rider sounds familiar to you because you remember Rider Strong from the family sitcom "Boy Meets World" then you are in luck because IT IS HE. Just imagine if Shawn Hunter got his life together, and boom, present day Strong. Listening to the three of them is like hanging out with friends: they clearly care for each other but love giving each other a hard time, typically either Tod and Rider gang up a little on Julia, or Julia is having to ignore either Tod's baiting (he loves to stir shit up) or Rider's rants. Seriously, I could go on about this forever. And I almost have. On to the book!
I went into it reaaaaally wanting to like it because I like Tod as a person, and I am pleased to say I do. It did take me a while to get in to the book, it didn't hook me immediately, but much like the story itself it was a slow build. Plus, reading a gangster book filled with violence circa the holidays (I started this one late December) feels a little funny. But, I endorse this if you, like me, or a fan of the gangster genre, either in literary or film media.
Sal Cupertine has spent his life as a hitman for the family. He is calculating, has an impressive memory, and is good at his job. At this point in his life, he is also a family man, but at his core he is a cold-blooded killer. On a good day he is methodical but on a bad day, say, the day he gets into the heroin and figure out he is in an FBI sting, he goes off the rails and takes out a pile of FBI agents. Under normal circumstances, he would have just signed his death warrant but he is, pardon the borrow, a man with a special set of skills. So, the mafia powers that be have him shipped in a meat cooler to Vegas, give him some plastic surgery, and he is now told that he will be a rabbi, part of the Vegas mafia's operation of running a fancy school/temple/funeral home operation. Will the FBI agent who carries the blame of his colleague's murders figure this out (maybe)? Will Sal turn a new leaf (unlikely)? These are the main questions of the story.
Overall, I enjoyed it, and I'm excited for the sequel, Gangster Nation, but I'm going to give it a month or so before diving in. It was a good well written book, and though the ending was tantalizing, it didn't make me feel the need to jump on the next installment, but I do anticipate liking it as well.
We're Julia, Tod, and Rider -- three good friends who also happen to be huge book nerds. Scattered to the far reaches of Southern California, more Southern California, and mid-Connecticut, we desperately missed each other's company and yelling at each other about Stephen King. We decided to rekindle these friendly intellectual discussions using the magic of the internet and fancy microphones. We're writers, but we've always been readers first and foremost. Since the three of us have been talking and arguing about books for years, we decided to start recording some of our conversations. And since 2012, we've been doing just that. You can read about our humble beginnings on The Rumpus. or you can simply go back to the first episode and begin binging.
And if the name Rider sounds familiar to you because you remember Rider Strong from the family sitcom "Boy Meets World" then you are in luck because IT IS HE. Just imagine if Shawn Hunter got his life together, and boom, present day Strong. Listening to the three of them is like hanging out with friends: they clearly care for each other but love giving each other a hard time, typically either Tod and Rider gang up a little on Julia, or Julia is having to ignore either Tod's baiting (he loves to stir shit up) or Rider's rants. Seriously, I could go on about this forever. And I almost have. On to the book!
I went into it reaaaaally wanting to like it because I like Tod as a person, and I am pleased to say I do. It did take me a while to get in to the book, it didn't hook me immediately, but much like the story itself it was a slow build. Plus, reading a gangster book filled with violence circa the holidays (I started this one late December) feels a little funny. But, I endorse this if you, like me, or a fan of the gangster genre, either in literary or film media.
Sal Cupertine has spent his life as a hitman for the family. He is calculating, has an impressive memory, and is good at his job. At this point in his life, he is also a family man, but at his core he is a cold-blooded killer. On a good day he is methodical but on a bad day, say, the day he gets into the heroin and figure out he is in an FBI sting, he goes off the rails and takes out a pile of FBI agents. Under normal circumstances, he would have just signed his death warrant but he is, pardon the borrow, a man with a special set of skills. So, the mafia powers that be have him shipped in a meat cooler to Vegas, give him some plastic surgery, and he is now told that he will be a rabbi, part of the Vegas mafia's operation of running a fancy school/temple/funeral home operation. Will the FBI agent who carries the blame of his colleague's murders figure this out (maybe)? Will Sal turn a new leaf (unlikely)? These are the main questions of the story.
Overall, I enjoyed it, and I'm excited for the sequel, Gangster Nation, but I'm going to give it a month or so before diving in. It was a good well written book, and though the ending was tantalizing, it didn't make me feel the need to jump on the next installment, but I do anticipate liking it as well.
annaavian's review against another edition
2.0
The premise sounded more interesting than the actual book. The story just dragged on and on, no real ups and downs, just flat landscape. It lacked grip which is something one would expect from a mobster story.
readinginthe_pnw's review against another edition
Interesting concept. I have a lot of other books to read though and this just didn’t capture my attention the way I was hoping it would. Might pick it back up and finish at a later date.
paulataua's review against another edition
3.0
Came to this after totally loving Goldberg’s short story collection ‘The Low Desert’. ‘Gangsterland’ follows Sal Cupertine, a Chicago hitman who botches an assassination, as he is transformed into David Cohen, a Las Vegas rabbi, after months of plastic surgery. Of course, he is a rabbi involved in, among other things, body-laundering for the mob. Jeff Hopper, the FBI agent, slowly closes in on him and the suspense sort of increases. It is interesting enough, and does have its moments, but it never really grabbed me and I limped my way to the end.