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Carlito's Way

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In this classic New York street novel, Carlito Brigante, Puerto Rican hustler and drug dealer, recounts with intoxicating bravado and humor his journey through Spanish Harlem's no-exit world of gangs, drugs, pimping, and the Mob. Carlito's Way, and its sequel After Hours, were adapted for film by Brian de Palma, with Al Pacino as Carlito. Edwin Torres is a Criminal Court judge in New York City.

173 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 1982

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Edwin Torres

2 books11 followers

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5 stars
115 (34%)
4 stars
123 (37%)
3 stars
71 (21%)
2 stars
18 (5%)
1 star
3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Jon Zelazny.
Author 9 books53 followers
July 12, 2023
Greatest first-person crime saga I've ever read. Always wondered why Pacino wanted to play another Latino gangster after Tony Montana, and I'm guessing it was this novel that sold him. It reads like a 167-page monologue any actor would kill to sink his teeth into.
Profile Image for Russell.
140 reviews7 followers
November 8, 2007
Believe it or not. The Al Pacino movie, "Carlito's Way" is based on this book and it's sequel "After Hours".

I really loved this book. It's entirely written in the street patois of a Puerto Rican hoodlum in New York. There's a humorous poetry to it.

"She had curves on her like a guitar. A few years later she was more like a Cello. Still, it was might good strummin' while it lasted."

Interestingly, this book was written by a New York appellate judge. I would have loved to have clerked for him.
Profile Image for Seth.
79 reviews
June 21, 2011
A couple of years ago, I like a lot of people watched the straight to video film "Carlito's Way: Rise to power" and thought- What a POS! But then one day I was fortunate enough to find the source novel and discover that in fact, it is this novel which serves the general plot of that low budget film. It's a pretty good little story, not exactly a novel at under 150 pages. (Stephen King would have designated it a "novella") But a good fast paced story all the same. With quick edge of your seat action and great personal writing, Edwin Torres wrote a magnificent piece of pulp and while the b-movie has it's valor it can't do justice to this under-rated book.

Torres who is by no means a street punk himself. He is a New York State Superior Court Judge, felt the need to out do his performance in this novel with the epic sequel "After Hours" (aka Carlito's Way starring Al Pacino) really kinda failed to create a superior story there. See review.
Profile Image for Ricky Black.
Author 19 books26 followers
March 6, 2020
Great Read!

Loved this! 'Carlito's Way' is my favourite film, and I read this with Pacino's voice in my head. Hard to get to grips with at first, but after a while it all flows and the story is fantastic, with realism spewing from every page. I'm already looking forward to the re-read!
Profile Image for Mike.
1,545 reviews27 followers
July 21, 2020
By far the best crime novels ever to be written by a judge are Carlito's Way and its sequel, After Hours. The language and dialogue soar in this novel, and the evocation of '70's New York City is tone and picture perfect. This book is laugh out loud funny and a true delight to read. Puerto Rican New York City soars on these pages.
Profile Image for Erik.
83 reviews8 followers
April 21, 2018
Two of the best street novels ever written. Amounts to a fictional Puerto Rican version of Goodfellas, the criminal autobiography of uptown dope dealer Carlito Brigante.
Profile Image for Anton Rodmar.
23 reviews
December 16, 2024
Enjoyable enough, though it suffered from the Swedish translation. There is a limit on how serious I can take a crime story which prominently features the word “gosse”.
Profile Image for Daniel Ali.
Author 5 books
June 24, 2020
One of the best crime dramas I've ever read. Edwin Torres masterfully lays out an authentic depiction of the gritty underworld of 1970s New York City. The characters are alive and full of vitality. The book was and is a source of inspiration for me as an author. I loved it!
52 reviews2 followers
June 2, 2017
It's hip. "Like that." Even has a glossary.

"Mr.Wesley Scott, the government prosecutor. What a pain in the ass! An anglo with a last name for a first name is automatically a prick."
Profile Image for Chris.
308 reviews4 followers
January 16, 2022
Carlito carlito, mad style and renegade retro crime. I loved the way this was almost a stream of consciousness type vibe but also a story being told by the protagonist. I almost forgot a few times that this was a fictional story.

I don't think I've read a Latin crime fiction novel really, closest was probably Piri Thomas' autobiography Down These Mean Streets. I'm curious to watch these movies, although the one based on this novel is said to be bad.
9 reviews
March 4, 2022
I lived this book. The dialogue used really takes you alongside the characters and places. As shitty as that sounds, it really does. The movie doesn't compare. I think there are many reasons for this but one of them being that the book goes into the main character growing up. This really gives you a great connection with him. I read this book in 1993 and can still vividly remember certain parts of the book.
Profile Image for Neil Reive.
2 reviews
July 16, 2022
My favourite film of all time, so I have been reluctant to read the novels that it is based on. Decades later, I finally decided to check them out. It is good to see these characters again in different situations, but things don’t quite feel right. The book is laid out like snippets from someone's memoirs rather than a cohesive novel. What is here is great, with some excellent and punchy dialogue, but things stop and start with no real momentum, suspense or tension that the film offers...
Profile Image for Ismael AbduSalaam.
18 reviews
January 6, 2024
This was a brisk read highlighted by Edwin Torres bringing Carlito's personality to life with the ethnic slang of the day. Historical references also help set the mood. But towards the second half, Carlito's capers began to come off a bit sitcom-ish. But overall, an entertaining book and I'll be checking out the sequel.
Profile Image for Sofian El-Alfy.
69 reviews
August 12, 2020
رواية قصيرة لكن رائعة تصور الجريمة في نيويورك في السبعينات
مؤلف الرواية قاضي ويحكي في روايته حياة أحد المجرمين الذي استطاع صديقة المحامي اخراجه من السجن بعد عدة سنوات فينوي الابتعاد عن الجريمة والاستقامة لكن حياة الجريمة تلاحقة
انها قصة كارليتو
13 reviews
December 22, 2022
Fast read

This was a good book. It portrayed the prejudice that exists between different nationalities. This book was entertaining and a fast read.
Profile Image for Art the Turtle of Amazing Girth.
743 reviews23 followers
February 23, 2023
Brilliant, almost diary like

The language is wicked, and I just could not put it down

I'd wager better than the film, but I've got to watch it again now
Profile Image for scorpionwoman.
116 reviews
December 15, 2024
great book. a little long winded in some parts. you can’t help but to root for carlito.
10 reviews
January 21, 2022
Super fast paced. Read in one sitting. Very street. Five stars!
Profile Image for Aaron.
372 reviews4 followers
December 29, 2016
Gritty and poetic and fresh. The NYC dialogue and locales are the real deal, and the story, dense with author Torres' insights about lawyer-criminal client relationships, is fascinating. Lots of crazy ghetto color and characters. Perfectly paints a portrait of Spanish Harlem in the 1970s.
Profile Image for Rhasaan.
4 reviews2 followers
September 29, 2010

This is just a cool ass book. I'm a huge fan of the movie,but the book is ten times better. Being someone who grew up in New York in the seventies,I was pleasantly surprised by many of the nuances Edwin Torres was able to capture. He does a great job of illustrating a raw ,exciting,dangerous time in New York's history. Not to mention that Carlito Brigante himself, is one of the most likable characters you'll ever meet. Reading this book is like listening to an old Puerto Rican hustler tell you war stories about the "old days",out on the stoop of your building. Mira. Read that shit "Papa".
Profile Image for Kevin.
78 reviews
Want to read
October 2, 2011
Apparently, the movie isn't even based on this book primarily. It's based on the sequel. I think this is source material for the horrible direct to video prequel. Anyway, watched the movie again tonight, for the first time in almost ten years. Fucking unreal, the movie is so good and holds up better than any I can remember, way better and more artfully crafted than I remember, so suspenseful even if you know what's coming. Tonight, three adults in a room, trying to hide the fact that we were crying at the end. Best De Palma movie. I watched all the extras, and now I'm kinda hell bent on reading it now. Goddamn.
Profile Image for Eric Byrne.
Author 2 books3 followers
October 23, 2014
A fairly quick read since it is a short book of just 152 pages. Told in the first person, there is a good deal of humor and interesting insight into the character of Carlito Brigante.

The film Carlito's Way is mostly adapted from Torres' follow up novel After Hours, but the film uses first-person narration in the same vein as this first book.
Profile Image for Carolina Morales.
320 reviews67 followers
August 21, 2014
Excellent movie from my Mob Box. Al Pacino stunning as always and Penelope Ann Miller as an 'exotic dancer' ballerine. Sean Penn as heroine addicted attorney is worth watching closely too. I recommend to all those searching for an excellent plot and inspired dramatic interpretations.
Profile Image for Mike.
557 reviews2 followers
May 28, 2016
I don't know if I'd call it the Puerto Rican Godfather, but I enjoyed Carlito Brigante's NY crime saga. The movie is based more on the sequel, After Hours, and I'll read that at some point.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews

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