I Don't Want to Go to Jail : A Good Story

by Jimmy Breslin

The eleventh book by the author of Table Money and The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight chronicles the fictional life of a mob family trying to survive in modern-day New York. 75,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime

306 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Jimmy Breslin was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist and author. He wrote numerous novels, and pieces of his have appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City. He was a regular columnist for the newspaper Newsday until his retirement on November 2, 2004.

Among his notable columns, perhaps the best known was published the day after John F. Kennedy's funeral, focusing on the man who had dug the president's grave. The column is indicative of Breslin's style, which often highlights how major events or the actions of those considered "newsworthy" affect the "common man."

Reviews

[Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loosely modeled on the life of Vincent Gigante, this is an interesting read. I liked the few parts where Breslin described the subtle conversion of Greenwich Village from an Italian conclave into a yuppie mecca.

[Frank Taranto · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story of a young man related to a Mafia Don who does not want, and is not allowed to join. The book is mostly about Fausti Decavalla, who is named for his uncle, also called the fist. The fist is the boss of all bosses for the NY mafia, and his story is about the end of the Mafia in NY.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was fair to weak. Liked the concept that is presented 1/2-way though the book (and explained the odd dust jacket in the version I read). Never read anything else by the author, so I cannot say if it is typical or not.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book in itself isn't bad, but unfortunately they oversold it being hilarious. The blurb was so raving positive, it was hard not to feel let down. Of course, there are some witty phrases here and there, but while they can make you smile, they don't give you any big laugh. Maybe it's because I don't know enough about American Mafia to understand the whole book properly, I didn't feel like I gained anything from this book. I was just glad to have finished it.

[Eoghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A witty & engaging character driven novel

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Breslin was such a great writer. Hilarious in places.