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The Corsican #1
El Corso
From Saigon's voyeuristic 'Hall of a Thousand Mirrors' to the sinister plains of Jars, a brutal private war is being fought...
Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
21 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
William Heffernan
30 books12 followersWilliam Heffernan, a three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, is the author of eighteen novels, including such bestsellers as The Corsincan, The Dinosaur Club (a New York Times bestseller), The Dead Detective, and Tarnished Blue (winner of an Edgar Award). Heffernan lives outside of St. Petersburg, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 13, 2012
I've had this book on my shelf for ages, but have never taken the time to read it, thinking it would be a trashy rip-off of something awesome like The Godfather. But this was one of those weekends where not much else was going on, and it seemed like as good a time as any to finally dust it off and see what it's all about. I think I actually was in the mood for something a little trashy, so why not give it a whirl? But it tricked me! It wasn't disappointing at all! In fact, it was actually pretty effing good. So why hadn't I heard about it before?
Not surprisingly there are Corsicans involved in this story. Corsica is that island off of France and it's beautiful and amazing and it seems like no one has ever really heard of it which makes it feel secret and sort of special. There's a dark side to Corsica that involves a lot of national identity issues and stuff, and Heffernan really hit the nail on the head with that aspect.
The story starts in Corsica during the Nazi occupation in the Forties, and spans over the next couple decades. As anyone might expect there are vendettas and people are disloyal and some blood is spilled (okay, a lot of blood is spilled). The story expands into Southeast Asia as well, where many Corsicans have settled over the years; reading about the two separate cultures was interesting to me - I've been to Corsica, but Asia is a bit out of my realm of understanding or expertise. I felt like I learned some stuff from this book? What!? Books bring learning? Whoda thunk it!
This must have been a popular book at one time I imagine. This Heffernan guy was apparently nominated for the Pulitzer three times for his work on the New York Daily News which I guess isn't much to sneeze at. But there are no reviews on Goodreads, and very few ratings. What's up, people? Are you all like me? Do you all have a copy on your shelf but you're not reading it? That's totally it, right?
Really, no complaints with this book. It did read like The Godfather at times, but it's about Corsicans instead of Sicilians. (Secret: the Corsicans and the Sicilians don't really get along.) There were no horse's heads put in beds, but there was a snake attack in a bedroom.
Not surprisingly there are Corsicans involved in this story. Corsica is that island off of France and it's beautiful and amazing and it seems like no one has ever really heard of it which makes it feel secret and sort of special. There's a dark side to Corsica that involves a lot of national identity issues and stuff, and Heffernan really hit the nail on the head with that aspect.
The story starts in Corsica during the Nazi occupation in the Forties, and spans over the next couple decades. As anyone might expect there are vendettas and people are disloyal and some blood is spilled (okay, a lot of blood is spilled). The story expands into Southeast Asia as well, where many Corsicans have settled over the years; reading about the two separate cultures was interesting to me - I've been to Corsica, but Asia is a bit out of my realm of understanding or expertise. I felt like I learned some stuff from this book? What!? Books bring learning? Whoda thunk it!
This must have been a popular book at one time I imagine. This Heffernan guy was apparently nominated for the Pulitzer three times for his work on the New York Daily News which I guess isn't much to sneeze at. But there are no reviews on Goodreads, and very few ratings. What's up, people? Are you all like me? Do you all have a copy on your shelf but you're not reading it? That's totally it, right?
Really, no complaints with this book. It did read like The Godfather at times, but it's about Corsicans instead of Sicilians. (Secret: the Corsicans and the Sicilians don't really get along.) There were no horse's heads put in beds, but there was a snake attack in a bedroom.
March 23, 2025
Autoriaus ambicija maždaug aiški: parašyti kažką panašaus į Puzo "Krikštatėvį", tik apie korsikiečius. Bet ne visai pavyko, bent mano galva. Visos knygos turi savo skaitytoją, taip pat ir ši. Bet tai ne aš. Pabaigos jau nebesugebėjau perskaityti, tik perversti. Gal per daug panaudota klišių ir dėl to nuobodoka. O gal dar kažkas ne taip. Nėra šlamštas ar beviltiškai prastai parašyta. Tiesiog man neprilipo.
February 27, 2021
My favorite mafioso novel - Intriguing story of Corsican pride, principles, and vendetta. A must read.
August 7, 2012
In a novel that moves from Nazi-occupied France to contemporary Saigon, Pierre Sartene, grandson of the ruler of a financial empire founded on crime, searches for the man - a betrayer of the Sartene organization - who murdered his father.
Well, one is not going to learn much about Corsica from this book. Nor about the Secret War in Laos or the American War in Vietnam during which most of this pulpy and long (560 pages) title is set.
This is the story of a Corsican criminal family in South East Asia and how they made a fortune from buying opium, turning it into heroin and selling it in the Western world. As such, all the main characters are complete swine, including their aiders and abetters, the CIA, South Vietnamese generals and other rather usual suspects. Of course these Corsicans were all forced into it, by the island's French occupation and while this is understandable, the family's own moral code is not. Selling heroin is ok, a competitor helping himself to the women in his own whorehouse is not. Oh dear. The Corsican isn't very good. It's got more holes than an American plan to subjugate South East Asia and none of the characters are likeable, because they are abominable, right wing drug dealers, secret agents trained to kill and help the drug trade along and some strong willed but ultimately hapless women/sex objects/love interests. The Asian characters are just barely fleshed out with the exception of the main protagonist's child hood friend who turns into a mercenary killer. All the other Asian characters are also killers it seems.
The Corsican was first published in 1983 so that might explain part of the problem and the target audience is clearly one that is not expected to grasp the finer points of war, in Asia or elsewhere, misogyny, selective morality or narrative. Why did I read this book? Well, I co-wrote the screenplay to a documentary called The Most Secret Place on Earth some years ago, which covered much the same ground, so I was hoping to find a fictional version of my own story. And that's what I got but only in very general terms. The first half of the book is all about how the Sartene family builds up its empire, the second about how the US educated and reformed grandson of the family's godfather type Übergangster returns to SE Asia at the height of US involvement, as a CIA killer, to track down the man, a competitor of his grandfather's who killed his father decades earlier. It's a vendetta, and these are popular with Corsicans, so there's a factoid I managed to wrestle from this tepid book. The second half is better, the gaps between horrific violence and purple prose sex are shorter, though the credulity of the reader is tested more - unless you are comatose when you plow through this you will be able to ride about 50 pages ahead of each proverbial twist and turn in the narrative, all the way to crashing and satisfactory finale, in which the bad guys are heroes, the world is evil, honor is everything and the world's most successful drug dealers are really just fathers with good government connections trying to protect their kids. Please. Unless you are a completist when it comes to the Secret War in Laos (What? I hear you ask), incidentally the largest CIA action we know about to date, don't read this.
Well, one is not going to learn much about Corsica from this book. Nor about the Secret War in Laos or the American War in Vietnam during which most of this pulpy and long (560 pages) title is set.
This is the story of a Corsican criminal family in South East Asia and how they made a fortune from buying opium, turning it into heroin and selling it in the Western world. As such, all the main characters are complete swine, including their aiders and abetters, the CIA, South Vietnamese generals and other rather usual suspects. Of course these Corsicans were all forced into it, by the island's French occupation and while this is understandable, the family's own moral code is not. Selling heroin is ok, a competitor helping himself to the women in his own whorehouse is not. Oh dear. The Corsican isn't very good. It's got more holes than an American plan to subjugate South East Asia and none of the characters are likeable, because they are abominable, right wing drug dealers, secret agents trained to kill and help the drug trade along and some strong willed but ultimately hapless women/sex objects/love interests. The Asian characters are just barely fleshed out with the exception of the main protagonist's child hood friend who turns into a mercenary killer. All the other Asian characters are also killers it seems.
The Corsican was first published in 1983 so that might explain part of the problem and the target audience is clearly one that is not expected to grasp the finer points of war, in Asia or elsewhere, misogyny, selective morality or narrative. Why did I read this book? Well, I co-wrote the screenplay to a documentary called The Most Secret Place on Earth some years ago, which covered much the same ground, so I was hoping to find a fictional version of my own story. And that's what I got but only in very general terms. The first half of the book is all about how the Sartene family builds up its empire, the second about how the US educated and reformed grandson of the family's godfather type Übergangster returns to SE Asia at the height of US involvement, as a CIA killer, to track down the man, a competitor of his grandfather's who killed his father decades earlier. It's a vendetta, and these are popular with Corsicans, so there's a factoid I managed to wrestle from this tepid book. The second half is better, the gaps between horrific violence and purple prose sex are shorter, though the credulity of the reader is tested more - unless you are comatose when you plow through this you will be able to ride about 50 pages ahead of each proverbial twist and turn in the narrative, all the way to crashing and satisfactory finale, in which the bad guys are heroes, the world is evil, honor is everything and the world's most successful drug dealers are really just fathers with good government connections trying to protect their kids. Please. Unless you are a completist when it comes to the Secret War in Laos (What? I hear you ask), incidentally the largest CIA action we know about to date, don't read this.
March 26, 2021
If you liked the Godfather series, you will definitely want to pick up this novel. The story runs from WWII to the Vietnam War and explores a Corsican family's rise to power and the meaning of retribution.
April 30, 2021
A decent adventure that is a slow burn. Plenty of background and plot development particularly around family honour codes starting in euorp and finishing in Asia with plenty of parallels between. Covering a period from WW2 through the demise of French IndoChina, highlighting the difference between Laos and Vietnam and the various tribes; the story then develops into US garrisoned Saigon and the philosophical conflict between local Vietnamese in this war of independence. Clearly some underworld involvement which contributes to the story as well s its interface with the Govt and the consequences of that.
Another one for reading by the pool!
Another one for reading by the pool!
October 14, 2017
Though a new author to me, William Heffernan is by no means a new author. This book was published in 1983. A very engaging novel centered around the successive generations of one family under the patriarchal guidance of a very powerful Corsican criminal entity, and spanning decades including WWII and the Vietnam War. A thoroughly good read! Thanks to Victor Jackson for the referral.
November 26, 2020
Picked this up from a hotel book-swap in Crete last year. Read it on my sun lounger. It's an expansive tale of organised crime that starts strongly as we learn of the protagonist's Corsican roots, but loses focus and direction once the action moves to the Far East. Found myself skipping tens of pages of an interminable romance sub-plot late in the book.
November 3, 2018
It was really exciting and easy to read. But i did have some problem with connecting the dots on the Asian Names. Doesn't have a crazy twist early or late, but all builds up well , even when you feel sure that you know where the story is going
June 2, 2020
Home at Last
Action, surprises,terror,laughter,tears and death
What else could you possibly want from a great story.
You could add war and peace and of course drugs, don’t forget drugs and the way it was moved.
Action, surprises,terror,laughter,tears and death
What else could you possibly want from a great story.
You could add war and peace and of course drugs, don’t forget drugs and the way it was moved.
November 11, 2022
Over the last 20 years I think I've read this book 3 times and each time I utterly enjoy it. The story/plot is constantly moving forward, context in the way of descriptions, although kept to a minimum, gives a very vivid image. A must read
October 11, 2020
A great fiction.
September 27, 2014
Intriguing Machiavellian Story
An interesting story based on fact? Well developed characters. Strong leaders and plenty of behind-the-scenes play from peripheral characters. Hard to fathom
that Vietnam could have been a war of drugs and money.
An interesting story based on fact? Well developed characters. Strong leaders and plenty of behind-the-scenes play from peripheral characters. Hard to fathom
that Vietnam could have been a war of drugs and money.
September 14, 2023
honestly didn't have any expectations for this book but it's definitely too good! kept me on edge all the time with just the right amount of back story and development for each character that tell you enough about them but never boring you!
October 13, 2015
When all the groundwork was laid for the intricate plot, the ending was never in doubt.
Overall I enjoyed the read.
Overall I enjoyed the read.
July 29, 2024
Moving forward, I'm only reading novels that feature men with fedoras and obscured faces on the cover.
December 2, 2016
An entertaining read that ran a little too long.
September 22, 2015
Too dense. Poor characterization. Not very compelling.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews