I Don't Want to Go to Jail

by Jimmy Breslin

Fausti 'the Fist' Dellacava is the most feared mobster in all of Gotham. But running the family business is proving to be problematic as the Feds start closing in. So what's a mobster to do to stay out of the slammer? Fausti chooses to go down the insanity route.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

369 pages, Mass Market Paperback

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