It’s time to review the featured book for January 2016. The Fall of South Bridge by Jimmy Badavino was chosen as the featured book, we also gave away a gift voucher to one of our lucky subscribers. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up to the reader’s group to be in with a chance of winning February’s featured book; which will be revealed tomorrow.
Buy from Amazon UK
The Fall of South Bridge was recommended to me due to my love of mafia stories, the recommendation came with the promise that it would be on par with classics like Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. How disappointed I was to find out that the writing didn’t quite live up to that statement, and that there are issues with the structure of the story. However, once you get used to the writing style there is a somewhat satisfying story, it’s just a shame that it’s hidden behind such a barrier.
That barrier made it hard for me to enjoy the book until around the 40% mark (read on Kindle) but I did find myself becoming progressively more invested in the story after that mark. At its heart The Fall of South Bridge has a touching story of families and mob politics; it will just take a little effort on your part to get to the meat of the story thanks to the numerous abrupt switches in perspective throughout its chapters. I read on Kindle, so it could be a severe lack of book formatting that caused the change in perspective without any indication. It would be great to hear from someone who owns a physical copy of The Fall of South Bridge to see if it contains an asterisk to divide perspectives, because if both versions lack this detail then it is a serious fault in the books editing.
Formatting aside, the gripping circumstances that follow the families of South Bridge later in the story do provide a satisfying payoff. The story deals with themes of adolescence, neglect, deceit and child discipline; not to mention the overarching themes of organised crime. Newly anointed boss, Rocco Denoboli is tasked with keeping the organisation under wraps from police investigations, which is easier said than done when he has hot head enforcers like his nephew Donnie Carelli flying off the handle.
Much of the story’s focus is on Donnie and his own nephew John Bellini, and they’re easily the standout characters. There’s also DEA chief Rick Mackenzie who’s determined to put the pressure on the family after being repeatedly humiliated by them. The perspective often shifts to Mackenzie, which is a welcoming change for the most part as you get to see the opposite side of the moral compass.
Even with the interesting story perspectives, one of The Fall of South Bridge’s flaws is that it establishes so many characters but doesn’t do a great job of distinguishing all them from one another. I literally had to determine who is who based on what their relationships were to either John or Donnie, as they became the only two characters I cared about along with Mackenzie for moral reasons.
One thing I really adored about the book is the detailed descriptions of Upstate New York and South Bridge specifically. Badavino really does a great job helping the reader visualise the setting in which the story takes place, and this ability is where I attribute much of his writing skill. It impressed me enough to want to read more of his other works.
At its heart, The Fall of South Bridge tells a story that you’ll enjoy if organised crime or Mafia stories are your preference. However I feel some of Badavino’s writing choices held it back from being considered a true classic. Perhaps a few more rounds of editing could have made The Fall of South Bridge the classic mob tale that we’ve been longing for all these years, but at the very least it’s satisfying enough if you really care for the genre. Newcomers may want to consider trying a sample before buying.
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