Roscoe

If you have already gotten hooked on Kennedy's world of Irish/Italian/Jewish organized crime/politics in the Prohibition era of Albany, you will enjoy this. However if you have not read Kennedy before, I would recommend that you read them in the order of publication, though there is no continuity of characters running through them.If you think violent drug crime is a new problem in our country, you are in for a big surprise. Kennedy's characters of 80 some years ago make todays drive by shootings look like kid stuff.

Kennedy at the peak of his form. Tantalizing characters woven in an unpredictable web of relentlessly human behavior defining the undercurrent of political subterfuge in early 20th Century Albany. My favorite of a very strong and imaginative body of work. What a story teller.

I have always greatly admired this gentleman.

enjoyable reading

The story didn't hold my interest.

Within the last six months, I've read the three books in the Albany trilogy by William Kennedy ... and liked them less and less. I guess I don't see the humor in a bunch of crooks who are cheating people, beating up people, running bookmaking and other rackets, and hitting on every woman they see. And I find it hard to believe that there were in the 1920s and1930s so many woman eager and willing to go to bed with men who weren't there husbands. (I found the same thing hard to believe in "Billy Phelan," though it came across as more believable in "Ironweed" because it was more muted, and the women seemed to have reasonable libidos.)I didn't live in Albany during that time, and yes, I know it was a "wide open town," but still. The things that the characters do are way beyond believable, in total. Not individually, but in total.So while the book is supposed to be a black comedy, I think, it hits me more like, "Who is this guy kidding? Is this like every weak-chinned authors' wet dream of how tough he could be? Is it like Hemingway, but set in Albany instead of Spain? And with the sex more explicit?"For people who are interested in politics, this book will probably be rather entertaining. It takes a look at the underbelly of how things got done, and in that sense, I think has more than a little accuracy. Elections were (and probably still are) stolen, and people were paid to vote or intimidated not to vote. And there is a symbiotic relationship between cops, whores and politicians, and they probably do operate closer to each other than is commonly assumed. I mean, if a honest politician and police chief really wanted to stop prostitution in a city, it could be done. But, as this book shows, there are a lot of forces that support keeping prostitution alive, and so cops have to look the other way to some extent.The plot of this book has too many pieces and too many characters to summarize easily. The focal point is a non-practicing lawyer and political fixer named Roscoe, and he's at the pinnacle of his success as WWII is ending. He's got power and wealth, and his Democrats remain in control of Albany. His best friend Patsy is the ruthless, violent political boss of town, and his other best friend, Elisha, is the untainted and extraordinarily wealthy former state lieutenant governor. All should be well. But Roscoe is tired of fighting, tired of whoring, tired of bribing, and so on. The book chronicles about a week in his life when people kill themselves and are murdered; reveal hidden paternity; get beat up (or do the beating); preen for the press; return from the war to a hero's welcome; settle old scores; and rekindle old romances. Roscoe stumbles through this week with what turns out to be a near-fatal heart condition. He's hospitalized twice, in between drinks, Hershey bars and sandwiches that would kill a horse.And when the week is up, he's saved the estate of the woman he has loved for 30 years, seen the death of a friend and a brother, watched the ascendance of a new political force in town, and has affirmed his desire to set out on his own for a new future. (And it should be noted that the primary action is about a week, but it takes a few months for things to ultimately settle down. And, lengthening the book's perspective, a lot of it is told as Roscoe's memories of how he and his friends seized power and held it for the last 25 years.)I won't give away the twists. But one twist that I really like comes at the end, where Roscoe is scolded by someone he has helped and who he respects, and it's the one time that Roscoe gets a glimpse of how others see him. Throughout the book, he's been this knight in shining armor, who has averted one crisis after another -- the ultimate fixer, who never loses (in the courtroom, whorehouse, bar, newspaper office or anywhere else). And yet, other people might not actually see him that way. Maybe he's just a guy who hangs out with low-lifes and losers, and his time is up. And maybe Roscoe is smart enough to realize that, and rich enough to be able to leave that life behind.

Mysterious Book Report No. 49RoscoeJohn Dwaine McKennaI don’t know about you, but from my point of view, it seems like these days are dominated politics. We’re being force-fed a steady diet of it, like geese being prepared for goose-liver pate’ in a gourmet restaurant, at least until the fall slaughter, er, ah, I meant to say election, when it will all be over after a lot of squawking, feathers and hatchet jobs. With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to do something different in this weeks MBR, and review a non-mystery. And yep, you guessed it . . . it’s about politics. You didn’t think I gave you that lead-in for nothing, did you?The novel is titled Roscoe, (Viking, 2002, $24.95, 291 pages, ISBN 0-670-03029-5) by William Kennedy, who lives and writes inAlbany,New York.Roscoe is the seventh novel in what is called the Albany Cycle by Kennedy, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Ironweed, the third work in the group. It was made into an award-winning movie starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, and responsible for making homelessness into a front-burner issue with the American public.Roscoe Conway is a kingmaker, the so called, “man-behind-the-throne,” who makes and implements policy, as well as strategizing for the king. Roscoe is the brain-trust for the political machine that controls the Democrat party in Albany during the 1920’s and30’s . . . thus controlling the office of the Governor, and all the political appointments for New York State.As the book begins, it’s VJ day, WWII has ended and Roscoe has decided to quit politics forever, because he recognizes that the game is changing, and he no longer has the heart, or the stomach for it. When word leaks out about his decision however, threats of retaliation against him and his family begin. And Roscoe, a man without scruples finds himself ensnared; he’s a victim of his own deviousness and the man who points out that “The truth is in the details, even if you invent the details,” is faced with the realization that his problems in the present, all tie-in with his deeds of the past, as he recounts them one-by-one. Roscoe is on my list of the year’s Best Books for 2008, and I find it no less compelling when revisiting it today. Truth be told, I highly recommend these four books of the Albany Cycle: Leg’s, Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game, Ironweed, and Roscoe to everyone with an interest in history,New York State and great writing. You’ll love the details, whether made up or real.