Atta Boy

by Cally Fiedorek

In December 2018, we meet Rudy Coyle, a bar owner’s son from Flushing, Queens, in the throes of a major quarter-life crisis. Cut out of the family business, he gets a Hail Mary job as a night doorman in a storied Park Avenue apartment building, where he comes under the wing of the family in 4E, the Cohens.



Jacob “Jake” Cohen, the fast-talking patriarch, is one of a generation of financiers who made hundreds of millions of dollars in the cutthroat taxi medallion industry in the early 2000s, largely by preying on the hopes and dreams of impoverished immigrant drivers. As Jake tries to stop the bleed from the debt crisis now plaguing his company, clawing back his assets from an increasingly dangerous coterie of Russian American associates, Rudy gets promoted from doorman to errand boy to bodyguard to something like Jake’s right-hand man.



By turns a gripping portrait of corruption and a tender family dramedy, Atta Boy combines the urban cool of Richard Price with the glossy, uptown charm of Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Here is a novel richly attuned to its time and place, but with something for everyone—high-wire prose and a story wedding ripped from the headlines, social realism with the warmth, angst, and humor of its indelible voices.

 

Genres: Fiction, Crime

254 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

annoyed that i didn’t write it 😂

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Atta Boy reads like an old-school New York cop procedural show, full of eccentric bad guys and odd-ball heroes they want you to root for—Set in 2018, the novel alternates between characters, boroughs, and social classes. Rudy is hard up at 26. Recently dumped, fired from his bartender job by his own father, and facing an unjust eviction, he accepts a job as a temp doorman at a fancy Park Avenue Co-Op occupied by The Cohen family. Jake Cohen earned his millions via a possibly corrupt taxi mediation company that’s recently been under fire after a slew of their driver’s deaths. His daughter Marley, a precious 13-year-old, is finally opening her eyes to the darker truths of her monied world (and, possibly in love with her cousin Benny).
 
This novel reminded me of City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg as these very different, very New York-y characters are brought together during a holiday (Christmas here) by a crime they’re all connected to. Though Atta Boy is a much less ambitious novel (and over 600 pages shorter) – it’s an easier read, but its payoff is diminished accordingly. Its main characters were a little too on the nose (outer-borough boy with a chip on his shoulder, rich girl craving justice and a taste of ‘real life’), and while they had their lovable moments, I found it had to connect with them enough to root for anyone (& maybe we’re not meant to be rooting for them).
 
 What I did love about this novel was its love for New York City, which bled onto every page. Even as it openly disparaged the difficulties of life here, you can tell it would never really consider a life elsewhere.

[Thomas Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rudy is an aspiring actor who is running the family Irish bar in New York City that has been in the family for eighty years. Rudy is destined to take the family business over but after a tiff with his father, Rudy finds his self without a job. With a little help from extended family, he gets a job as a doorman at an exclusive complex. Here he meets one of the residents by the name of Jacob Cohen who shares Christmas Eve dinner with Rudy and so a relationship begins. When Rudy adds to his problems by getting kicked out of his apartment, he has no choice but to reach out to Mr. Cohen. Mr. Jacob Cohen is a man of wealth who has made his money by heading up a publicly traded company who lends money to taxicab drivers to purchase medallions to operator their taxis legally. They have been told that this is more secure than the stock market and this is your path to the American dream. But this does not seem to be the case as there have been a rash of taxicab driver suicides when they are defaulting on their loans. Rudy becomes like a right-hand man for Jacob and his family and each member of the family benefits in their own way with this relationship. But as time moves on and Mr. Cohen has political aspirations Rudy finds out that Jacob has many other secrets and Jacob may not be all he claims to be and this may hit close to home for Rudy.

[Valerie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

ATTA BOY is one of those rare novels that balances sharp wit with genuine emotional depth. Cally Fiedorek has a gift for capturing the inner contradictions of her characters — their vulnerabilities, blind spots, and moments of grace — in a way that feels both incisive and deeply human.

What I loved most is how the book manages to be funny and satirical while still taking its characters seriously. The writing sparkles with observation and intelligence, but it’s never cynical — it’s a story that stays with you long after the last page.

A smart, engaging, and truly memorable debut. Highly recommend.

[Emilce Cacace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend it as the ultimate summer companion; this book is an absolute must-read you won't want to overlook.
Cally Fiedorek's ATTA BOY is an endearing, contemporary fable of morality where both the protagonists and antagonists are portrayed with a compassionate and believable depth. Atta Boy is a charmingly upbeat tale. In Ms. Fiedorek's adept writing, these stereotypes become relatable, sympathetic characters with genuine emotions and aspirations, people we'd genuinely want to know.
Don't miss it!

[Laura Hamlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the voice in this book! I could smell and taste the NYC world while reading—that’s how strongly developed it was. The flawed, compelling characters pulled me in and kept me interested. The social commentary scattered throughout felt organic to the story. I truly loved the subtle and perfect ending.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fantastic find. Razor sharp writing that had me laughing out loud. A classic New York story from a fresh new voice that brings the hustle and the heartbreak to vivid life. Looking very forward to much more from Cally Fiedorek in the years ahead - a writer who I suspect has many more stories to tell.

[Sophie Brickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's exceedingly hard to make a reader laugh out loud, but Fiedorek made me do this MULTIPLE times in a book that I read in one sitting. Her capturing of a two very different intersecting worlds speaks to her talent and versatility. Gritty, real, sharp.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Funny and clever and fast-paced. But there's a burning question from the last page (I'll browse around, I can't be the only one). Who is Tara?? Or is that just a cute way to tell us he's excited about someone new? Or was I meant to remember a Tara?

[Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for an old school New York novel, and you love The Sopranos, this is simply the book for you.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good old fashioned dip roaring New York yarn

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. 2.5 stars rounded up.

[Maria Beardsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good NYC book.

[T. O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, gripping book - can’t recommend more! It captures New York and its characters in an intimate and vivid manner.