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The Hester Street Kids
"The feisty daughter of a Little Italy pharmacist learns of her father's secret prominence in the New York Mob. Her discovery unravels lies and treachery that stir her very existence and risk her search for love." Author Armando Minutoli's first work of fiction provides a backstory of the power of Sicilian Mob in 1950's New The Hester Street Kids (460 pp., tpb, $26.95 hard cover, $17.95 Softcover along with a $8.99 US for an EBook), a saga, one that talks to the plight of Italian American immigrants striving for a living in the new world under the thumbs of the mafia. Armando is the author of a non-fiction book about the Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a small Bosnian village, "Medjugorje, A Pilgrims Journey." with the forward by and collaboration with Author John Westermann, "Exit Wounds." The Second Edition was released in 2010. Also, the book is in the process of its Spanish language translation due for completion in late 2014. The Hester Street Kid's although written with an underlying message of moral choices, evokes a range of emotions through first hand encounters of Mobster gang life in the 50s, lust for territory and control, serial plotting and murder, the family code and secrets, sinful lust and love. Its richly portrayed environment and settings reveals a historic glimpse into the postwar time of the economic growth of the 50's. The author gives realistic encounters modeled after his own personal experiences as a youth growing up in New York in the intense 1950's economic upsurge.
452 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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March 10, 2015The Hester Street Kids, is a story of emigrant life under the new York Sicilian Mob. A Mafia-Drama-Thriller-Saga with a female protagonist as the lead character rich with a historic glimpse of the 1950's. A time of economic growth. A real page turner, entertaining and engaging. A compelling character-driven story mysterious and sensual. It weaves lies with love, treachery with truth, and explores the ultimate meaning of moral fortitude, honesty, passion, and loyalty.
The story incorporates contemporary pleasures: a love story, spice, family secrets, and crime investigation. But its underlying message is one of moral choices.
This work does not glorify the mob like so many others have done. It is a saga that talks to the plight of Italian American immigrants striving for a living in the new world under the thumbs of the mafia.
Katherine Burdino, The feisty daughter of a Little Italy pharmacist learns of ominous family secrets… As a first generation college-educated woman of Italian descent,
Katherine was considered a rarity by those of her time. Society at large and her own Italian-American community held her up with great esteem, but Katherine’s idyllic and fruitful life was on the brink of cascading beneath her…
The story incorporates contemporary pleasures: a love story, spice, family secrets, and crime investigation. But its underlying message is one of moral choices.
This work does not glorify the mob like so many others have done. It is a saga that talks to the plight of Italian American immigrants striving for a living in the new world under the thumbs of the mafia.
Katherine Burdino, The feisty daughter of a Little Italy pharmacist learns of ominous family secrets… As a first generation college-educated woman of Italian descent,
Katherine was considered a rarity by those of her time. Society at large and her own Italian-American community held her up with great esteem, but Katherine’s idyllic and fruitful life was on the brink of cascading beneath her…
October 29, 2015
Little Italy, New York, in the early 20th century, was not a place anyone would choose to live. Immigrants to the States from their homeland came by the droves, expecting a better life. Instead what they got was hell. Racism kept them from bettering themselves, therefore poverty was pervasive throughout the tenements and streets.
Helpless and frustrated, they took out their emotions on each other and on their children. The kids, in turn, found each other and became the family that they lacked. And what happened for one of them happened for all.
It's easy to see how the group of friends who called themselves the Hester Street Kids found solace in each other, and eventually how they found acceptance into an entity bigger than themselves--the Italian Mafia.
But this book is more, much more, than just the story of these young people. It also tells the tale of what happens to their offspring.
Katie, the daughter of a Mafia boss, grows up in a much more loving, stable home than her parents did. She has also been oblivious to the way her father really makes his money. He masquerades as a pharmacist, but what he does in reality is horrendous. Because she is shielded and sheltered from his reality, she never asks the deeper questions. However, a couple of things happen to rock her world and make her see it in a new light.
A confession by a relative that reveals all, and the entrance into her life by a man (Kevin) from a world vastly different from hers, causes the scales to fall from her eyes. What she learns, and what she experiences with Kevin, changes her life forever.
This is an astounding work. The story line grabs one's attention immediately, and does not let go until far beyond the last page. Mr. Minutoli has done a splendid job of bringing life to each of his characters. He also has a talent for bringing balance to the story line, which is not easy to do with so many characters and vignettes.
I'm totally floored by how pervasive the Mob can be--for surely the author had done his homework and knows of what he writes. There is no reason to doubt that, although this book is fiction, the dealings of early 20th-century crime bosses depicted in these pages reflect a cruel reality.
There is no final, settled ending to this book, although many of the characters gain a happiness unknown before in their lives. And why? Because crime is always out there--waiting.
Waiting to take in yet another gullible, love-starved individual and comfort him or her with material delights. And there's always someone out there.
Helpless and frustrated, they took out their emotions on each other and on their children. The kids, in turn, found each other and became the family that they lacked. And what happened for one of them happened for all.
It's easy to see how the group of friends who called themselves the Hester Street Kids found solace in each other, and eventually how they found acceptance into an entity bigger than themselves--the Italian Mafia.
But this book is more, much more, than just the story of these young people. It also tells the tale of what happens to their offspring.
Katie, the daughter of a Mafia boss, grows up in a much more loving, stable home than her parents did. She has also been oblivious to the way her father really makes his money. He masquerades as a pharmacist, but what he does in reality is horrendous. Because she is shielded and sheltered from his reality, she never asks the deeper questions. However, a couple of things happen to rock her world and make her see it in a new light.
A confession by a relative that reveals all, and the entrance into her life by a man (Kevin) from a world vastly different from hers, causes the scales to fall from her eyes. What she learns, and what she experiences with Kevin, changes her life forever.
This is an astounding work. The story line grabs one's attention immediately, and does not let go until far beyond the last page. Mr. Minutoli has done a splendid job of bringing life to each of his characters. He also has a talent for bringing balance to the story line, which is not easy to do with so many characters and vignettes.
I'm totally floored by how pervasive the Mob can be--for surely the author had done his homework and knows of what he writes. There is no reason to doubt that, although this book is fiction, the dealings of early 20th-century crime bosses depicted in these pages reflect a cruel reality.
There is no final, settled ending to this book, although many of the characters gain a happiness unknown before in their lives. And why? Because crime is always out there--waiting.
Waiting to take in yet another gullible, love-starved individual and comfort him or her with material delights. And there's always someone out there.
June 23, 2015
Free book for honest review. juliesbokreview.blogspot.com
Katie (Katherine Burdino) is an Italian-American nurse in New York’s Little Italy . She meets Kevin Mandrell, a CIA agent and accomplished concert pianist with the Zurich Philharmonic, by chance, when Kevin finds himself wandering through the wrong neighborhood on the way to meet a CIA contact. Kevin is saved by a young boy, Billy, who has lost his parents. Billy takes Kevin to Katie’s home for safety. Katie and Kevin develop an instant attraction.
Katie and Kevin fall in love, but their romance is complicated by the mafia ties in Katie’s family. While growing up, Katie never knew that her father, an upstanding pharmacist, was behind so much illegal activity. However, after being taken into confidence by a concerned aunt, who grew up with her father, Katie comes to realize the unsettling depths of her father’s underworld connections, which began with his childhood on Hester Street (hence, the novels’s title -- The Hester Street Kids).
The Hester Street Kids is an enjoyable read about Italian American life in urban America in the 1950s. The author delves into the main characters’ culture and religion and how it has affected their everyday life. Some of the characters are enjoyable, others disgusting, some pitiable. The interactions among these various individuals makes for a great story filled with intrigue and suspense.
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in a fiction novel with historically accurate descriptions of the culture of Italian Americans in the United States in the mid-20th century.
Siobhan
Five stars
Katie (Katherine Burdino) is an Italian-American nurse in New York’s Little Italy . She meets Kevin Mandrell, a CIA agent and accomplished concert pianist with the Zurich Philharmonic, by chance, when Kevin finds himself wandering through the wrong neighborhood on the way to meet a CIA contact. Kevin is saved by a young boy, Billy, who has lost his parents. Billy takes Kevin to Katie’s home for safety. Katie and Kevin develop an instant attraction.
Katie and Kevin fall in love, but their romance is complicated by the mafia ties in Katie’s family. While growing up, Katie never knew that her father, an upstanding pharmacist, was behind so much illegal activity. However, after being taken into confidence by a concerned aunt, who grew up with her father, Katie comes to realize the unsettling depths of her father’s underworld connections, which began with his childhood on Hester Street (hence, the novels’s title -- The Hester Street Kids).
The Hester Street Kids is an enjoyable read about Italian American life in urban America in the 1950s. The author delves into the main characters’ culture and religion and how it has affected their everyday life. Some of the characters are enjoyable, others disgusting, some pitiable. The interactions among these various individuals makes for a great story filled with intrigue and suspense.
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in a fiction novel with historically accurate descriptions of the culture of Italian Americans in the United States in the mid-20th century.
Siobhan
Five stars
June 2, 2016
Absolutely Marvelous
The Hester Street Kids is an amazing story of the connection of this group of people, from kids to adults, who would do anything for each other. This story allowed the reader to enter the Italian culture, and even into the mob. It shows what can happen when ideals and expectations are different from reality. It's a book that you can't put down until the end. I am so glad that I've read it, and it won't be the last book I read by Minutoli.
The Hester Street Kids is an amazing story of the connection of this group of people, from kids to adults, who would do anything for each other. This story allowed the reader to enter the Italian culture, and even into the mob. It shows what can happen when ideals and expectations are different from reality. It's a book that you can't put down until the end. I am so glad that I've read it, and it won't be the last book I read by Minutoli.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews