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The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter
S. Gagliano & Son has been a barber shop fixture in South Philly for decades. Frankie and Michael Gagliano’s Italian immigrant father—Luigi to his customers, Papa to his sons—presides over the store, enlisting his children as soon as they’re big enough to wield a broom. On their mother’s deathbed, eight-year-old Frankie swears that he and his little brother will always take care of each other, a vow he endeavors to keep through their father’s violent outbursts and the string of wives who try to take their mother’s place.
After their father’s death, Frankie takes over the shop, transforming it to fit in with the gentrifying neighborhood. Michael becomes a successful prosecutor with a rising political career, still close to his big brother despite the differences between them. Then comes an unthinkable, impulsive act that will force Michael to choose between risking his comfortable life and keeping a sacred oath—made before he knew how powerful a promise can be.
The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter is a stunning evocation of working-class Italian-American life—a story of brotherhood, loyalty, and the contradictory, unpredictable nature of family love.
“The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter is a heartfelt story of two loving brothers as well as a compelling crime drama all set in the changing city of Philadelphia. Tom Mendicino is a supremely gifted writer with an eye for the most telling of details, and I loved this novel!”
--Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author
"At the heart of this capacious and suspenseful novel is the bond between two very different brothers, but its larger context is the Italian-American family: its values, loyalties and responsibilities. Tom Mendicino writes with honesty and compassion, and the reader can't help but root for his endearing characters."
--Christopher Castellani, author of All This Talk of Love
446 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 25, 2015
37 people are currently reading
382 people want to read
About the author
Tom Mendicino
17 books63 followersTom Mendicino is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina School of Law. His forthcoming novel, The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter (Kensington, September 2015), is about a pair of motherless boys, the sons of an abusive immigrant from Italy, and the choices each makes to protect the other.
His debut novel Probation (Kensington) was named a 2011 American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. He is also the author of the new adult novellas KC, at Bat, Travelin' Man, and Lonesome Town, a trilogy following the relationship between a promising baseball player and a would-be musician.
His debut novel Probation (Kensington) was named a 2011 American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. He is also the author of the new adult novellas KC, at Bat, Travelin' Man, and Lonesome Town, a trilogy following the relationship between a promising baseball player and a would-be musician.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 1, 2016
We all have our criteria for a 5 stars read. My criteria are:
1) I forget that I'm a human and that I HAVE to sleep.
2)I ignore EVERYONE and EVERYTHING while reading my potential 5 stars book.
3)I have tears in my eyes the moment I read the last page, IN SPITE OF HEA. I'm OVERWHELMING.
4)I'm NOT ABLE to pick up IMMEDIATELY my next book. Because I'm emotionally still in the book I've just finished.
5)I don't want to list ANYTHING that could be considered as my DISLIKING. BECAUSE my liking/loving is just too big to pay any attention to this insignificance.
The Boys From Eighth and Carpenter is ONE OF THESE BOOKS.
I love this book sooooooo much....
The Boys From Eighth and Carpenter tells a moving story of two Italian-American brothers, Frankie and Michael, the sons of a barber shop's owner on the Eighth and Carpenter street, Philadelphia, who were always as different as two brothers could be. But it didn't prevent them to be as closed as two brothers could only be. A family saga in its best form.
Tom Mendicino created such an intense and emotional book about brotherhood, friendship, family's ties, courage, loyalty and varied facets of love.
Evocative and verbose, atmospheric, rich in details, with memorable characters and impeccable prose.
***This review has been crossed posted to Gay Book Reviews***
October 24, 2015
Tom Mendicino really has me dialed in. This is one of those American-experience family stories that I just love. It starts out with a very ominous prologue but quickly meanders into a coming-of-age journey where you meet brothers Frankie and Michael growing up with a Italian immigrant father, a true Italian godfather, and a long string of stepmothers.
The author is quite the master of settings and subplots. It features the city of Philadelphia and the suburbs which really become emblematic of the old and the new and how the old becomes new again, the cycle of life. A good chunk of the story takes place in 2008 during that endless primary season when Hillary and Obama were duking it out for the Democratic presidential nomination. This may sound a bit boring, but it makes me sorry that I don't live in a battleground state. And for those of you are keeping score, this book does feature a little bit of baseball.
Back to our brothers Frankie and Michael. Frankie is gay, and that plays prominently in the story line, however it's not about him being gay. Michael is the star athlete and scholar, and as an adult, becomes a crime fighter as a deputy district attorney. While each of their story's are interesting, it's their story together that makes the book. At times, the book borders on being a black comedy and there are some very funny parts. But humor is only one component that builds the bond that brothers share. As you are moving along, watching Frankie's and Michael's lives play out, you almost forget about what happens in the prologue. Never fear, it comes back and things get tense and when you see a grown ass man calling his brother Boo because he is stressed out, you know you have something special.
The author is quite the master of settings and subplots. It features the city of Philadelphia and the suburbs which really become emblematic of the old and the new and how the old becomes new again, the cycle of life. A good chunk of the story takes place in 2008 during that endless primary season when Hillary and Obama were duking it out for the Democratic presidential nomination. This may sound a bit boring, but it makes me sorry that I don't live in a battleground state. And for those of you are keeping score, this book does feature a little bit of baseball.
Back to our brothers Frankie and Michael. Frankie is gay, and that plays prominently in the story line, however it's not about him being gay. Michael is the star athlete and scholar, and as an adult, becomes a crime fighter as a deputy district attorney. While each of their story's are interesting, it's their story together that makes the book. At times, the book borders on being a black comedy and there are some very funny parts. But humor is only one component that builds the bond that brothers share. As you are moving along, watching Frankie's and Michael's lives play out, you almost forget about what happens in the prologue. Never fear, it comes back and things get tense and when you see a grown ass man calling his brother Boo because he is stressed out, you know you have something special.
March 30, 2016
Bond between brothers which surmounts personal desires, morals, dreams, hopes, loved ones against a back drop of multi faceted stereotypical America with it's set ideas about race, class, politics.
I liked the bare bones of the story but I did not jell with the writing. I got a feeling of disparity between certain characters who are depicted in detail like Frankie and Michael against others who were just stereotypes, not people, Mariano, Fr Parisi, Kit being cases in point. Maybe this and the feeling of repetition I got whilst reading, created a certain distance between me and the book and I ended up a little bored. Slightly disappointed as I loved Mendicino's work in Probation and the KC, at Bat trilogy.
Rhiannon - Stevie Nicks - Fleetwood Mac
Read with Irina
August 22, 2015
I'd rate this 2.5 stars.
Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to Kensington for making it available.
Tom Mendicino's The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter ratchets up the tension pretty soon after it starts. One night, after helping his older brother Frankie out of a bit of a bind, Michael Gagliano makes a shocking discovery that has the potential to drastically change the course of both of their lives.
Sounds pretty interesting, right? And obviously, if you're reading the book, you know what the discovery is, although you don't know the context of how it got there. However, Mendicino shifts the course of the book after that, going back in time to when Luigi Gagliano first came to America from Italy with his mother, to meet the father he barely knew. He follows in his father's footsteps and runs a barber shop, waiting until the day his wife would bear him a son, and she does—two, in fact.
Frankie and Michael are both fairly young when their mother dies, but even at age eight, Frankie understands the solemnity of the promise he makes his dying mother: to look after Michael for the rest of their lives. He protects Michael from their father's violent outbursts and from the not-always-motherly behavior of the succession of women Luigi marries after their late mother. As Michael grows up, he realizes that his brother Frankie is different, and needs his protection as much as Michael needed Frankie's when they were younger.
Frankie takes over their father's shop, transforming it to meet the changing South Philly neighborhood where it is located. Michael becomes a successful prosecutor with an eye on a political career. Despite Michael's worries about the way Frankie lives his life, and his disapproval of some of his choices, the brothers remain close, and both continue to protect each other, despite what that could mean to each of them.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It's a good story, and although I didn't feel as if the characters rose much above ethnic and sexual stereotypes in a number of ways, they were still interesting and complex in their own ways. I just wish that Mendicino hadn't delivered such a setup at the beginning of the story and then taken far too long to return to that part of the plot, because while laying out the family history was helpful to understanding the characters, after a while it was the same events and behavioral patterns over and over again.
Having read Mendicino's first novel, Probation , I know he's a talented writer. While this book didn't grip me, his storytelling ability is still evident, and there is a poignancy and a richness to the story that appeals.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to Kensington for making it available.
Tom Mendicino's The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter ratchets up the tension pretty soon after it starts. One night, after helping his older brother Frankie out of a bit of a bind, Michael Gagliano makes a shocking discovery that has the potential to drastically change the course of both of their lives.
Sounds pretty interesting, right? And obviously, if you're reading the book, you know what the discovery is, although you don't know the context of how it got there. However, Mendicino shifts the course of the book after that, going back in time to when Luigi Gagliano first came to America from Italy with his mother, to meet the father he barely knew. He follows in his father's footsteps and runs a barber shop, waiting until the day his wife would bear him a son, and she does—two, in fact.
Frankie and Michael are both fairly young when their mother dies, but even at age eight, Frankie understands the solemnity of the promise he makes his dying mother: to look after Michael for the rest of their lives. He protects Michael from their father's violent outbursts and from the not-always-motherly behavior of the succession of women Luigi marries after their late mother. As Michael grows up, he realizes that his brother Frankie is different, and needs his protection as much as Michael needed Frankie's when they were younger.
Frankie takes over their father's shop, transforming it to meet the changing South Philly neighborhood where it is located. Michael becomes a successful prosecutor with an eye on a political career. Despite Michael's worries about the way Frankie lives his life, and his disapproval of some of his choices, the brothers remain close, and both continue to protect each other, despite what that could mean to each of them.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It's a good story, and although I didn't feel as if the characters rose much above ethnic and sexual stereotypes in a number of ways, they were still interesting and complex in their own ways. I just wish that Mendicino hadn't delivered such a setup at the beginning of the story and then taken far too long to return to that part of the plot, because while laying out the family history was helpful to understanding the characters, after a while it was the same events and behavioral patterns over and over again.
Having read Mendicino's first novel, Probation , I know he's a talented writer. While this book didn't grip me, his storytelling ability is still evident, and there is a poignancy and a richness to the story that appeals.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
November 13, 2015
Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up.
Brotherly love stories are a weakness of mine, and Tom Mendicino did a fairly good job painting the stories of Frankie and Michael's journey through life. The prologue starts in medias res. The rest of the story is split into three parts, with the first two parts spelling out the life of these brothers from boyhood to adulthood, with the third part continuing where the story left off in the beginning.
What I didn't enjoy about The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter was how long it seemed to drag in part 2. While I understand the brothers had lives to live apart from one another, it felt like much of these moments could have been shortened or left out to create a tighter story. I started to actually skim many of Michael's scenes as it seemed to get very political at some point, which is not something that holds my interest very well. However, Frankie's life seemed more emotionally charged than his brotherly counterpart and I found myself hurting for the cards dealt to him.
On a more technical note, I bought my ebook from Kobo and there were very annoying formatting issues. The biggest issue being that there was no distinction made when the POV switches between the brothers, or of time jumps. One paragraph could be from Frankie's POV, and the next paragraph could be Michael's POV three weeks later. There was no double spacing between paragraphs to show this type of jumping around, and it made for some back pedaling to realign myself.
But issues aside, part three did a good job in reeling things back together. There aren't many stories out there that showcases the ties of family forged by the type of love these brothers share. It definitely checked off all the right boxes for what makes a great brotherly love story. That on top of the author's great writing made for a very enjoyable read.
Brotherly love stories are a weakness of mine, and Tom Mendicino did a fairly good job painting the stories of Frankie and Michael's journey through life. The prologue starts in medias res. The rest of the story is split into three parts, with the first two parts spelling out the life of these brothers from boyhood to adulthood, with the third part continuing where the story left off in the beginning.
What I didn't enjoy about The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter was how long it seemed to drag in part 2. While I understand the brothers had lives to live apart from one another, it felt like much of these moments could have been shortened or left out to create a tighter story. I started to actually skim many of Michael's scenes as it seemed to get very political at some point, which is not something that holds my interest very well. However, Frankie's life seemed more emotionally charged than his brotherly counterpart and I found myself hurting for the cards dealt to him.
On a more technical note, I bought my ebook from Kobo and there were very annoying formatting issues. The biggest issue being that there was no distinction made when the POV switches between the brothers, or of time jumps. One paragraph could be from Frankie's POV, and the next paragraph could be Michael's POV three weeks later. There was no double spacing between paragraphs to show this type of jumping around, and it made for some back pedaling to realign myself.
But issues aside, part three did a good job in reeling things back together. There aren't many stories out there that showcases the ties of family forged by the type of love these brothers share. It definitely checked off all the right boxes for what makes a great brotherly love story. That on top of the author's great writing made for a very enjoyable read.
October 12, 2015
Do authors still write classic contemporary fiction? Tom Mendicino does. His setting, Philadelphia, is realistically portrayed, as is the relationship between two Italian-American brothers, one gay, the other straight, and how their family ties become strained when ... no spoiler, a very bad thing happens.
With careful shifts between eras, their lives together, and their abusive father, provide a slow-building tension that's set off in the first chapter. Compelling yet not overwrought, this novel has a touch of a thriller while keeping an even keel to the pacing.
Also, unlike his sardonic story of a man's failure in 'Probation,' the author conveys a sense of compassion as the two brothers deal with their problems together.
With careful shifts between eras, their lives together, and their abusive father, provide a slow-building tension that's set off in the first chapter. Compelling yet not overwrought, this novel has a touch of a thriller while keeping an even keel to the pacing.
Also, unlike his sardonic story of a man's failure in 'Probation,' the author conveys a sense of compassion as the two brothers deal with their problems together.
April 10, 2017
Very well written book! I don't know why Mendicino isn't more well known. People would love his work!
I will be on the lookout for more of his books in the future.
I will be on the lookout for more of his books in the future.
November 22, 2015
Terrific novel by my friend, Tom Mendicino. It's gripping, insightful, moving, suspenseful, tragic and funny.
Dead on depiction of the wide and yet small world of Philly & the burbs from the 1960s to current day; from the "old neighborhood" in South Philly to the rarified world of the federal court judge. Love the characters (whose names and attributes seem so familiar--hmm). As an outsider (c'mon, Tom, we know you grew up in Pittsburgh!), Tom has the ability to replicate the Philly accent that we natives deny we have: e.g. the South Philly people shouting out to "Hill Ree!" during the 2008 presidential campaign. The 2008 Phillies World Series parade scene made me laugh and cry in recognition.
So happy to see his talents on display in a novel. (His legal briefs from our days in BigLaw were damn good, too, but who wants to read more of those?)
Kudos, Tom. Can't wait to read more from him.
Dead on depiction of the wide and yet small world of Philly & the burbs from the 1960s to current day; from the "old neighborhood" in South Philly to the rarified world of the federal court judge. Love the characters (whose names and attributes seem so familiar--hmm). As an outsider (c'mon, Tom, we know you grew up in Pittsburgh!), Tom has the ability to replicate the Philly accent that we natives deny we have: e.g. the South Philly people shouting out to "Hill Ree!" during the 2008 presidential campaign. The 2008 Phillies World Series parade scene made me laugh and cry in recognition.
So happy to see his talents on display in a novel. (His legal briefs from our days in BigLaw were damn good, too, but who wants to read more of those?)
Kudos, Tom. Can't wait to read more from him.
April 1, 2016
This was a great read - well written, engaging, and moving. Suspense filled story of family loyalty snd love. One oddity is a strange obsession with penis size, even for a gay novel. But that is minor, because this is an engaging novel.
not-going-to-finish
September 14, 2016Bored at around 28% complete. DNF. Just a story of mostly typical uninteresting characters. Nothing sparked feelings in one way or another about either brother. Loved the other book by this author - Probation.
April 24, 2020
I was caught up in this story from the very beginning. Once the horrific act took place, the plot went back to two brothers growing up in an Italian neighborhood in Philly. I felt like I was home, everything from the Southern Italian dialect expressions to the behavior of the characters was spot on. The loyalty Frankie & Michael had for each other went far beyond the vow they made to watch over each other. The boys may have gone different paths as they grew, but you knew the vow was never forgotten.
My only issue, a minor one, was at several points mid-book I thought the story was badly edited. It seemed to me that several paragraphs weren't separated. I caught myself having to read over a page carefully to see if I'd missed something as the narration switched from one person to another. But this was minor!
Michael's actions in helping Frankie out after the act was committed were set out dramatically and got my pulse going. To the last page I thought maybe things might turn out otherwise.
I read this book during the Coronavirus lockdown, it wasn't something I'd even had on my "To Read" shelf. But I am very glad I took a chance on it.
My only issue, a minor one, was at several points mid-book I thought the story was badly edited. It seemed to me that several paragraphs weren't separated. I caught myself having to read over a page carefully to see if I'd missed something as the narration switched from one person to another. But this was minor!
Michael's actions in helping Frankie out after the act was committed were set out dramatically and got my pulse going. To the last page I thought maybe things might turn out otherwise.
I read this book during the Coronavirus lockdown, it wasn't something I'd even had on my "To Read" shelf. But I am very glad I took a chance on it.
November 25, 2017
An interesting tale of two brothers who grew up in a tight-knit South Philadelphia Italian neighborhood, but took very different paths in life. Michael becomes a lawyer, and chooses family life in the suburbs. Frankie takes over his father's barber shop, transforming it into a high-end salon, and leads a gay lifestyle. The brothers promised their dying mother to always take care of each other, but a crime committed in the heat of passion threatens to destroy both of their lives and careers. This novel deftly navigates the tension of the brothers' relationship and the various ties that bind them.
July 24, 2017
Really good story. A little too much swearing for my liking.
November 5, 2017
This is a story of brothers through the years and what they experience.
December 14, 2017
I had a brother
True to life about some brothers. There are lots of morality issues and their resolution can be difficult to resolve or explain.
True to life about some brothers. There are lots of morality issues and their resolution can be difficult to resolve or explain.
November 5, 2023
Not what I expected. Took till at 2/3 of the book to get moving.
December 29, 2015
This was a selection for my book club, and it was an easy yet long read because it was overwritten in many sections - the author knows how to craft and set a good tale but would benefit greatly from the input of a good editor. I had issues with the brothers being so into doing the right thing for those around them yet willing to throw all values aside to get away with, literally, murder. The strength that Tom brought to illustrating many sideline characters was sorely lacking in fleshing out Mariano, one of the key players in the book, beyond a stereotype of a fey Latino. And while there were plenty of good examples to illustrate the bigotry of the environment, I felt the author crossed the line in describing an Asian character as "buck-toothed". A gratuitous shot or merely sloppy and lazy characterization, I'll let the reader decide. Overall I give it 2.5 stars...
July 16, 2018
This book reminded me of a conversation my dad and his brother had as young adults after the Ted and David Kaczynski (The Unabomber and his brother, respectively) incident: I cannot explain the full details without spoiling the book, but read it and try to figure out why!
Excellent story overall, but the only reason I dinged one star was because of the excessive profanity (at least one f-bomb on every other page) and borderline-graphic, unnecessary sexual descriptions. I know well that this is an adult book with a majority male "cast", but at some point the narrator and characters (particularly kid brother Michael) stopped sounding like adults and started sounding more like twelve-year-old boys. On that note, there seemed to be an obsession with dong size. Please, I don't need a description of how long/wide/thick every male character's ding-a-ling is!
Excellent story overall, but the only reason I dinged one star was because of the excessive profanity (at least one f-bomb on every other page) and borderline-graphic, unnecessary sexual descriptions. I know well that this is an adult book with a majority male "cast", but at some point the narrator and characters (particularly kid brother Michael) stopped sounding like adults and started sounding more like twelve-year-old boys. On that note, there seemed to be an obsession with dong size. Please, I don't need a description of how long/wide/thick every male character's ding-a-ling is!
April 3, 2016
This is is difficult for me to review. I love Mendicino's writing, but I couldn't quite connect with this book. I certainly admired the unshakable bond between two brothers here, and from this point of view it was a great story. But I couldn't justify Michael's hypocrisy or Frankie's sudden burst of violence. It had left an unpleasant taste even though I couldn't help but be glad that their brotherly love withstood every storm on the way. I didn't expect them to be perfect. I might even do the same for the person I love most, but the thought of a young foreign boy being the victim of it all is very upsetting to me.
August 31, 2015
Two brothers Frankie and Michael Gagliano were born to Italian immigrant parents who owned a barber shop in South Philly. When their mother died the brothers made a pact to always take care of each other. When their father died Frankie took over the barber shop and Michael went on to become a successful prosecutor with a promising political career. Will Michael keep his vow of loyalty to his brother at the risk of losing his cushy lifestyle? THANK YOU GOODREADS FIRSTREADS FOR THIS FREE BOOK !!!
January 9, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written, well-paced and well-plotted story of two brothers, Italian-Americans Frankie and Michael, and their life in Philadelphia from their childhood into middle-age. It’s a wonderful and insightful tale of brotherly love and loyalty, family and its demands, and the choices that those things often ask us to make. Atmospheric and evocative, particularly in the childhood chapters, I found the book moving and engaging and very real. Mendicino knows how to tell a story and has an unerring eye for the telling detail. I look forward to reading more of his work.
March 1, 2016
Greatly enjoyed reading this. Overwritten at times and I'm not a big fan of starting with a bang then going back in time for the rest.
That said this really helped ground some of the conversations about gentrification in lived experience.
I thought the crime frame was ultimately unnecessary (and lack of character development of Mariano roiled).
Super impressed this was not written by a native Philadelphian.
That said this really helped ground some of the conversations about gentrification in lived experience.
I thought the crime frame was ultimately unnecessary (and lack of character development of Mariano roiled).
Super impressed this was not written by a native Philadelphian.
November 4, 2015
I thought this book would be about brothers, not the sordid details of one of the brother's sex lives that is written out every three paged. It started out interesting and then it just became garbage. I quit reading it about 80 pages in because it became about the one brother and his sex life.
November 23, 2015
Read this on the plane returning from terror alert-filled Brussels, so I may not have been the most receptive reader. A tale of two brothers growing up in Philadelphia, it didn't move me. But, a lot of great descriptions and details of the small Italian world of the seventies .
November 15, 2015
FTC Disclosure: I received this free from Goodreads hoping I would review it.
August 23, 2015
*I received this ARC from NetGalley & Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review*
November 24, 2015
I wish goodreads allowed half stars in their rating system. This deserves an extra half star in my opinion.
May 26, 2019
Excellent writing and a very engaging story. I look forward to reading more by Tom Mendicino. (Extra points for invoking that cherished descriptor for i Calabresi -- "testa dura.")
April 6, 2017
Philly was as much a character in this book as the people and I enjoyed that immensely. however, the distance between the set-up of the event and it's resolution was too great, and it was too bogged down in unnecessary detail. writing was excellent, but I didn't always connect with these two do-Goodyear brothers and the way they ultimately tested their promise to their mother vs their morals.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews