Boyos

by Richard Marinick

Richard Marinick grew up running with the Southie gangs during the Whitey Bulger era, and learned to write during a ten-year prison stretch. He writes what he knows, and his shattering, utterly authentic first novel, Boyos, is the result.

Genres: Fiction, Crime

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Richard Marinick held many jobs -- short order cook, junior civil engineer, automobile painter, nightclube bouncer and admin assistant to a District Attorney and even as a State Police trooper -- before deciding that he had enough of the "slow-lane, no-money life of a citizen." He was on a roll for years, "reveling in money, using way too much cocaine." But in 1986, at age 35 he was convicted of an armored-car robbery and sentenced to eighteen-to-twenty years in state prison. While incarcinerated, he earned his master's degree in liberal arts from Boston University. After prison, Marinick wrote Boyos during breaks on his job as tunnel worker on Boston's Big Dig. He's now working on his second novel, a private eye mystery.

Marinick lives in South Boston, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Southie" Boston crime story has been told plenty of times, by big time authors like Dennis Lehane and George V. Higgins, and big time directors like Martin Scorcese, not to mention lesser films like The Town (based on Chuck Hogan's Prince of Thieves). I was skeptical that this book would give me anything new on that world -- but it had been sitting on my bookshelf for almost ten years, so I figured I should finally either give it a shot or get rid of it. I'm glad I did, because it's a very keen and colorful example of the genre, likely to appeal to any fan of big-city crime fiction.

Set in what appears to be the mid-1990s, the story revolves around "Wacko" Curran, the elder of two brothers who wholesale coke on behalf of local mob boss Marty Fallon. Wacko has his eyes on replacing Fallon in order to take a big step up the food chain, but to do this, he's going to need a war chest to pay off the right people when the time comes. Fortunately he's picked out a nice armored car to rob. Unfortunately, the police are clamping down on gang activity, and the Italians are causing trouble.

What makes all this familiar territory fresh is the writing -- which comes from a guy from South Boston who went to prison for a decade for armed robbery. This keeps the story from being soupy and sentimental, or faux tough. The dialogue is real and the rhythms of daily life as a "boyo" are well-captured. One thing that's striking -- and true to life, from what I understand -- is how little money these guys actually make dealing drugs. For a crime novel grounded in reality, and not romance or pulp conventions, look no further.

[Marley · Rating 1 out of 5]

good god this book was terrible. I heard an interview w/ the author on npr... npr led me astray. This book explains why writers have editors. Because no one cares if a character drink coke or pepsi. They didn't even spell capice right. lame.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It seemed more authentic than "Mystic River" and even more true-to-life than one of my favorite movies, "The Departed". Petty and not so petty crime in Southie--gotta love it!

[Patrick O'Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough guys in Southie with funny names do stupid shit.

[Kin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malavitosi deleteri per se stessi, per i complici e per gli altri.Intrighi, doppio gioco, infamità e violenza nei quartieri popolari di una metropoli.Tema già ampiamente sfruttato.

[Dennis P Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

7.

[Mark]

I suspect that most fans of detective/crime novels would agree that one of the masterpieces of the genre is George V. Higgins The Friends of Eddie Coyle. It's Higgins' first novel, and he advanced the plot almost entirely through dialogue, for which he had a keen ear. Combined with Mr. Higgins' gift for pacing and his gifted style, the Bostonian felons and morally dubious FBI agents and policemen who inhabit this book make it one my own ten best crime novels ever.

Richard Marinick, a man who could well of been one of Eddie Coyle's friends in real life (he spent time in prison for robbing an armored car, which culminated, Mr. Marinick says, in a messy chase in Western Massachusetts), is clearly an epigone of George Higgins. Mr. Marinick is also a master of dialogue, and his characters sound a lot like the New Englanders (e.g. saying "going down New York" instead of "down to New York") with whom I have passed many happy hours of my life.

Boyos is Richard Marinick's first novel, and it is a doozy. A couple of the reviews on this page aver that this is a book that would benefit greatly from a judicious editing. That is indeed true; the first half of the book, while full of lively underworld argot that is certainly entertaining, becomes occasionally tedious. This novel lacks what distinguished The Friends of Eddie Coyle: economy. I would argue that one-quarter to one-third of this book could have been blue-penciled away. That would have resulted in a more focused book and probably made the characters even more vivid. In any case, better editing would have pushed this book, for me at least, into five-star territory.

Hey big publishers: how about giving this man a three-book deal, and then assigning him an editor who can help him tame and channel his obvious gifts as a writer?

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you live in South Boston, have lived in South Boston, have ever been to South Boston, or thought about going to South Boston you need to read this book. It is Murph and Sully galore! Marinick lived the life of a Southie gangster, went to the big house for it and went on to write a book about it. I would guess that the boss in the book is based on Whitey Bulger and that the crime is pretty true to form. You read this book and you know these people if you have ever spent time in Southie because you have bumped their shoulder walking down the street and thought you were dead by the way their tilted hat and baggie attire turned to threaten you with a look.

[JoeyShaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack "wacko" curran and his brother are drug dealers in south boston. Jack is sick of paying the "fallon tax" to the crime boss marty fallon. so he decides to pull a couple of big scores without telling him. In the end word gets back to marty fallon.
My favorite line is when he tells his little brother "its about time you show people that you have your own shirt" after racking up some extra cash from a customer. it shows that wacko is not selfish and wants his brother to become his own man.
I really liked the book it keeps pulling the reader in. i enjoyed reading about life in southie i can really tell that the author knows what he is talking about.

[david · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical South Boston/Gangster stuff.

Apparently the author was a Statie who ended up in jail.

Anyways, recommended by my mother-in-law, and she loved it because it talked about all of the streets in South Boston, where she grew up(drive down L street, take a left down East Broadway..etc..etc).
Anyways, I give it 2 stars, meaning its a nice change from a James Patterson book, if thats what your into.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was boston in the 1980's. Coke ruled so many of the porer and even middle class neighborhoods. If you wanted to get your ass kicked, look no further than some of the Irish neighborhoods. This is a look at the Irish mob in Boston from a guy who knows. A dark story, with a semi-happy ending that adds a touch of fantasy to this reality driven story.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool read. Mobsters in South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and beyond with names like Wacko, Feenzo, Leppy, Elbow and Bippo steal cars, deal drugs, hit banks and take out nippleheads when need be. I loved the detail Richard Marinick, former cop, bad boy and inmate, put into Boston's neighborhoods and streets. Took me back.

[Pam]

12/15/07 rec via pbs

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Street crime novel written by a Southie native and set in South Boston. Tough, realistic characters. Former convict wrote it, so it's got rough edges, but is good for fans of crime fiction.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting mainly because it was set in Boston, where I am originally from. A bit too gory and gangster-world for me.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it because I grew up in the City Point neighborhood of Southie, where much of the novel is set

[Jesse Fusco]

best book ive read

[Mr. Cheshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading about life in Boston. Could pictute Mark Walburg portraying this charachter in a movie

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

My brother got this for me. I loved it. I am always up for anything that is about or hints at the Boston Irish mob.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captures the flavor of 80's South Boston. Held my interest,good not great.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gritty characters, makes me glad I am not a cokehead...get a flavor for the darker side of Boston before my trip there...

[Ashley R · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book may have been good pre-"Departed", but characters lacked development and there were a lot of extraneous characters that I think were meant to add depth (but didn't).

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting view of organized and not so organized crime in South Boston. Fun characters made this book a good read that I would recommend to others who enjoy the gangster genre.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get through...stopped after about 1/4 of the book