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If you are a fan of true crime, specifically that occurring in the United States, then this is the book for you. On the other hand, if you pick up this rather slender volume, as I did, believing it to be fiction, you may just be disappointed. The blurb informs a casual browser that the protagonist of the work is a "Socialite Manhattan surgeon by day, Mafioso by night: the story of one man's life in the fast lane and how it all came crashing down . . ." While the bare bones of the tale could have had fictional flesh laid upon its skeleton fascinating enough to maintain the interest of a crime fiction aficionado, the author seems to have gone overboard in providing a history of the Mafia rather than a thrilling tale of one of its peons. Felber describes how he met the real-life Elliot Litner who agreed to have a book written about him; thus, this novel. Elliot Litner, a young Jewish boy, child of Russian emigrés, lives in the Bronx. He has friends who are Jews and other friends who are Italian Americans. Elliot is a clever boy to the extent that the parents of his Italian friends ask him to tutor their children, who are not as bright as the Jewish lad. Elliot, at the time, is not aware that the fathers who, for a living, do 'dis and dat' are, in fact, Mafiosi. For his pains, he is protected from bullies by his friends and when he completes school, is awarded a scholarship so he can study Medicine. Everything comes with a price. Elliot discovers he is to attend criminals, 'men of honour', who come by illicit illnesses -- bullet wounds and the like. Despite his reputable day job his moonlighting occupation stimulates appetites costing far more than his earnings and thus binds him to the dark side of New York life which pays more than his brilliance as a surgeon can supply to feed his cravings. Another aspect of his supplementary job is to act as a courier on behalf of high-profile 'godfathers'. The opening chapters of the story tell of the dilemma posed for the young surgeon: he has an important witness for the Commission which is determined to put the Mafia out of business, on his operating table. His 'family' friends have ordered him to make sure the by-pass operation on the man, Ralph Scopo, fails. On the other hand, the quasi-respectable law enforcement men dictate that he and his family will be ruined should the witness die. How the Mafia obtained such a hold on American society is indeed a fascinating tale. It is unfortunate that the narrative becomes more a relating of historical fact than an enthralling fiction. At times it seems that Elliot himself has vanished from the story as the gangsters become the main characters. At times, too, I found Felber's sentences ambiguous and difficult to translate into comprehensible English. Certain aspects of the book provide intriguing insights into modern figures -- for example, I would never have guessed the antecedents of that American hero, Rudolph Giuliani, had I not read this work. Other recognisable figures, such as J Edgar Hoover and the Kennedy clan, have whatever secrets they previously retained revealed to public viewing. The author also casts marrow-chilling light on the lethal antics of latter day police. The book is certainly well worth the cost in order to provide a better understanding of American society.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, March 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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