Son of the Mob

Vince is the narrator and main character of this novel, a teenaged boy who happens to have been born into a Mafioso family. His narrative voice is often flippant and sarcastic–in all senses, that of a “wise guy.” He tends to downplay some of the more shocking moments in his life, such as finding a live body in the trunk of his car, for comic effect: “And now I’m stranded on Bryce Beach with a red-hot and revved-up Angela O’Bannon in my arms and an out-cold Jimmy Rat in the trunk of my Mazda Protégé” (7). At other times, he exaggerates his feelings and his challenges, as when, describing how he turns down the solicitations of a beautiful call girl, he states, “It’s the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make, but I make it. I’m out of there” (48). His shrugging attitude towards violence seems like a mannerism that he has picked up from his Mafia family, while his self-dramatization seems learned from high school.

Vince’s tendency towards flippancy and glibness can be seen as an attempt to simplify his complicated situation. He knows that his family are criminals, yet he loves them and is dependent on them; as his father keeps reminding him, the criminal business that Vince shuns is what keeps him fed and sheltered.