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Title: The Butcher's Sons

Author: Scott Alexander Hess

Narrator: Michael Pauley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-27-15

Publisher: Lethe Press

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

This darkly lyrical and violent family saga set in a butcher shop in New York circa 1930 tells the story of three Irish brothers struggling to find their roles - to define their lives and express their dreams - amid the poverty of a broken home, an alcoholic father, and the violent society of Hell's Kitchen. Dickie is guided by an almost animal desire to get what he wants and, as a fighter, is fearless in his pursuit of being respected by mobsters. Walt, the middle brother, romances a woman whose educated father sees the lad as gutter trash. Then there is frail Adlai, who finds himself on the most perilous path - an illicit affair with his oldest brother's best friend. The Butcher's Sons is an engaging read about desperate young men determined to do whatever they can to find something gilded amid the grime of old New York.

Members Reviews:

Hess gives the reader is a realistic slice of life in 1930's New York City, more specifically Hellâs Kitchen

Often times when you read a short story you feel that it should be expanded to a bigger, lengthier book, with more time to envelope yourself in the characters and see where else the story can go. It is rarer to read a novel and feel that way, but Scott Alexander Hessâ THE BUTCHERâS SONS is just that book. It seems that 254 pages about three Irish brothers in 1930s arenât nearly enough. Hessâ wonderfully-written characters deserve the whole Puzo treatment. That being said, what Hess gives the reader is a realistic slice of life in New York City, more specifically Hellâs Kitchen. Dickie, the eldest, wants to be a gangster; middle brother Walt, with his uptown girlfriend, wants to be a doctor, and the youngest brother, Adlai, is not sure what he wants, but when he finds it he canât let it go. The brothers work at the family butcher shop, passed down from generations, a neighborhood gathering place that emits heat and smells, with father Pat still in a haze over the loss of his wife years earlier. Hess incorporates a rewarding same-sex love story, a well-crafted gangster story and a star-crossed lovers story in one book, keeping the momentum going throughout. I would love for Hess to revisit these characters â they are fascinating and have much potential, but if he doesnât he has left in place a unique book that happily doesnât fall into any clichéd genres.

In the hearts of men

Honestly, if I hadn't known the author, I am not sure I would have picked this book to read. I am glad that I did. The fact that it was written by a guy from my decidedly suburban high school in St. Louis made it all the more interesting. The book immediately took me to the era in New York when life was tough and gangs of immigrants sought to rise to the top of the heap. I could visualize nearly every scene. It also never really occurred to me that gay men have struggled through history and had to constantly hide their actions and their true loves. I found it fascinating that Dickie, who entered the dangerous waters of loving a black woman, but could not bear the thought of his young brother being in love with a man. Gay men were more than closeted...they were not even a possibility in the minds of heterosexuals. The book kept me on the edge of my seat wondering how these boys would survive their loves.