The other day, while thinking about what Italian recipe to cook for this book, I decided that maybe our family should visit a local Italian restaurant. Because we did not want to wait 45 minutes at one of the more popular restaurants, we chose to visit a rather new restaurant – Rossini Cucina Italiana, a blend of Italian and cajun (which is rather interesting). The food was very delicious with each of us enjoying our meals and dessert – tiramisu (well, all of us except Mattie…she took one bite of tiramisu and passed).
You may be asking why I wanted to visit a small business, spending 80 times more than if I bought the ingredients and cooked a meal myself. Because these small businesses desperately need our support! I recently came across a research that stated, as of September, nearly 100,000 restaurants had closed since the lockdowns in March…that is one in six! That is nearly, as the article stated, nearly 3 million people unemployed through this one sector in the economy…that is a loss of around $240 billion. So…I challenge everyone to order take out, curbside, or just dine in!
For the book…
WOW!!!! I had NO clue that Road to Perdition, a movie I absolutely LOVE, had a sequel (actually, two more books…Road to Paradise is the last book). First, let me say right off that if you are not into mobster/gangster history, you may not like this book. I, on the other hand, am fascinated with mob/gangster history. As much as I have read about this time period, reading it in the form of a novel made it “click” so much better. Max Allan Collins did an extensive amount of research for this novel (and all his other novels). To be brutally honest, I had never heard of him until this book. Now, I have not only ordered more of his books but will purchase Kindle Unlimited so I can read his Nathan Heller series through ebook.
What I love about this is book is the impeccable accuracy to this time period. As he mentioned in the Acknowledgements, everything in the book was very close to historical accuracy (people, deaths, events) except for the main character (the only fictional character) – Michael O’Sullivan, Jr.
If you have never seen Road to Perdition, that is a must before reading this book (or read the graphic novel which I just ordered). Road to Purgatory picks up with the son grown up and wanting to avenge his father’s death. You do read some of backdrop (Road to Perdition) story in this book, for those who have not seen the movie in a while.
If you are a Road to Perdition fan or fascinated with mobster/gangster history, then this is a must read. I think I have found a new favorite writer… (and go by from small businesses…they need you!)
History of the Mafia (History Channel)
