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Tony Partly Cloudy
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A fish-out-of-water story in the style of My Cousin Vinny or Analyze This, TONY PARTLY CLOUDY is the tale of a Mafia goon who becomes a famous TV weatherman.
** NOTE: contains some profanity, because let's face it:Â it's hard to get these Mafia guys to talk nice. Forget about it!
Tony Bartolicotti (or Tony Partly Cloudy, as his friends in Brooklyn call him) can predict the weather with a level of accuracy that's downright freakish. But no TV station is interested in hiring a weatherman who looks and talks like a Mafia goon. Until now...
When a distantly related mob boss applies a little pressure on Tony's behalf, Tony's career starts to take off. Soon America is falling in love with the only weatherman on TV who would predict "a whole lotta freakin' snow." But then the mob decides to call in the favors they've done for Tony. That's when things get stormy...
Tony Partly Cloudy combines elements of comedy, satire, Mafia lore and romance into a slick, funny novel that readers of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen will enjoy.
Customer Reviews
| 12 of 13 people found the following review helpful  As satisfying as Nona's manicotti., By Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Tony Partly Cloudy (Kindle Edition) This entirely fun-to-read book will capture the reader with a light-hearted storyline and characters beautifully conceived and captured. The description on Amazon suggests that what we have here is a book about the New York Mafia, maybe somewhat in a humorous direction. But if you think that what you're going to get here is a current day "Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight", think again. Better yet, fuggedaboudit. 0 What we've got here is the charming story of Anthony Bartolicotti, a Brooklyn-born and raised Italian-American whose goal in life is to become a professional meteorologist and TV weather forecaster. The fact that his hard-working, big-hearted father is sort of distantly related to a "made guy" in the mob helps Tony to go to college with a part-time job set up by the mob-connected distant relative. What this wonderfully crafted book does is to explore family relationships - both "family" (in the sense of mother/father/kids ) and "family" (in the sense of Mafia family). It also looks at how society handles concepts like ethnic discrimination. What makes this such a terrific read is that there's plenty of serious stuff to read at the same time as there are laugh out loud moments when the interplay of the characters is so comedically delivered. The author, Nick Rollins, is from Miami and you can be sure the influence of Carl Hiassen and Elmore Leonard plays a major part in his writing. The part that the mob (or mafia, or "our thing," or the family) plays in this book is pretty significant. It's the underlying theme that runs from beginning to end. But unlike so many books about the mob, the violence here is pretty tame. There are a few people whose places in the book get cut short, but not graphically so. All of that is much appreciated since it would take away from the very human characteristics of the players in the story. As might be expected, there is a very s trong sense of family in this book, but the family parts are really about family, not THE FAMILY, if you know what I mean. Do yourself a favor and get this book to read over a weekend. If you're like me, it will be one of the best weekends you'll remember for a long time. This is a keeper to be read again and again - just like all of those special books that make up what we call "our library." Enjoy. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful Tony Partly Cloudy is Ray of Sunshine, Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Tony Partly Cloudy (Kindle Edition) I know Tony. I know what it's like to be in an Italian Family because I married into one. Sicilians, no less. They say what they mean and they mean what they say. Rollins' writing style is similar to another author I've been reading lately, somebody I've known for fifty years. Tony Partly Cloudy kept me flipping pages, especially at around the halfway point when things were getting a little stormy. Read it. 0 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful Right up there with Hiassen, This review is from: Tony Partly Cloudy (Kindle Edition) There's something about the New Jersey accent that's simultaneously endearing, comic and dangerous. Much the same can be said for 'Tony Partly Cloudy', a modern fable about a smalltime mafia goon who against all odds becomes a popular TV weatherman. This is a novel in the vein of Carl Hiassen or - for real fans of the genre - Donald Westlake. If it were a film - and it should be - it would be compared to 'Analyse This', 'Mickey Blue Eyes', or 'My Cousin Vinny'. 0 The main character, Tony Bartolicotti (AKA "Tony Partly Cloudy"), is a lovable lug who's nothing like as naive as he appears. Everyone underestimates him - the TV networks who make him famous and the mob family that he can never really leave behind. Tony's the pivot of the plot and the focus of the action, but he is part of a credible and compelling cast of characters, all of whom are more rounded than the usual central-casting stock issue. Particularly worth mentioning is Rollin's ear for dialogue, whether it's the colourful banter of mobsters, or the smug, empty jargon of TV talking heads. The novel's settings are convincing too - not only the badlands of New Jersey, but also the corporate corridors of network television. If 'Nick Rollins' is a nom-de-plume, it might be because, like the main character, the author's well-known along the Shore as well as on the studio floor. All in all, this is a very enjoyable read, with lots of laugh-out-loud scenes, plenty of nail-biting tension... and some seriously stormy weather. Highly recommended. |
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