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Son of Sam
Fictionalized account of the Son of Sam (David Berkowitz) murders in New York City (1976-1977). Looks at the victims and families, detectives and the fear and chaos the resulted from the murders.
360 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Jimmy Breslin
66 books83 followersJimmy Breslin was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist and author. He wrote numerous novels, and pieces of his have appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City. He was a regular columnist for the newspaper Newsday until his retirement on November 2, 2004.
Among his notable columns, perhaps the best known was published the day after John F. Kennedy's funeral, focusing on the man who had dug the president's grave. The column is indicative of Breslin's style, which often highlights how major events or the actions of those considered "newsworthy" affect the "common man."
Among his notable columns, perhaps the best known was published the day after John F. Kennedy's funeral, focusing on the man who had dug the president's grave. The column is indicative of Breslin's style, which often highlights how major events or the actions of those considered "newsworthy" affect the "common man."
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 26, 2016
An odd historical curiosity from the 1970's. Between July 29, 1976 - July 31, 1977 David Berkowitz (aka: Son of Sam) shot and killed six people and wounded seven others. I remember that time. Son of Sam received international news coverage and we were following his spree all the way over in Idaho. Berkowitz was arrested on August 10, 1977 and his arrest was announced early in the morning hours of August 11th. I woke up that morning, turned on The Today show, and saw Jane Pauley, Tom Brokaw and Gene Shalit talking about the arrest of David Berkowitz. I was so excited that I woke up my parents to tell them. I was nine years old and we lived a couple thousand miles from New York City, but the news was so significant that my parents were genuinely interested. In other words they didn't yell at me for waking them up at such an indecent hour.
Approximately nine months later Jimmy Breslin and Dick Schapp came out with a novel about the murder spree and the effect it had on New York City. To call this novel a quickie would be an understatement. Jimmy Breslin was a columnist for "The New York Post" and was famous in his own right. Berkowitz wrote to Breslin during and after his spree. As a result he was involved with the investigation while Dick Schapp worked for ABC News and was also involved with the coverage of the story at the time. The book enjoyed brisk sales in both hardback and paperback and within a few years it had been forgotten.
I picked up my hardback copy in one of my favorite local thrift stores for one dollar. It's a very fast read and not difficult to follow. It's competently written and is at it's strongest when examining the chaos that Berkowitz caused during that year. The city of New York was in extreme financial difficulties during this time and the city was physically decaying (streets, sewer, power-grid,buildings). Berkowitz came along at a bad time and helped to fan troubles that were already brewing. This novel does a good job examining this situation (fear, suspicion, vigilantism) as well as the role of the press and the N.Y.P.D. in the investigation. If I had a bookshelf for New York City stories this one would be on it. Everything that is associated with a gritty NYC story is present. The racial divisions, the tough "up-yours" New Yawk attitude, the Italian mob, Irish and Italians, hard-drinking journalists, conniving politicians and hard-nosed cops are all here.
Now here is where the historical curiosity comes in. Breslin and Schaap elected to write a work of fiction in which a few minor details were changed,mainly names and moving around the chronology of events, but basically recounts what took place during that year. To be honest I'm not really sure why they wrote it as a novel except that they wanted to be able to get into Berkowitz's head (as well as others). If they written a standard non-fiction account they would be restricted to those things that could be verififed. The authors even elected to call the serial killer Son of Sam. The effect of this is to make a story that is off. It's not truly a work of fiction, but it isn't a historical or journalistic accounting of Son of Sam either. It's a compromise and ,like many compromises, the result is a product that doesn't go far enough. It does not satisy and it does not disappoint. For politics this is often the best solution, but for a novel I expect a bit more. I give it three stars for it's excellent attention to details and the ability to convey the sense of time and place, but it lacks that necessary spark to be memorable. Possibly this is the reason why the novel has faded into obscurity.
Approximately nine months later Jimmy Breslin and Dick Schapp came out with a novel about the murder spree and the effect it had on New York City. To call this novel a quickie would be an understatement. Jimmy Breslin was a columnist for "The New York Post" and was famous in his own right. Berkowitz wrote to Breslin during and after his spree. As a result he was involved with the investigation while Dick Schapp worked for ABC News and was also involved with the coverage of the story at the time. The book enjoyed brisk sales in both hardback and paperback and within a few years it had been forgotten.
I picked up my hardback copy in one of my favorite local thrift stores for one dollar. It's a very fast read and not difficult to follow. It's competently written and is at it's strongest when examining the chaos that Berkowitz caused during that year. The city of New York was in extreme financial difficulties during this time and the city was physically decaying (streets, sewer, power-grid,buildings). Berkowitz came along at a bad time and helped to fan troubles that were already brewing. This novel does a good job examining this situation (fear, suspicion, vigilantism) as well as the role of the press and the N.Y.P.D. in the investigation. If I had a bookshelf for New York City stories this one would be on it. Everything that is associated with a gritty NYC story is present. The racial divisions, the tough "up-yours" New Yawk attitude, the Italian mob, Irish and Italians, hard-drinking journalists, conniving politicians and hard-nosed cops are all here.
Now here is where the historical curiosity comes in. Breslin and Schaap elected to write a work of fiction in which a few minor details were changed,mainly names and moving around the chronology of events, but basically recounts what took place during that year. To be honest I'm not really sure why they wrote it as a novel except that they wanted to be able to get into Berkowitz's head (as well as others). If they written a standard non-fiction account they would be restricted to those things that could be verififed. The authors even elected to call the serial killer Son of Sam. The effect of this is to make a story that is off. It's not truly a work of fiction, but it isn't a historical or journalistic accounting of Son of Sam either. It's a compromise and ,like many compromises, the result is a product that doesn't go far enough. It does not satisy and it does not disappoint. For politics this is often the best solution, but for a novel I expect a bit more. I give it three stars for it's excellent attention to details and the ability to convey the sense of time and place, but it lacks that necessary spark to be memorable. Possibly this is the reason why the novel has faded into obscurity.
August 21, 2007
Because I've been all caught up in ESPN's "The Bronx Is Burning," I decided to buy a copy of .44 on eBay for a buck. Good buy - a fictionalized version of accounts of the "Summer of Sam," 1977 in New York City.
May 28, 2024
episodic with a true crime narrative that follows the fictional take on crime akin to law and order. The son of Sam is generally on the peripheral in this semi fictional take which focuses more on police procedure and media scrutiny of the case.
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September 12, 2010This was originally published as "Son of Sam". It is co-authored by Dick Schapp
December 17, 2016
Bad. Couldn't finish.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews