2 out of 4 stars
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Executive Hoodlum is an autobiography written by John Costello. It chronicles his life from early childhood into adulthood. John was born to an Italian family in Chicago. His father was a singer/con artist and an associate of the Chicago Mob or “outfit guys” as any true Chicago native knows. John’s father was a scammer, always looking for the next best thing with an…let’s just say… unhealthy view of parenting (a.k.a. physically, emotionally, and verbally abusive). John’s father taught him to fight at an early age, often encouraging him to pick fights with others in the neighborhood and at school. John’s father was physically abusive to his mother who turned to alcohol to deal with this. It was quite the dysfunctional childhood with several stays in foster care and being passed back and forth between his parents.
In spite of that (or because of that), John had a drive to elevate himself out of that lifestyle. After earning his college degree, he went to work as a salesman in the semiconductor industry. His life takes twists and turns as he struggles with who his past has taught him to be and who he wants his future self to be. He meets an interesting cast of characters along the way, which he eagerly tells stories about. John’s story is about not letting the past define you. It inevitably shapes who you are, but with hard work and dedication, it is possible to become the person you want to be.
That being said, I was not a fan of this book. It was difficult for me to finish. There were numerous proofreading and grammatical errors. I was constantly trying to assess whether or not the incomplete and poorly written sentences were an intentional choice on the author’s part or not. Even excluding these sentences, I still found over 10 grammatical errors in the first 25 pages with many more being found throughout the rest of the book. Additionally, there were so many people introduced during this story that is was extremely difficult to remember who was who and how they were connected. There were some people and stories that were completely unrelated to the overall development of John’s story. In fact, that is what I disliked most about this book. There was no clear storyline. It reads like a jumbled recollection of memories thrown together with no clear purpose.
What I liked most about this book is that it was authentic. The author’s struggles to look for the positive in his life and use the skills he learned on the street for good (both in sales and in giving back to the community) were real and present. He told stories that clearly showed his triggers that brought out the worst in him. He was not always an upstanding guy, but even so, worked hard to better his life and the lives of those around him.
I would recommend this book for adults who are interested in books about the mob. There are stories about violence and drugs that would not make this suitable for young readers. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. If there had been a better storyline thread throughout the recollections, I would have been able to rate this at 3 stars. I felt like the authenticity of this book kept it from being 1 star.
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Executive Hoodlum
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