First of all before I start I'm going to admit I'm not the type to go out and buy books written by reality television stars. Instead of going out and buying a copy I decided I would reserve a copy from my library and whenever it came available I would read it. It was my way of justifying not buying it, but I was intrigued by what Karen Gravano from Mob Wives might have to add to her already well-known tale of having a father in the mob.
After I reserved Ms. Gravano's book I also reserved a few books for my sons upcoming school project. So when I got the call that there were books waiting to be picked up I assumed it was those. Mobdaughter wasn't being released until Valentine's Day so it was far from my mind.
My son and I went to the library this past Saturday to get his books and to my surprise Mobdaughter was waiting. It hadn't been released so I thought to myself "SCORE!" I was going to get to read it before most people could even get their hands on it and I was excited. It sounds lame, but it's the little things that make my day.
I started the book with no expectations. I am a fan of Mob Wives and I know all about Karen's dad and what he represents in terms of the mafia lifestyle. I have not read any books about Mr. Gravano but I've seen and heard enough to know exactly who he is. If you have never heard of Sammy "The Bull" then I would imagine you are living under a rock or just too young to have heard about him.
The Prologue opens with Karen, her mother, daughter and nephew driving to see Sammy, who is incarcerated at a maximum-security federal facility at an "undisclosed location." It has been years since she has seen him and you feel the apprehension and excitement. So many years have passed and the last time Karen spoke with her dad they spent most of the time arguing.
When they finally get to the area where they would visit Sammy it already feels ominous. Karen describes where they are as looking like the inside of a cell with drab cement-block walls. You feel sad when she describes seeing her father stand at the end of the hallway with the guard. He is ill from Grave's disease and looks 20 years older than what he is. It doesn't matter who your dad is, seeing him in prison or no prison in that condition must be difficult.
Her description of the whole meeting is frightening to me. I've never been to a jail or a prison to visit anyone. I hope I never have to. And a visit with your father should not be in a prison. It is wrong on all levels, but in her case it is what it is. This is her life and she's giving the readers a glimpse into a place many of us will never know or understand. I feel the prologue sort of sets the tone for the book. No matter what we might think, being a gangster is not glamorous. Because in the end you either wind up dead or in prison.
The book opens up with Karen reflecting about when she started becoming aware her dad might be a gangster. She was about nine when she started making the connection, but even at that age there was an unspoken knowledge that you don't ask questions. So she goes about with her childhood.
We get a glimpse throughout the book of her relationship with her father. At times it's sweet and like any typical father-daughter relationship. They are extremely close. Other times it's almost dysfunctional. I give Karen credit for laying it all out there. The good, the bad and the ugly.
It is very clear throughout the entire book that she looks up to her father, she loves him and is more like him than her mother. It's mentioned over and over and that part got a little redundant. But I get it. It's just part of her personal story.
Their relationship and friendship with each other is easy to understand. I think it givers readers a sense of understanding that no matter what your family does or who your father is it doesn't change how you love each other.
For anyone interested in learning a little bit about who her dad was and is, the mafia lifestyle, John Gotti and life as a mob daughter this book will wet your appetite.
When her dad and John Gotti are in the Metropolitan Correctional Center she tells us how her mom was an "
obsessively punctual woman, so the days we went to see Dad, she'd insist we leave our house at least two hours before our scheduled visiting time." Later she says John Gotti gave her dad problems about that because his family was always late. True or not she said he complained to her dad and said, "
It makes me look like a jerkoff that your family's here first, and my family's not even here at all." They were there, they were just late.
You will enjoy Mobdaughter if you want to get a different look into the lives of some well-known gangsters like her dad or John Gotti. It isn't extensive, but it's enough. Karen obviously keeps the subject mainly on her dad, but it's inevitable to bring in other guys to tell the story. I like that. It was a different perspective than what we normally hear about them.
If you think you are going to read some juicy details about her and Lee D'Avanzo because the first season of Mob Wives played up the drama between her and Drita about him being in the book you might be slightly disappointed. For me, I was glad she didn't spend a great deal of time talking about him. He doesn't offer much to the story, but she was with him for several years so he had a role in her life and she talks about it.
We learn about Karen's wild side and we also get a taste of her soft side when she talks about the birth of her daughter, Karina. She says, "
It was such a crazy feeling realizing I'd made a baby. My perspective changed after that. Once you have a child, you have to be the caregiver. From that moment on, I didn't want to be in trouble. I wanted to be a perfect mother."
We also get an inside look at the raid on her mom's home in Arizona and the whole family being arrested for an alleged ecstasy drug ring that she claims in the book that the "
charges simply weren't true."
It isn't until the Epilogue that we get a closer look into how Karen got involved with Mob Wives. She barely scratches the surface on her relationships with the ladies on the show throughout the book, but it's just enough. The book is primarily about her father and their relationship not about Mob Wives.
Mobdaughter is an easy read. Even though I read a copy from my library it's safe to say this book is worth buying. It holds your attention and it's interesting. I enjoyed it and if you are a fan of Mob Wives and want to know more about the woman Karen Gravano and her family you will enjoy this book.
