The mafia image in American literary nonfiction of the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries

Abstract

The paper identifies the specifics of reflecting the mafia image in literary nonfiction books “Honor Thy Father” (1971) by G. Talese and “The Good Rat: A True Story” (2008) by J. Breslin. G. Talese and J. Breslin often addressed the phenomenon of organized crime in the United States, continuing the muckrakers’ traditions of the early 20^th century. In “Honor Thy Father”, G. Talese traces several generations of the famous Bonnano family in the form of a nonfiction novel, its main motif being the mafia families’ adherence to traditions. J. Breslin studies the current state of the mafia, to a certain extent mythologizing the images of major Mafiosi of the past. One of the important motifs in this work is the influence that the press exerts on the formation of public perceptions of the mafia, which, in turn, influences the fate of the clan representatives. Based on these books, the article concludes that, unlike some fiction books, in which the given image is either romanticized or demonized, literary nonfiction books by G. Talese and J. Breslin present a more multidimensional image of a well-known criminal organization and its members.