''Gangsters live for the action ...'' ''Gangsters thrive on feuds ...'' ''Gangsters all thirst for power and will do all they can to achieve and keep it ...'' Such are the stunningly obvious observations that permeate Carcaterra's epically generic tale of Mob boss Angelo Vestieri. For more than 400 pages, the Sleepersauthor clumsily juxtaposes the don's 90-year life with major events of the 20th century, creating scenes seemingly inspired by bad Mafia movies (Angelo ambushes an enemy by hiding in a confessional, then tells him ''The Lord works in mysterious ways'' before whacking him). And if you can't guess the ''surprise'' ending 100 pages in advance, you must be sleeping with the fishes. How long until the new season of The Sopranos starts? C
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