Take the Cannoli

 "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

You know where this quote comes from. Recently, WOlfie was asked in a homework to try Italian food. Could be anything: pasta, goat cheese, figs, olives, artichokes, etc. There was a list of suggestions, but I decided to be original and I bought two packs of cannoli. Because why the heck not. After all, it was an educational project. I had cannoli in the past, very rarely. Funny how the dessert is now associated with a classic movie.

The Godfather, the Game

 Oh the things one finds in the local toy shop. As many people into crime fiction, whether they are books or films, I am a fan of The Godfather. Well, it turns out that there is a board game (at least I think it can count as a board game, I mean it was in the board games section) called The Godfather: Last Family Standing. I own already too many board games, we have too little time to play them, we don't really invite enough people often enough to have party games anyway, but I must confess, I am curious. Anyone played this game? Is it worth 20 quid?

Les Ides de mars hier à Montréal

Je pensais hier aux Ides de mars, me demandant si je ne devrais pas bloguer sur le sujet. Puis je me suis dit que non, que j'avais fait le tour de l'assassinat de Jules César, en tout cas pour le moment. Je pensais que je trouverais une nouvelle approche pour en parler une autre année, quand j'ai vu que Leonardo Rizzuto a été victime d'une tentative de meurtre. Un 15 mars. Il semble être hors de danger, mais quand même, ça fait drôle (je n'oserai pas dire "approprié"). Des fois, il y a des coïncidences qui ne s'inventent pas.

Mafia Inc. for #Noirvember

The month is almost over and thus #Noirvember will also soon be over, but I will carry on enjoying crime fiction for the coming months, in film and book form. And I wanted tonight to plug both a film and a movie for every crime fiction and crime history buffs among you. Although I must quickly give a disclaimer: I have not watched the film yet. I have nevertheless heard good things about it. You may remember some years ago that I blogged about Mafia Inc, non fiction book about the Sicilian mafia and organised crime in Montreal. They made last year a fictionalised movie adaptation of the book, with the same title. You can see the trailer below, with subtitles in English, and it seems quite solid. In any case, it looks like a perfect watch for #Noirvember. I know it is a perfect read.

 

Mafia Inc.

J'ai appris l'année dernière que e livre Mafia Inc d'André Cédilot et d'André Noël faisait l'objet d'une adaptation libre en film. Je dis adaptation libre, parce que c'est bien entendu une fiction, pas un documentaire. Ce qui pour moi fait sens: l'histoire du crime organisé fait toujours de l'excellente matière première pour de la fiction policière, que ce soit dans les romans ou au cinéma. Le livre se lisait d'ailleurs comme une saga criminelle québécoise. Mais enfin bref, le film est sorti en salle. Et j'aimerais vraiment, mais vraiment le voir. Dans tous les cas, pour ceux qui peuvent, voici la dernière bande-annonce:

Mafia Inc., le film

J'ai déjà blogué à quelques reprises sur le livre documentaire Mafia Inc d'André Cédilot et d'André Noël. C'est une "lecture criminelle" non fictive qui paradoxalement se lit aussi facilement qu'un roman policier. Ça fait tout de même plus froid dans le dos que la plupart des polars que j'ai lus, parce que c'est une histoire vraie. Or, j'ai récemment appris (en retard sur les nouvelles) que le réalisateur Daniel Grou dit Podz tourne un film, une authentique fiction cette fois-ci, librement inspiré du livre et intitulé comme celui-ci Mafia Inc. Je ne sais pas ce que ça va donner, mais la bande-annonce, que je partage plus bas, semble prometteuse. Peu importe quand je vais pouvoir le regarder, j'ai déjà hâte.

Crime (writing) in progress

I wanted to give a bit of an update about the creative writing workshop I attend. I now know when will be our next meeting: in the first half of April. Until then, I need to have a synopsis prepared. It is going fairly well. I have my MacGuffin and pretty much everyone's motivation. I have most of my character's names, except the one from my pickpocket. As for the plot, it is mostly finished, at least in its broad lines. What else do I know? The story will be set in Montreal (well of course), members of organsied crime will be involved in the story, including but not exclusively the mafia, and on the opposite side there will be some private eyes. Oh, and Krav Maga will be used in some capacity as a plot point. I still have a lot to go through, but at least I have my creativity working.

True (Organized) Crimes

I have on my bookshelves a book on organized crime by Paul Lunde, which I received a few years ago for Christmas. It is aptly titled Organized Crime: An Inside Guide to the World's Most Successful Industry. It is merely a coffee table book, but it is a fun read and I want to get back to it again as inspiration and source of information for the synopsis for the crime fiction story I am working on for my writing workshop. Because I know criminal organizations will play a central role in the plot and I always believed that crime fiction was at least fueled bu true crime stories. This book may not be the most up to date resource, but it can be a starting point and if nothing else, it has some striking pictures that will put me in the right creative mindset.

The Godfather's Anniversary

The recent events should not make us forget something that one needs to commemorate and celebrate. And today is one day of celebration: it is the 45th anniversary of the release (in the USA) of The Godfather. Maybe the greatest film ever made and one of my favourite. More than a mafia movie, The Godfather is truly a Greek tragedy that mixes Hitchcockian suspense with the finest piece of acting Hollywood ever gave us. There are so many great scenes, but as an homage here on Vraie Fiction, I will give you the first one.

My bro in Chicago

My brother PJ is off for a few days in Chicago for a conference (I think). I don't know he will be doing touristic stuff much, but I envy him. In recent years, I guess many people consider Chicago the city of Barack Obama. For someone interested in the history of organized crime, it is also and especially infamous for having been the city of Al Capone. I have never been in the US, which is downright shameful as I used to live so close, but I have been wanting to visit Chicago more than any other American city. Back in 2009, my wife and I considered going there for our holidays, but we chose Vancouver instead. I think we took the right decision: she does not share my interest for true crime stories. So anyway, my brother is there, or will be at some point today, and I hope he will share many pictures.

Bonne nuit pour le Buonanotte?

Je blogue encore une fois sur une nouvelle criminelle et juridique montréalaise (après mon billet de samedi passé inaperçu), glânée dans La Presse: le restaurant Buonanotte, lieu de rencontre de la mafia montréalaise, se fait serrer la vis par le SPVM. Son permis d'alcool est révoqué pendant quarante jours et le restaurant accepte à se soumettre à une série de mesures. Je ne sais pas si elles porteront fruit, je l'espère un peu, avec prudence. Peut-être que c'est le début de la fin pour le restaurant, s'il finit par devoir chasser sa clientèle la plus fidèle. Comme je le disais il y a un peu plus d'un an, on a là tous les éléments pour une bonne histoire policière: des individus louches, un restaurant au nom évocateur, la police et Montréal comme théâtre. Rien que pour ça, ça mérite que je le souligne.

Comme une certaine lassitude...

Les Libéraux sont majoritaires au Québec. Surpris? Non. Déçu? Oui. Marois a fait une très mauvaise campagne, mais ça n'excuse pas les circonvolutions de Philippe Flop, son attitude pusillanime envers la laïcité (non, je n'ai aucun problème avec une loi qui consacre de manière ferme la neutralité de l'état), son passé de médecin laquais pour princes saoudiens et surtout, surtout, que les Libéraux ont passé leurs derniers mandats à magouiller avec la mafia et tout ce qu'il y a de corrompu et de corrupteur au Québec. Bon, ils sont de retour. Pour quatre ans. Fuck. Il y a des moments où je me console d'être un expatrié.

Christmas crimes

No, no, I did not commit any crime myself. I learned recently some news that surprised me: Vito Rizzuto, the presumptive head of the Italian mafia in Montreal, died of a pneumonia. Apparently of natural causes, which would be darn ironic. I can't say that I will shed any tears for this man, as I hate what he did and represented. A darn shame he did not die in jail, as he should have had. Anyway, at least he will not enjoy Christmas. I couldn't help but think of The Godfather when I learned the news, partially because Rizzuto had been nicknamed and labelled the godfather of Montreal (and probably considered himself to be) and because like the title character he died naturally. Funny because The Godfather is also among my list of Christmas movies, as many key events and plot turns in the movie happen during Christmastime. I have uploaded here the movie's introduction to the Christmas season. When death is looming above the festive spirit, it shows the darker side of Christmas in a gripping realistic fashion.

L'Italie montréalaise

Je l'ai appris dans La Presse, car ils ont un dossier sur le sujet: c'est la Semaine italienne de Montréal. Je ne savais même pas que ça existait. J'ai une relation trouble avec l'Italie, un mélange amour/haine. On le sait. Je trouve la culture italienne tour à tour fascinante et insupportable. Je me demande ce que je ferais si j'étais à Montréal, de cette Semaine italienne. Parce que l'italianité peut être encore plus insupportable, surtout quand elle est montréalaise. Mon expérience italienne, elle vient surtout d'Italiens natifs, alors que je partageais avec eux le rôle d'étrangers en terre étrangère. Avec un petit saut touristique d'un mois dans leur pays. L'Italie montréalaise, c'est trop souvent ces temps-ci le scandale de la construction, la mafia et cette couleuvre de Lisa Frulla. Je lis tout de même les articles sur le sujet avec fascination, surtout les chroniques de Foglia, que j'ai trouvées touchantes. Un peu malgré moi, je dois dire. Mais l'Italie, c'est aussi ça et ça aussi. Et je n'arrive pas à l'oublier. Alors j'irais sans doute faire un tour là-bas, si j'étais à Montréal.

A criminal great unknown line

Sometimes these days, for part of my journey to work, I chat with a former colleague of mine, who now works in a different company and takes the train from the station after mine. She is half-Italian half-British and knows a bit of French. I was reading this book yesterday (the original French version that is), and she asked to have a look at it. She was happy she could easily understand the words. I said: "If you want when I finish it you can borrow it." She answered: "No, that's ok, I can switch on Italian news and that's the same." I thought it was funny, and it deserves to be a great unknown line. I was glad, as I was not being serious offering her to borrow my book. I don't like to lend books to people, they tend never to return them. I guess I do the same. Anyway, I found this line interesting, as it shows how Italian Montreal can be, in its most unpleasant ways.

What to read next

I finished yesterday The Sweet Forever by George Pelecanos. it took me too long to read, embarrassingly so. But I was reading, I am reading, many things at once, so I guess I have an excuse. It was a great book anyway, I should come back to it on this blog. Now I need to choose what to read next. I do not always alternate between genres, although sometimes I try, so it is possible that I read something else than crime fiction. I do try, as much as possible, to alternate between English and French. So until I choose my next book, I will try to finish Mafia Inc, which I have also kept on reading for way too long. What is even more embarrassing is that an updated edition has already been published. There is barely a few pages left of the one I have. Similar read, therefore, but from crime fiction to real crime history, and more precisely Montreal's crime history, which has nothing to envy to the one of Washington D.C. brilliantly depicted in the novels of Pelecanos. Sadly, we do not have a writer like Pelecanos.

Montreal's Irish Mafia

The title of this post is also the title of this book. Written by the journalist D'Arcy O'Connor and Miranda O'Connor. It is a little known book of an often forgotten but important part of Montreal's crime history: the contribution to crime in general and organised crime in particular of the Irish community. I am not reading it just yet, as I read many books at the same time and still reading another crime history book. But I am eager to read this one, to further my (amateur) knowledge of crime history and learn more about our Irish community, even though it is its darker (and even bloody) side.

Crime history is also, as I mentioned (again) here, a source of inspiration for crime fiction. The Italian mafia has been maybe not quite done to death, but certainly used too often (I am not the only one thinking it). In Montreal, the mafia has been widely featured, in our TV series especially. Yet it is the Irish mob that traditionally controls the port of Montreal. Reading real crime stories, I wish some of them could make their way into fiction.

Vito Rizzuto: expliquez-moi

Vito Rizzuto, le parrain de ma mafia montréalaise, sera libéré en fin de semaine. Après avoir passé six ans en prison pour triple meurtre. Et il aurait l'intention de faire la guerre à ses ennemis, qui sont nombreux. Je ne comprends pas. Je ne comprends tout simplement pas. D'accord, il était exécutant, il a fait ça sous les ordres de la famille Bonnano de New York, pour prendre du galon. Mais c'est quand même un triple meurtre et je croyais qu'un meurtre prémédité, c'est 25 ans fermes. Je ne suis pas juriste, remarquez. Mais comment se fait-il qu'il se fasse libérer après six ans, deux ans pour chaque mort? J'aimerais qu'on m'explique.

Les crapules et le pouvoir

J'ai lu ceci aujourd'hui. Et selon Vincent Marissal, le Parti libéral va garder l'argent du mafioso. Je n'ai rien d'autre à dire. Ca ne m'étonne même pas, ce qui est tragique. Cela dit, je ne décolère pas. Je n'ai pas de mots pour décrire à quel point je méprise, je trouve ignoble, lâche, grotesque, malhonnête, répugnante la ministre Line Beauchamp aujourd'hui. J'ai cherché une insulte à lui coller qui illustrerait à quel point elle est minable. J'ai trouvé celle-ci: s'ils avaient servi le lunch plutôt que le déjeuner, il y aurait eu des spaghetti alla puttanesca au menu. Et devinez quelle guidoune aurait fait le service.

The Montreal Connection

This picture was taken in the Old Montreal, back in 2010. I am not sure why I uploaded it here for this post. Maybe I should have taken one of the Court House. it would have been more appropriate. But back in 2010, I obviously didn't know I was about to blog this post. I am reading this book (well, the French original), which I blogged about before. I was recently mentioning Donnie Brasco here, a movie about the infiltration of FBI agent Joe Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco, into the Bonnano Family. I watched it two or three times, enjoyed it quite a lot, but I now want to watch it again. Because I discovered through the book that one of the massacre pictured in the movie was in fact perpetrated by a team of murderers from Montreal, which was only discovered years later. The Montreal mafia has been historically under the authority of the Bonnanos, so both cities are closely connected when it comes to organised crime.

And there is of course The French Connection, which I watched again on the plane going to Montreal. The real, historical French Connection was stopping at Montreal before going to the States. This is all very sinister, yet I cannot help but being fascinated. I feel that we have been robbed of our crime history, and by extension, of our crime fiction.