Andrew
Gross's new historical thriller BUTTON MAN from Minotaur Books hit
stores last month.
Following
up The One Man and The Saboteur, Andrew's latest
historical thriller brings to life the drama of the birth of organized crime in
1930s New York City from the tale of one family.
After a
string of New York Times bestselling suburban thrillers,
Andrew has reinvented himself as a writer of historical thrillers. In his
latest novel, BUTTON MAN,
he delivers a stirring story of a Jewish family brought together in the dawn of
the women's garment business and torn apart by the birth of organized crime in
New York City in the 1930s.
Morris,
Sol, and Harry Rabishevsky grew up poor and rough in a tiny flat on the Lower
East Side, until the death of their father thrust them into having to fend for
themselves and support their large family. Morris, the youngest, dropped out of
school at twelve years old and apprenticed himself to a garment cutter in a
clothing factory; Sol headed to accounting school; but Harry, scarred by a
family tragedy, fell in with a gang of thugs as a teenager.
Morris steadily climbs through
the ranks at the factory until at twenty-one he finally goes out on his own,
convincing Sol to come work with him. But Harry can't be lured away from the
glamour, the power, and the money that come from his association with Louis
Buchalter, whom Morris has battled with since his youth and who has risen to
become the most ruthless mobster in New York. And when Buchalter sets his
sights on the unions that staff the garment makers' factories, a fatal showdown
is inevitable, pitting brother against brother.
This new
novel is equal parts historical thriller, rich with the detail of a vibrant New
York City in the 1920s and 1930s, and family saga, based on Andrew's own family
story and on the history of the era, complete with appearances by real-life
characters like mobsters Louis Lepke and Dutch Schultz and special prosecutor
Thomas Dewey, and cements Andrew's reputation as today's most atmospheric and
original historical thriller writer.
Please
join me now as Andrew answers some questions about BUTTON MAN. Welcome
Andrew.
BUTTON
MAN is
semi-autobiographical. Tell us a little bit about your family story behind the
novel and why you felt the need to share it in your fiction.
BUTTON
MAN is the story of one of 20-million immigrants to come to New
York between 18801910, who rose up from the Lower East Side, with only a
sixth-grade education to apprentice in a garment factory; was running that
factory by the time he was twenty, left to start his own firm and was forced to
go head-to-head against the most notorious mobsters of that time, Murder
Incorporated, who had taken over the garment unions for their own gain, and who
ended up building that firm into a national brand.
That man
was my grandfather.
So, yes,
there is a lot of personal history and family lore in BUTTON MAN. Not to
mention, I spent twenty years in that firm myself (called Leslie Fay) before I
ever made the move to writing. So, I know the industry and I know the family
stories. And these are great, first generational stories that it's become my
proudest role as an author to tell. It kind of goes back to the tradition of
what oral storytelling is about. With a little suspense added to the mix.
Are your relatives from this era still alive?
Was their history and their rise through the garment industry a big art of your
family tapestry and openly discussed over the years? Or did your story require
some family research in order to tell?
The
backdrop to BUTTON MAN is the early years of the women’s garment business,
which was a time of risk, crime, and retribution as it was also the birth of
organized crime in New York. Much of that crime then was Jewish. And the two
businesses interacted in crime—including union tampering, extortion, witness
intimidation, and murder. I grew up with these stories and knew many of the
players who were older men when I was young—those who survived, anyway.
The most
interesting and emotional research I did was at the Fashion Institute of
Technology in NYC. The head of the archives there, after providing me tons of
microfilm of ancient copies of Women’s Wear Daily, etc., told me that many of
the founding fathers of the industry had made oral tapes of their early years
that were part of the permanent archives—my grandfather among them. “Would I
like to hear it,” he asked. Would I?! That’s how, 36 years after he died, I
listened to my grandfather’s voice all over again, and the nuances of the way
he spoke, telling the same tales I was putting into my book. As you might
imagine, it made me cry.
BUTTON
MAN features
many real-life characters from 30s-era New York. Why did you decide to weave
real people into this fictional account? How did you balance fact and fiction?
Well,
it's the story of a time and an industry, as well as a suspense story, so as
with Ragtime, I wanted to weave it around real figures who affected that era.
My grandfather was stabbed by Louis Lepke's (head of Murder, Inc.)'s henchman,
so I was definitely going to include him. And Dutch Schultz and Albert
Anastasia, they were a big part of it too. It also widened to include Thomas
Dewey, who was prosecuting them. So, the whole story is a pastiche of the times
then in the 1930's in NYC. I think the best compliment I’ve received so far is
how I've blended real and fictional characters seamlessly enough that it's hard
to tell the difference. And I think I make clear in the book, what is true and
what is not.
Did you already know a lot about these mafia
figures and their rise before writing BUTTON
MAN? What was your research process like?
Yes, I
knew the stories of many of these criminals. Lepke, Gurrah, Dutch Schutlz,
Albert Anastasia. I knew a little about Murder, Incorporated, founded by Lepke
and Meyer Lansky. What most people don't know is that the Jewish mob was even
more violent than the Italian mob back then. In fact, the Italians generally
outsourced their hits to the Jews—hence, Murder, Inc. Murder for hire. For Jews
on the Lower East Side, there were generally two ways out—two businesses open
to them: one was the garment trade, as anyone could get into it if you worked
hard enough. The other was crime. A “button man” for those who don't know it,
was 30's slang for a mob hitman. So, for many, I think this will be an
eye-opening story into the Jewish mob, something most people don't know a lot
about. And into the people who stood up against them and put their lives on the
line.
BUTTON
MAN shows
the juxtaposition of the gritty working class Lower East Side with the glitzy
upper-class midtown of the early 1900’s and 1930’s. How were you able to bring
this vintage New York City setting to life so vividly?
The
dichotomy between the Lower East Side Jews—Polish, Russian and Hungarian—and
the Uptown Jews—mostly German, who blended into American life and society more
easily, is one of the themes of the book. My grandfather, with his gruff,
street-honed way of talking, wooed and married a society Austrian Jewish girl
who was his opposite in many ways. But the uptown nightlife of clubs and
speakeasys against the downtown world of factories and sweatshops, makes an
interesting dichotomy, I think, of life and class struggle even within the Jewish
community.
Great Expectations is referenced several
times in BUTTON MAN and is a bit of a
touchstone for the main character, Morris Raab, and his sweetheart, Ruthie.
What are the similarities between the two novels? Was it a conscious effort on
your part to weave a modern-day version of the Dickens classic?
Yes, I
refer to the book as “Great Expectations meets The Godfather.” That's how I see
it. BUTTON
MAN is not a conventional thriller, which usually start with a crime or
a mystery and then the narrative that follows is how to solve it. It's a
bigger, over-arching story of manhood, the clash of brothers, betrayal, and
redemption that uses suspense to advance the story. But it's the story, the
life of the protagonist, that is important. So yes, Dickens’ Great
Expectations, a rags-to-riches story of class struggle and identity is referred
to many times, and I wrote the book in that spirit. But it’s also a story of
crime and a crime family, so The Godfather plays in too.
What do you hope your readers take away from BUTTON MAN?
I hope
readers take away a feeling for the times, for the industry, so different than
the clothing business of today, for the struggle to make something of your life
from nothing, and for the moral courage to stand up to overwhelming forces of
evil trying to tear you down. In many
ways,
these are themes and situations that will never be repeated—this first
generational immigrant struggle in the United States. As I’ve said, I've grown
to feel it's my duty to tell these stories, so rich in lore, humor, hard work,
and moral clarity.
What’s next for you?
I'm
halfway through a new story set in NYC in the year before WWII. It's set in
Yorkville, on the Upper East Side, in a predominantly German neighborhood. What
people don't remember from that time, is that in the conflict of whether to
join the war or not, Nazism was openly tolerated and even supported here.
Charles Lindbergh was a known Nazi sympathizer. Many in Congress were too and
were ardently against the war. In 1938, 20,000 swastika-wearing supporters
openly staged a raucous rally at Madison Square Garden. So, against this
background, I'm writing the story of a young couple who move into townhouse in
Yorkville and begin to feel that the kindly, older Swiss couple across the hall
are really Nazi spies. This one's like a mix between early Hitchcock and
Rosemary's Baby. I think it will be another different portrait of New York and
America that few know much about.
PRAISE
FOR Button Man:
“Button
Man is a compelling, fast paced historical thriller that paints a rich
portrait of the rise of Jewish organized crime in 1930’s America. Fans of Boardwalk
Empire and Dennis Lehane will love it.” ― Kristin Hannah, #1 New
York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale
“Button
Man is a riveting piece of historical fiction, mixed with family saga,
exposing the Jewish mob of the 1930's who preyed on the garment industry and
the brave few who stood up against them. This book is a heart-stopper. I loved,
LOVED it!” — Linda Fairstein, New York Times bestselling
author of Deadfall and Terminal City
“A
highly satisfying story of family loyalty, persistence, courage, and crime.” —
Kirkus Reviews
“A
gut-wrenching, noirish portrait of Jewish organized crime and labor unionism in
1930s New York…These are characters you won’t forget… Alternately frightful and
fascinating, the story viscerally describes the era, exposing the motives and
fears that drive each character and play out on the streets.” — Booklist (starred
review)
“The strength of this
suspenseful novel lies in its dark humor and characterizations of the
brothers…The sometimes gritty, sometimes swanky settings of Button
Man bring a tumultuous time and place to brimming life.” — Historical
Novel Society
“Andrew
Gross is in top form with this beautifully haunting novel that mixes history
seamlessly with fiction. Button Man is an epic journey of
struggle, hope, death and life. Riveting to the very last page.” — NY
Journal of Books
For those
of you who are not familiar with Andrew, here’s a bit of background on him.
 |
| Author Andrew Gross |
Andrew
Gross is the author of the historical thrillers The One Man and The
Saboteur, as well as the New York Times and
international bestsellers The Blue Zone, Don't Look Twice,
and The Dark Tide, which was nominated for the Best Thriller of the
Year award by the International Thriller Writers, Reckless, Eyes
Wide Open, and One Mile Under.
He is
also coauthor of several number one bestsellers with James Patterson,
including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. He lives
in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, Lynn.
Thanks everyone
for stopping by today. Do you enjoy books more if there is a combination of
fact and fiction in them or do you prefer just one way or the other?
