THE CIRCUS OF SATAN

An Irish ex-boxer seeks vengeance against a New York–based criminal organization in Konvitz’s historical novel.

When professional boxing is banned in 1900, Billy McGuinness steps out of the ring indefinitely. The 30-something man, who’s also “one of Chicago’s most feared gamblers,” is ready to establish himself elsewhere. He sets up a gambling riverboat in St. Louis and later a brewery back in Chicago, but by 1911, he’s working toward a much darker goal. The Aronbergs, a family he’s close to, are brutally murdered in New York, and McGuinness attributes the crime to the System—Irish gangsters tied to crooked cops and dirty politics. He concocts an elaborate plan that involves bumping elbows with the likes of Jim Monaghan, the man McGuinness surmises to be behind the Aronbergs’ deaths. He proposes to the Irish gangsters the notion of a “national syndicate” that they must organize themselves before the Jewish and Italian criminals take over. It’s a power play that may catch Monaghan’s attention but won’t, McGuinness believes, turn out in the System’s favor. All of this demands the former boxer steer clear of any connection to the Aronbergs, lest his revenge scheme come to light. The situation grows even more dangerous when McGuinness gets his hands on an incriminating item that will prove Monaghan is dirty, along with copious others who’ll want to ensure this evidence never surfaces. To see his plan through, McGuinness makes full use of his allies (including a Chicago crime boss and a New York reporter), his highly capable fists, and the occasional explosive.

Konvitz’s sprawling tale opens in 1878 with an exhilarating boxing match–cum–street fight. This is crucial scene-setting for the early 20th-century characters, including McGuinness. Following this prologue, however, is a leisurely paced decade (1900-1910) full of exposition detailing McGuiness’ businesses in St. Louis and Chicago (and even Monaghan’s wedding party). Still, the author fills the story with diverting historical nods, such as the impending 1904 Summer Olympics in the United States and a news story about the Titanic prior to its fateful maiden voyage. There’s likewise a bevy of true-life figures mingling with fictional characters, from newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It surely won’t surprise readers that this cast of lawbreakers teems with unsavory types. McGuinness is the quintessential antihero who doesn’t shy away from violence while seeking retribution—what he calls justice—for a murdered family. Myriad others in this novel don’t care who they hurt or kill; their seemingly endless rounds of dialogue are littered with profanities and racial slurs. A significant portion of the story unfolds in New York, where tension is perpetually high—there’s more than one shocking demise, and McGuinness isn’t the only one deceiving people. The final act includes a series of memorable epilogues that follow some of the characters to the mid-1900s.

This grim, epic crime drama is rich in history and thrilling moments.