Sutton

By J.R. Moehringer

 

Before reading J.R. Moehringer's Sutton, I have to admit, I knew absolutely nothing about famed bank robber Willie Sutton, who career started in the 1920's through the 1950's with various time periods of jail time and prison breaks. Willie Sutton is in fact a real-life character, famous for being quoted as saying "Because that's where the money is" when asked why he robbed banks. For Sutton, Moehringer takes the legend of Sutton and weaves it as an enjoyable piece of historical fiction.

The book starts with Sutton's unexpected release from Attica prison on Christmas Eve in 1969. Having taken on the banks, and as such the establishment in his past, Sutton is seen as a folk hero. With his lawyer having made an arrangement with a New York City newspaper for an exclusive on his story, Willie is whisked away to a New York City hotel and spend Christmas being driven around by a reporter and photographer, telling his life's story. This is how Moehringer craftily weaves this tale, with Sutton insisting on visiting each of these sites and his memories of what happened when he gets there.

While Moehringer is constricted in telling this tale with facts, he does manage to add a bit or mystery as Willie is holding an envelope containing some information that we initially can only guess at, and what the reporter and his editors really want is to get to the scene of Arnold Schuster's murder, the young man who recognized Willie and got him sent up the river for the last time. What everyone wants to know is, was Willie responsible for the young man's murder?

Along with giving us insights into the life and career or Willie Sutton, Moehringer is also able to give us insights into his belief into Willie's character. This is, of course, not a biography, and it is pointed out that even Willie Sutton's two biographies, before he died in 1980 tended to contradict themselves. Nonetheless, this is an excellent read, that ended too early. I really enjoyed spending time with Willie Sutton and was sorry to see his story come to an end. A book I would highly recommend.