Sonny Boy
A Memoir
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4.2 • 213 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
The Instant New York Times Bestseller • One of People Magazine's Top 10 Books of the Year
"The rare celebrity memoir that's also a literary read. As funny as it is reflective, it shares stories behind Pacino's hardscrabble upbringing, classic films and journey to icon status." —People Magazine
From one of the most iconic actors in the history of film, an astonishingly revelatory account of a creative life in full
To the wider world, Al Pacino exploded onto the scene like a supernova. He landed his first leading role, in The Panic in Needle Park, in 1971, and by 1975, he had starred in four movies—The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon—that were not just successes but landmarks in the history of film. Those performances became legendary and changed his life forever. Not since Marlon Brando and James Dean in the late 1950s had an actor landed in the culture with such force.
But Pacino was in his midthirties by then, and had already lived several lives. A fixture of avant-garde theater in New York, he had led a bohemian existence, working odd jobs to support his craft. He was raised by a fiercely loving but mentally unwell mother and her parents after his father left them when he was young, but in a real sense he was raised by the streets of the South Bronx, and by the troop of buccaneering young friends he ran with, whose spirits never left him. After a teacher recognized his acting promise and pushed him toward New York’s fabled High School of Performing Arts, the die was cast. In good times and bad, in poverty and in wealth and in poverty again, through pain and joy, acting was his lifeline, its community his tribe.
Sonny Boy is the memoir of a man who has nothing left to fear and nothing left to hide. All the great roles, the essential collaborations, and the important relationships are given their full due, as is the vexed marriage between creativity and commerce at the highest levels. The book’s golden thread, however, is the spirit of love and purpose. Love can fail you, and you can be defeated in your ambitions—the same lights that shine bright can also dim. But Al Pacino was lucky enough to fall deeply in love with a craft before he had the foggiest idea of any of its earthly rewards, and he never fell out of love. That has made all the difference.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
One of the best and boldest actors of his generation shares the true story of his rise from severe poverty to Hollywood superstardom in a candid, powerfully entertaining memoir. Al Pacino grew up in the ’50s in the South Bronx in a caring but fractured family and was surrounded by friends with a risky taste for mischief. His life changed when he discovered the theater, and Pacino speaks in detail about his beginnings off-Broadway, his breakthrough role in The Godfather, his working relationships with directors, the great roles he played (and some he turned down), and the women he loved. This story is as honest and unguarded as Pacino’s best performances, and it feels more like a friend sharing stories about a remarkable life than the typical celebrity memoir. Pacino writes with joy about his successes, with passion about his creative process, and with sorrow about the friends of his youth who have died. It’s rough, loving, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Customer Reviews
Sonny Boy
Hooo-wah
3.5/5
This was a decent read. It was pretty self-serving (even for a biography!) but still interesting. He’s had an incredible career and hearing about that first-hand was insightful. But, it was extremely slow at the beginning and dragged at the end.
Sonny Boy
The first half is a solid 5 star celebrity memoir, but the second half is just the ramblings of an old man. The whole thing needed a stronger editor.