Published by Scribner on January 23, 2024

Last Acts is built on dark humor. Some of the humor derives from unlikely sources. Drug addition isn’t funny. Neither are school shootings. Everyone survives the shooting in Last Acts (the headlines speak of Mass Survival rather than Mass Murder) because the gun was too big for the shooter to handle. He fell down sobbing without managing to kill anyone.

Sobbing is a common experience in Last Acts. So many events in life promote tears. Look at the same events from a different perspective, however, and they might promote laughter. Drug addiction isn’t funny but people in rehab might be. School shootings aren’t funny but a survivor who forms a support group for victims of Mass Survival might give readers a reason to laugh. Marketing isn’t funny but, well, sure it is. How perspective influences attitude is an important theme of Last Acts.

The transition from loser to winner is another of the novel’s themes. It’s a transition that should make people happy, but are winners always happy? They might have been happier when they were losers. Change is the only constant. A loser who becomes a winner will probably become a loser again. But whether the person is really a loser is, again, a matter of perspective. A character named Felicia illustrates the point: “She was happy with her life, more or less. Sometimes the wind hit her and she felt certain she would sob. But more frequent were the days when she walked around smiling, confident that she would never die.”

The novel’s most important characters are Rizzo and his son Nick. Rizzo’s first name is David but he’s known to all as Rizzo. Rizzo has a gun shop in a strip mall that was developed by Buford Bellum, a serial entrepreneur who is at heart a con artist. Rizzo had a history of being fired from sales jobs until he believed Buford’s pitch that buying into the “business park” would guarantee his success. Instead, Rizzo has crushing debt, a store full of guns, and few customers willing to venture into the lonely mall to buy them.

The possibility of an afterlife is the only thing that mitigates Rizzo’s fear of death. When Nick dies from a drug overdose and is brought back to life, Rizzo’s hopes are dashed by Nick’s report that he experienced nothing after he died. Rizzo is terrified by the thought that his miserable life is all he will ever have.

Nick is a heroin addict. He needs drug treatment but, when Rizzo takes him to the most affordable treatment center, his credit cards are declined. Unsurprisingly, the center refuses Rizzo’s request to “just keep him for a for a few days” while Rizzo tries to find the money.

Nick goes to work in Rizzo’s failing gun shop, hoping to prove to his father than he is done screwing up his life. He tries to make a commercial for his father’s store, promoting sales by promising to donate some of their revenues to drug addiction treatment. Nick’s ad libs (“at Rizzo’s Firearms, we are shooting addiction dead”) cause multiple reshoots, but the commercial they eventually produce goes viral, bringing success and more opportunities to screw up. Life is a series of ups and downs. Nick and Rizzo both make the transition from loser to winner before they fall again.

Rizzo’s downfall occurs when he is held responsible (unjustly in the collective view of his gun-happy customers) for the failed school shooting. Nick’s production of the commercial for his father’s store seems to give birth to a career as a marketing consultant until he teams up with Buford Bellum. Neither father nor son can get ahead for long.

Nick and Rizzo love each other, albeit grudgingly. They would like to trust each other, but trust must be earned and neither parent nor child is capable of exercising sound judgment. Their comical mishaps promote guilty laughter (it isn’t nice, after all, to laugh at another’s misfortune). The story develops poignancy from the willingness of father and son to maintain a relationship despite their inevitable disappointment with each other. They can work through their issues because they know they’ll always have each other.

In the tradition of modern (or postmodern or whatever they are these days) novels, Last Acts ends abruptly, in the middle of an important development. That will annoy some readers. I’ve almost gotten used to it. Maybe Alexander Sammartino will write a sequel that explains the next chapters of his characters’ lives. He probably won’t, but I hope he does.

RECOMMENDED

An engrossing satire on guns and addiction. It was insightful and a great deal of fun .
Many thanks to Scribner and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a pleasant surprise! The author’s writing style is very different that what I’m used to and it took about %20 to get accustomed to but once I did, I really enjoyed it! If you choose to read this one, go into it knowing that this is satirical. It is an exploration of the ironies of everyday life like a gun store owner using philanthropy as a marketing strategy in order to raise funds for substance abuse recovery. It is absurd and funny and painfully relatable. It was a bit hard to follow at times when the writing was more experimental but overall, it was a great read. I would recommend to those who love literary or contemporary fiction, lighthearted social commentary, and fans of grit lit or exploration of middle class struggles.

Last Acts is a father/son satirical story about gun ownerships/rights/etc in America. The commercial of aspect of this book had me cracking up and I do appreciate the commentary provided on so many current issues. This is a blunt, in your face book and I was pleasantly surprised with the mixed media incorporated. Parts of this are harder to read when the narrator is in certain states, but it is cleverly done. I laughed a very dark laugh while reading this.

A topical satire about guns and addiction hung on an entirely unlikeable father son pairing. Nick is back from his latest rehab, his father David is trying to figure out how to save his failing gun store. Their scheme- a tv commercial- sets up what's meant to be an insightful indictment of the culture. This felt very much like a writer looking in (and down) at his characters. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Not for me but fans of literary fiction might give it a try.

This is one of those books that is well-written and will appeal to a certain type of reader, but I’m not that reader. I don’t like this narrative style and as a result I can’t engage with this story or characters. It’s not bad - it’s just a me thing.

light and satirical in a good way. not super extraordinary but a well done work that i think is promising. thanks for the arc

Satirical novel following a father struggling to keep his firearms store afloat and his drug addicted son who is attempting to stay clean after a recent overdose. Arizona setting was great and it manages to be genuinely funny while tackling serious topics like gun control and the opioid epidemic.

Wanted t0 love it but it turned out to be so poorly written that I had to force myself to finish it. Save your money!

Last Acts is a father and son story set in contemporary American culture, complete with guns, opiod addiction, protests, and the foibles of capitalism. The narrative follows David Rizzo and his son, Nick as they both look for answers as to what each of them will do with the next chapter in their respective lives. Last Acts is a story about forgiveness, love, loss, and growth as we watch this father/son duo build each other up after so many downs. It is a very amusing and quick read that will leave you thinking about the subject matter long after you finish reading. An advance reader copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I found this novel extremely underwhelming. I love quirky little novels but this one just left me wanting more. I liked the strained relationship between a father and his son, but the plot was so paper-thin. Once the plot gets moving, the novel is pretty much over. I was expecting so much more.

v satirical and creative, laughed out loud a few times but I also wanted a bit more -- from the characters, plot, et al. I feel like sometimes satire can just be like that, though. either way: I liked but didn't quite love it.

thank you netgalley for the arc! <3

AHHHHHHH! SCRIBNER! All are too good to me! I SCREAMED when I opened this baby up and when I flipped through and saw mixed media formatting throughout the pages and I was so excited, but when I tell yall I was NOT expecting this narrative and outcome, I'm not lying.

Last Acts tells the tale of a tumultuous Father/Son relationship where the Father's Gun and Ammo store is about to kick the can, and his son has just overdosed, died, and revived for the umpteenth time, has come home to his father. During this time, Nick helps his father, Rizzo, spice up his business so they don't lose any more business, especially the house they live in.

When business pops off due to Nick's digital marketing wizardry, guns are being sold out the wazoo, ads, and billboards are popping up everywhere, and a very particular school shooting lands Rizzo in prison for the unlawful sale of an assault weapon to a very ill-motivated minor. While Rizzo rots in prison, Nick struggles to keep the business out of greedy hands and afloat while fighting his moral conscience when the activists come knocking.

Told through a mixed media format and death bed/drug haze confessionals, Last Acts is a story about love, forgiveness, loss, and growth as we watch this father/son duo build each other after so many downs.

I am so thankful to Scribner, Netgalley, and Alexander Sammartino for granting me digital and physical access to this heartbreaker before it hits shelves on January 23, 2024.

This will be on a lot of must read lists. I loved reading a book full of satire and this one didn't disappoint. I feel if I say too much I will give a lot of the story away. Read this and you'll find out why people will be talking about this book.

LAST ACTS, by Alexander Sammartino, follows David Rizzo and his son, Nick, as they both look for answers as to what each of them will do with the next chapter in their respective lives. Nick has returned home after recovering from an overdose and eager to get back on his feet, while David sees his son's return as opportunity to save his failing gun store. Plans go awry and this reconnected father-son duo has to figure out how to overcome all problems that keep them from happiness.
The reader immediately is attached to and pulls for David, while Nick comes off as a lost soul who hasn't found a way to support himself, let alone stop using other people for his own gains. As the book progresses, though, the reader, in spite of all his mistakes, starts to pull for Nick and hopes that he can succeed and make himself and his father happy. The only way I can think of to describe Sammartino's writing style is thoughtfully blunt. He gives the reader what they need to understand and enjoy the scene before them, but there is very little extra. There is also some chapters that aren't pushing plot, but rather provides context to deepen the understanding of the characters and the situations. There were a few times, though, that I found myself searching for clarity within a chapter and I struggled not just in comprehension, but also in purpose.
LAST ACTS is gritty, funny, and memorable. There is no sugarcoating of characters or events, and therefore felt very real, like these things could happen to any of us.

This is generally fun and well written. Humor can be tough to pull of and this author executed nicely there. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free copy for review!!

Loved it, what a hoot!

The prose is fresh, the writing funny. I first encountered Sammartino on Joyland and was eager to read this. It did not disappoint!

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley.

I found Last Acts hard to read and tried three times to get into it. The story, and its characters, seem odd and just didn't prompt me to care. I was hoping to like the novel better.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for allowing me to read this in advance. Last Acts is a father and son tale set squarely in contemporary American culture, complete with guns, opiod addiction, protests, and the foibles of capitalism. With a subject matter like that, you would think this would be a depressing read. It is not. In all its seriousness (and ultimate optimism), it is a quite funny and quick read that will leave you thinking about the subject matter long after you turn the last page.

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the ebook. This is a wonderfully satiric novel about a father and son relationship in America today. Rizzo runs a gun shop in Arizona that no one visits. His son Nick has just survived a near fatal overdose. Rizzo can’t afford to send Nick to rehab, so instead he has a TV commercial made to exploit his son’s situation and promote his failing business. And that’s just the beginning of a story that’s told over several years and with an endless supply of oddball characters throughout.