About the Book
A memoir about two siblings who loved each other (sometimes); the thrill of the shoplift, the power of the written word, the agony of addiction, and the joy of someone who understands you and still stays true Steve Geng--thief, addict, committed member of Manhattan's criminal semi-elite--was a rhapsody in blue, all on his own. Women had a tendency to crack his head open. His sister? Also unusual: Veronica Geng wrote brilliantly eccentric pieces for The New Yorker, hung with rock stars and Pulitzer Prize winners, threw the occasional typewriter, fled intimacy. They were parallel universes, but when they converged, it was . . . memorable.
Spanning decades of unresolved personal drama and rebellion, Steve Geng's memoir, Thick as Thieves, is the story of their lives, the bond between them, and all the things they shared. Raw, real, and funny, Geng follows his unique family history from Philadelphia to Paris, Greenwich Village to Riker's Island. We meet lovable, often treacherous characters (B.J. the Queen of Crime, Tina Brown). We hear the rants of the Geng's father, the Colonel; the malicious invective of publishing; the patter of hardened criminals. This is a memoir that will lift your spirit, kick you in the shins, and help you remember the person who understood you the most. Geng has made a lot of mistakes in his life. Thick as Thieves may just make up for them.
About the Author :
Steve Geng grew up an army brat in Philadelphia and attended high schools in Heidelberg, Germany, and Orleans, France. He was a career thief (Record Steve), a saloon keeper, and an actor (who appeared in episodes of TV's "Miami Vice" and Jonathan Demme's film "Miami Blues"). He's an active member of Manhattan's recovery community, and the brother of the late New Yorker humorist Veronica Geng. "Thick as Thieves" is Geng's first book. He lives in Manhattan.
Review :
"The only man more honest than a man without sin is a man without shame. In "Thick as Thieves", Steve Geng explores his tumultuous life and poetic relationship with his sister with a hard won clarity and a resigned grace. Candidly unsentimental but powerfully moving, Geng's tribute to his sister is one of the most frank and insightful depictions of familial devotion-- and failings--that I've ever read."--Josh Kilmer Purcell, author of "I Am Not Myself Today""" "You'll never forget your vicarious joyride through Steve Geng's world, where jail, junk, jazz, larceny and sex are the dominant themes, and art and love are the variations. Geng has committed and survived any number of crimes, but his thirst for life, lively prose and clear-eyed analysis of his own story will have you rooting for him, no matter what."--Elizabeth Gaffney, author of "Metropolis""" "Along with ample evidence of Stephan Geng's honesty, clarity, and courage--and, let's not forget, occasional depravity--"Thick as Thieves "demonstrates that there were two writers growing up in the same household with pitch-perfect senses of the absurd."--Mark Singer, author of "Somewhere in America"
" The only man more honest than a man without sin is a man without shame. In "Thick as Thieves," Steve Geng explores his tumultuous life and poetic relationship with his sister with a hard won clarity and a resigned grace. Candidly unsentimental but powerfully moving, Geng's tribute to his sister is one of the most frank and insightful depictions of familial devotion-- and failings-- that I' ve ever read." -- Josh Kilmer Purcell, author of "I Am Not Myself Today""" " You'll never forget your vicarious joyride through Steve Geng' s world, where jail, junk, jazz, larceny and sex are the dominant themes, and art and love are the variations. Geng has committed and survived any number of crimes, but his thirst for life, lively prose and clear-eyed analysis of his own story will have you rooting for him, no matter what." -- Elizabeth Gaffney, author of "Metropolis""" " Along with ample evidence of Stephan Geng' s honesty, clarity, and courage-- and, let' s not forget, occasional depravity-- "Thick as Thieves "demonstrates that there were two writers growing up in the same household with pitch-perfect senses of the absurd." -- Mark Singer, author of "Somewhere in America"
