Chapter 17: "The Story of the Bronx" (Please continue reading! Please add to your collection!)

“Rewrite the manuscript...”

Puzo fell into deep thought.

Reason told him that for the sake of the payment and survival, he should make changes.

But his emotions insisted that even for the sake of money, some things must never be abandoned.

After a moment, Puzo shook his head. “I’m not considering rewriting.”

Enny smiled knowingly when he saw the determination in Puzo’s eyes.

Puzo said, “Enny, I fully accept your concept of commercial writing. It’s just that after finishing this work, Gentleman, I seem to have gradually touched upon a perfect state of writing—just as you said, a balance between storytelling and literary quality.”

“Moreover, it was by abandoning the obsession with imitating mainstream literature that, while focusing on crafting the plot, I rediscovered the literary quality I had always pursued.”

Puzo hesitated for a moment, then smiled faintly. “Catering to current social trends may be popular, but as long as the story is well written, I believe... it will give the editors an irresistible reason to accept it.”

Very spirited indeed!

Enny sensed that the Mario Puzo, who in another life had only truly begun writing after turning thirty, had already gained in advance the psychological state of a writer.

Though the path ahead might still hold failures, he would never again be lost in confusion.

But...

After Puzo declared this boldly, he immediately drooped a little. “You think I should go back and revise it a bit more, right?”

Enny: “...”

“No need to revise. It’s already very good as it is!”

As an old loser who had traveled through time, Enny understood Puzo’s mindset well—the anxiety and hesitation. But more revisions would only make it worse; it was already quite well done.

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Upon hearing Enny’s words, Puzo’s confidence returned, and he shifted the topic, saying, “Now look at yours!”

Enny handed over his manuscript and gave Puzo a heads-up in advance: “This novel might not be quite the style you expect, but overall, it meets my own standards.”

Puzo eagerly began to read. The first line—the title—already gave him a vague sense of Enny’s novel’s style: The Bronx Story...

Past years, stories, the passage of time... tales with such words usually evoke nostalgia and tender remembrances of bygone eras.

Puzo was indeed somewhat surprised; this style was completely unlike the submission style of The Black Mask.

Seeing Puzo’s expression, Enny felt a bit embarrassed.

Originally, he had intended to borrow from the “God of Things” with Crime City—a hard-boiled detective story set in the slums of New York.

But perhaps from writing too many wish-fulfillment novels in his previous life, his thoughts changed when he put pen to paper.

He wanted to write a story that better fit the present era, one that embodied humanistic care, depth of humanity, and a sense of the times.

Thus, The Bronx Story was born.

The Bronx Story is a 1993 crime drama film directed by Robert De Niro, adapted from Chazz Palminteri’s autobiographical screenplay. The plot revolves around the growth of an Italian-American community, family bonds, and the temptations of the mob. It was De Niro’s directorial debut and received widespread acclaim upon release.

It was later nominated for the Golden Lion at the 50th Venice International Film Festival.

The story specifically follows a nine-year-old boy named Annu, living in a Bronx neighborhood populated by Italians. He is fascinated by the local mob life, but his father, Rollinson, a bus driver with a strong sense of justice, fears his son will be led astray by the community’s environment. Therefore, he forbids Annu from going to bars or associating with gang members, striving to shield him from the neighborhood’s bad influences.

One day, Annu witnesses a murder but refuses to identify the culprit—the local mob boss, Sonny. Sonny is impressed by Annu’s silence, and this event sparks a father-like, cross-generational friendship between them.

Over the next eight years, Sonny’s power grows, and Rollinson’s worries about his son’s path deepen. Young Annu becomes the central figure shared by two “father” figures from very different social backgrounds, both wise and worldly, whose guidance forms the heart of the story.

Though the film is set in the 1960s, since it all takes place in New York, Enny found it straightforward to adapt the setting and some period elements, smoothly outlining the story and creating this novel, which totals about 18,000 words.

After about twenty minutes, Puzo finished reading the novel.

“Enny, this novel is... really good, truly moving.”

Puzo’s voice was choked with emotion, his nose twitching as if he had been crying—he was indeed moved to tears but tried hard not to let them fall, unwilling to lose face.

“Lost some little pearls?” Enny was surprised.

“You rascal...” Puzo wiped the corner of his eye. “After reading this, I even wonder if you’ve experienced discrimination yourself. But you’re a pure American white man, your life should be smoother than ours immigrants or those Black folks. How on earth did you write such a story?”

The protagonist of The Bronx Story is Italian, so Puzo naturally identified with the character of Annu, whose life was difficult from childhood. His own life had been tough as well—his father was a railway worker, his mother a full-time housewife, and with many siblings, they lived in a slum just to get by.

Of course, Puzo’s life had no gang influence, nor a shrewd, tough mob boss like Sonny who treated him like a son.

But the brilliance of Enny’s story lay in its restrained portrayal of the mob’s violence. Instead, the focus was on the community’s everyday life—racial discrimination, the struggle of poverty, and the faint warmth of ordinary existence amid hardship. This allowed readers who shared similar experiences—immigrants, the unemployed, the poor—to see their own reflections in the story and fully immerse themselves in it.

At the same time, Enny’s subtle writing captured Rollinson’s concern for his son—seemingly cold but quietly supportive behind the scenes—contrasting sharply with Sonny’s more rough-edged, almost brotherly care. This delicate depiction of family warmth is often overlooked but becomes a striking highlight when recognized by readers.

It also made Puzo suddenly realize that his own parents had that same kind of unspoken concern for him, which he had often ignored.

In response, Puzo could only think... Don’t kill me with family drama!

...