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The Sopranos On The Couch

Maurice Yacowar

Reviewed by Lorenzo Princi
The Sopranos On The Couch by Maurice Yacowar
Cover Concept by Lorenzo Princi, 2 April 2012

Maurice Yacowar's The Sopranos On The Couch begins with high praise for the HBO series. This book is a big fan's critical analysis, but one would have to be so engrossed in a television show in order to write such a complete episode by episode (albeit, only for the first three seasons) essay.

The book works in isolation from the show precisely due to its format. Though the series played out over six years like a soup opera with one contiunous story arc, Yancowar doesn't take the hollistic approach but rather summerises the plot of each epsiode as its own mini-movie and gives an in-depth, highly educated analysis focusing on all aspects, including dialogue, camera work and music.

Yancowar has written a great synopsis of the show which will refresh the memories of those who have seen it. The book also has enough fat for avid film and television buffs or students to sink their teeth into while remaining witty enough to keep any reader interested.

By adding crude profanity to his candidness, Yacowar ironically elevates his well versed passages to the level of Soprano enthusiast therefore using the language of the show itself rather than the stiff analytic norm. His attention to small detail is also to be praised though it never distracts him from the right in front of your eyes meanings such as character names.

The book is for anyone who enjoys watching the show (or the gangster genre) and wants a better understanding of its subtext, characters and artistic relevance by some one who knows a great deal about the medium and subject matter.

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