Sacco and Vanzetti Must Die! is a 2006 novel by Mark Binelli, published by Dalkey Archive. It is Binelli's first novel.[1]
The main characters, Nic Sacco and Bart Vanzetti,[2] are a Laurel and Hardy-style comedic team that is a re-imagining of Sacco and Vanzetti, with the Sacco character being fat and comedic and the Vanzetti character being the straight man.[3] Therefore the Sacco is "Fatty" and the Vanzetti is "Skinny".[4] The two characters act in silent films and do slapstick comedy. The narrative uses journal entries, excerpts of interviews, and variety shows.[2]
Brendan Driscoll of Booklist wrote that "it’s clear that Binelli’s most abiding intellectual interest is about the social construction of ethnicity."[1] The book also discusses historical memory and public personas.[1] Publishers Weekly wrote that "it takes a long time for Binelli to bring together his counter-tale with its real-life antecedents."[4]
Rod Smith of Time Out New York wrote that "Binelli falls prey to a few mildly ouch-worthy jokes, but for the most part, he matches hyperkinetic storytelling with an inventive prose style".[2]
Publishers Weekly described the book as "a hefty book, more intellectually satisfying than emotionally so" and concluded that "this is an impressive first outing; ambitious in scope and brimming with sharp-edged black humor."[4]