Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra Mass Market Paperback – March 2, 1996

 

This is the story of four young boys. Four lifelong friends. Intelligent, fun-loving, wise beyond their years, they are inseparable. Their potential is unlimited, but they are content to live within the closed world of New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen. And to play as many pranks as they can on the denizens of the street. They never get caught. And they know they never will.

Until one disastrous summer afternoon.

On that day, what begins as a harmless scheme goes horribly wrong. And the four find themselves facing a year’s imprisonment in the Wilkinson Home for Boys. The oldest of them is fifteen, the youngest twelve. What happens to them over the course of that year—brutal beatings, unimaginable humiliation—will change their lives forever.

Years later, one has become a lawyer. One reporter. And two have grown up to be murderers, professional hit men. For all of them, the pain and fear of Wilkinson still rage within. Only one thing can erase it.

 

Revenge.

To exact it, they will twist the legal system. Commandeer the courtroom for their agenda. Use the wiles they observed on the streets, the violence they learned at Wilkinson.

If they get caught this time, they only have one thing left to lose: their lives.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 2, 1996
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345404114
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345404114
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.18 x 1.03 x 6.84 inches
• Condition: Used Very Good

 

Sociology of Urban Areas, Popular Culture in Social Sciences, Memoirs

Setting & Background

The story unfolds in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, during the 1960s. Four inseparable boys—intelligent, mischievous, and streetwise—spend their days pulling pranks and enjoying their youth in a tough but close-knit neighborhood. Their lives changed forever after one ill-fated prank spiraled out of control.

 

The Turning Point

A summer afternoon accident lands them in the Wilkinson Home for Boys, a juvenile detention center. What they encounter there is horrifying: systematic brutality, abuse, and humiliation at the hands of guards. The trauma leaves permanent scars, shaping the course of their adult lives.

 

Life After Wilkinson

Years later, the four friends take very different paths:

• One becomes a lawyer,
• Another a reporter,
• The remaining two grow into professional hit men.

Despite their outward success or notoriety, the shadow of Wilkinson continues to haunt them. The pain of their youth never fully disappears.

 

Central Conflict & Theme of Revenge

When the men’s lives converge again, the past resurfaces. The novel explores the idea that only revenge—not time, not success, not even escape—can erase the torment of their stolen childhoods. Justice, for them, lies outside the legal system in acts of retribution.

At its core, Sleepers is a story about:

• Friendship and loyalty tested by trauma.
• Corruption and cruelty within institutions meant to rehabilitate.
• Retribution vs. forgiveness, and whether vengeance can ever heal deep wounds.

 

Tone & Reception

Carcaterra writes with a blend of raw realism, emotional depth, and thriller-like pacing. The book has been praised for its emotional power, authenticity, and unforgettable characters, though it has also sparked debate over its claim of being a true story.

 

✅ In short: Sleepers is a harrowing, emotional tale of four boys whose lives are shattered by abuse in a detention center and who, as men, seek to reclaim their dignity through loyalty, justice, and revenge.