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Summary: All In the Family
Review: Mario Puzo's literary masterpiece The Godfather brings us into the lives of Don Vito Corleone, his offspring and his many "clients". The Godfather is a saga of the Corleone crime family as it travels through war, peace and great posterity.
Vito Corleone, affectionately called the Godfather, is the Don, or leader of one of the most dangerous and powerful crime families in New York. He is a "reasonable" man who never hesitates to accept a favor from someone in turn for thier friendship.
Santino Corleone (Sonny) is the Godfather's eldest son. Whenever there is a family crisis, he is the first to take charge when the Godfather can't. Sonny Corleone would be an excellent future Don, but his terrible temper and short patience plague him. These faults are what lead to his tradgic downfall.
Fredo Corleone, the Godfather's second oldest son, is the ideal son. He is loyal to his father, always willing to run an "errand" for him and never disagrees or embarasses him. However, he lacks the ability to be aggressive and to take charge when the time is necessary. This absence of animal instict makes him an unlikley candidate to inherit the Family business.
Michael Corleone is the Godfather's youngest son. He is a recluse from all of the Family activity and refuses to ever get involved. He goes against his father's wishes and joins the Marines, only to become a war hero. But when his father is shot nearly to death in the street by a rival family, he willingly steps up and takes part in the bloody mob war that ensues. When the Don passes away, he inherits the Corleone crime family business and eventually leads the process of becoming legitimate.
Other characters include Connie Corleone, Vito Corleone's only daughter; Tom Hagen, the Don's Consigliori, or counselor; Peter Clemenza and Tessio, the Godfather's Caporegimes, or captains; Luca Brasi, the Don's bodyguard; and Johnny Fontane, a famous movie star/singer and loyal Godson to Vito Corleone.
Mario Puzo's The Godfather is without a doubt the best depiction of the Mafia underworld in modern-day literature. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story of revenge, loyalty, and the powerful love that is family.
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Summary: The greatest piece of fiction ever written.
Review: I'm going to keep this short and sweet and say that in my opinion, Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" is the greatest fictional work of all time. I've always been a person who likes to read, but I almost never found myself getting into the "classics" of American literature that every schoolteacher makes you read in the 11th and 12th grades. This book, however, grasped me and pulled me in, entwined itself around me and did not let go until I was finished with it. A definite 5-star classic that surpasses even the greatness of the original Godfather movie in nearly every way.
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Summary: One of the five best books i've read
Review: The Godfather is brilliant and as such, has become one of my favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: best book ever
Review: Puzo is a god and a genius! The Godfather is by far the best book i've ever read, and i've read them all! I absolutly loved this book, if your thinking about reading it, i suggest you do!
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Summary: thy kingdum com, by shirley joyer
Review: everyone knows the storee by now. all i want to say is that it is ger-RATE! ever since i saw the G.F. movie in the SevenTies, ive been under is spell. o' course i read the book. i got the soundtrack, got the siciliam mural on the dining room Wall, got the e-talian lessoms (EYE-TALLiyum? sey wha? haile from EYE-TALLY?!?), got the siciliam hand gestures manual, the red-checked table cloth, the anti-passti, the roasted redda peppers, the sunna-dried Tomato, the caliMARi, the bee-sco-teena, the "eh? whas da mattre wid JOU, you SICK?!?" and the funniest thing is to MY family, im uh okie frem mistokie!!!
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Summary: The Godfather: It Stands the Test of Time
Review: The enduring impact of any novel can be measured only decades after its release. The publishing business is replete with hot bestsellers of the day, but have long since faded from public consciousness. Mario Puzo's THE GODFATHER is certain to occupy that middle ground between the timeless classics of Faulkner, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald and those of the still popular general favorites of Margaret Mitchell and Stephen King. When one looks at the ingredients for a novel with staying power, whatever ingredients one finds, surely THE GODFATHER has them. Discounting the obvious: gripping prose, character evolution, sex paired off with violence, strong protagonists, quirky secondary characters, and memorable lines, the primary element that gives the book as much interest today as when it was first released is that Puzo declares that there is a universal world order to things that man in his greed, his stupidity, his viciousness cannot long deter. This world order is the family. It matters not if the family is nuclear or extended. At the core of each family must be the patriarch, a Vito Corleone, who must have the vision to plan for his family and their future. The patriarch does not pay attention to such petty details as government law. What counts is his law that perpetuates his vision unto the next several generations. The difference between success in governments and families and failure in them lies not in geography, economics, or even religion, but in whether the alpha-male patriarch can combine purpose with vision. Puzo often makes the point clear. The Godfather wonders how it was possible for the Nazis to grab power only to waste their resources in a war that if he had orchestrated, Germany would have triumphed. He looks at the competing families and their respective crime bosses. During a meeting following Sonny's execution by the same people he now addresses, he is mature enough a patriarch not to let personal animosity get in the way of good business. He sees that the other Mafia chiefs have numerous flaws: money, women, style, all of which mark them as unfit to propagate their progeny. In his own family, two sons out of three are unfit. It is only Michael, the 'good' son, that Vito Corleone sees as worthy to wear the mantle. The inner tragedy of the GODFATHER is that to develop the vision that Don Corleone deems necessary to rule his family, the heir apparent must lose himself in the vision of another, thereby cutting himself off from his own unbuilt legacy. It is this sense of family, vision, and twisted legacy that has enthralled readers for decades. A vision lost is a timeless tragedy.
Rating: 
Summary: Garbage
Review: This is possibly the worst book I have ever read. This was more than a little surprising since the Godfather is one of my favorite movies. This book is so bad it is hard to understand why Coppola decided to make the movie, although I am glad he did. The hackneyed prose and added attention to the Johnny Fontane character make for pure boredom. If you are contemplating reading this book, I suggest devoting your time to watching the movies instead. It takes about as much time to read this simplistic book as to watch the first two movies.
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Summary: An Undeniable Classic
Review: Certainly just as wonderful as the movie, The Godfather is a true classic that you haven't lived until you've read, up there with Grapes of Wrath, Harry Potter, etc. It mixes dark and violent themes that show beautifully the cruel and sad world of the Mafia. Mario Puzo shows with skill the horror of this organized crime and makes you understand the truth of this underground terror. A classic just like the movie.
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Summary: Does Not Disappoint
Review: I came to read 'The Godfather' after recently viewing the classic film series about a mafia family, the Corleones, and their stuggle for power and survival in the face of the violent world of crime to which they belong. I was hoping that the book would expand on the characterisations and plot lines portrayed on the screen. The book did not disappoint. It is fast paced, full of suspense, and develops a host of interesting characters.The central character is Don Vito Corleone, the head of the Corleone family. He is the 'Godfather', a powerful patriarch who has refused to allow society to bend him to its will. Instead he has constructed his own society where 'respect', 'honour', and above all 'family' are the key notes. But this Sicilian counter-culture is a violent one, and power has its price. Don Corleone is the victim of an assassination attempt which threatens the destruction of all he holds dear. The most pleasing thing about the book is Puzo's style, descriptive, yet very tight. He is essentially a master story teller. I am ignorant as to how faithfully he presents the Mafia world, but there are no holds barred in his realism about violence, ruthlessness, and brutality. His depiction is a chilling and thoroughly gripping read. A brilliant feature are the cameo tales of the story's lesser lights, such as Luca Brasi, Lucy Mancini, and Amerigo Bonasera. These add a depth and richness to the tale Puzo weaves. The only negative note for me was the fairly frequent and graphic depiction of sex. Of course, Puzo's frankness about this is fully in keeping with his treatment of violence and the like, but it was just a little much for my taste at times. 'The Godfather' is very exciting, though not profound. A Classic of its type.
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Summary: My Favorite
Review: I can quote more from this book than I can from the Bible. Nuf said.
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