Omerta

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Omerta was a great read. Mario Puzo certainly had his work cut out, however, the reason why I didn't give it 5 stars was because it stalls and when your into the interesting part it stops and goes back to stupid dialogue about the death penalty which goes on for about twenty pages. Nevertheless, Puzo delivered a great Mafia book. It starts with Astorre, a young boy who's father dies and he goes to live in America with the great Don Aprile, who own's a billon dollar empire. This book reeks of violence and you never know what is around the next corner. They should make a movie out of this. However, it is no Godfather or Casino. Well put together though. I couldn't put it down so I read it in under a week. If your into mafia books, I recommend you to read this.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Mario Puzo has been an acknowledged master of the tales of Sicilian emigres in the Melting pot of US. His earlier novels depicted lives of the Italians who straddled the illegal arena so forcefully.
Godfather came the closest to hitting where it hurts. Unfortunately the same can hardly be said for 'Omerta'. Although the book establishes the boundaries fairly early on, it never manages to get out of the pat convenience of the plot.
Thus you have Astorre Viola, a part time macaroni business man, part time singer and main protagonist.
He takes over the reigns (although subtly) of the Aprile family after the Don dies (murdered).
Even as Puzo sets out the spread of characters, and his language is lucid as ever, it calls increasingly for a suspension of belief.
Hard to believe that so many coincidences can be crammed into a single plot. Truth be told it all coalesces pretty well at the end.
Still there is something far fetched about the larger than life characters (especially Astorre) and the fringe elements that somehow don't build up to an appetising whole.
It is definitely a good rainy day read but not among his classics.
A pity that it was also his last book. Not one I would like to remember him by.

Rating:
Summary: HOTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Review: WELL MR. PUZO IM NOT THE READIN TYPE BUT THIS BOOK MAY ME READ. EVER SINCE I PICKED IT UP I COULDNT PUT IT DOWN. U NEED TO MAKE A MOVIE FROM THIS GREAT BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Good book bad epilogue
Review: It is an excellent book, here you can see how does the Mafia works, how does the FBI works to fight the Mafia and how could be corrupted the police by the Mafia, the end before the epilogue is very good, you could never imagine that end, but I took off one star just for the epilogue, is the worst epilogue I ever read, if you read this book, just DON'T read the epilogue.

Rating:
Summary: Another irritating book from Puzo
Review: This is Puzo's third sell of a tired and worn out story line, a mafia family trying to go straight. The characters are larger than life as always is the case in a Puzo novel and the dialog is corny. This book is a complete waste of paper. The only time Puzo's work can stand up is when Francis Ford Coppola salvages it.

Rating:
Summary: Oh! The Pain
Review: This book pained me.

Truly.

I have read all of Mario Puzo's stuff and know what he is capable of writing: and this wasn't his best. Look, I am not trying to be obnoxious-critical for the sake of critical. But I must confess my frustration. Something wasn't right with this book: something that lingered just under my thoughts, just a whisper of doubt.

And then I put my mind on it!

The VOICE was wrong.

The IDEAS were Puzo, but it wasn't his voice, the way the words sounded in my mind, were not how Mario Puzo writes. It was like reading a recent Louis L'Amore release that they keep finding stuck away in a box. Yup, its about cowboys. Yup, its in the west. Yup, we've got a cute, firy western woman. It must be Louis L'Amoure.

He he he. Ha ha ha. Wink wink. Ya right.

I read the other reviews and was curious at the proclamations: "Vintage Puzo!"

What?

There was no finesse in this story, none of the craft that Mr. Puzo is so famous for. Omerta fails to maintain the basics of good fiction. As an exercise read the first chapter of The God Father, and then read the first chapter of Omerta. Puzo "shows" me The God Father's greatness with subtlety. In Omerta Puzo "tells" me about Don April's ruthlessness. He starts Medias Res, in the middle of things, in The God Father. In Omerta I couldn't tell where he started. The God Father is a finely woven tapestry of historic and present day events. I might credit Omerta with marginally interesting plot events, a vague cause and effect, which drives the narrative, but none of the tightly crafted drama of his previous work.

So I'm thinking about all this as I grind through the pages, wondering. Did Mr. Puzo write this?

Tough call.

I realize he recently died. Could the book manufacturers been motivated by greed to put out one more Mario Puzo book that wasn't really his? Not beyond the realm of possibility. But I don't think that was what really happened because like I said, the IDEAS were Puzo's. I think this was his working first draft. The kind a writer finishes before he takes the finer pointed pens and different colored crayons and turns it into fiction. And the literary-snicker-powers-that-be published it because Mr. Puzo wasn't with us any longer to work the rest of his magic.

This makes me sad ... for all concerned.

Rating:
Summary: Very poor quality Puzo Book
Review: I can't believe this is the same author who wrote Godfather. The writing is weak and filled with cliche's. Very implausible, mildy interesting, ridiculous characters. None of the characters in this book seem real, the author did a poor job creating them. Mostly they are super characters able to do everything (the mark of a poor writer) or are just immoral and boring. The women are all [prostitute]..., the men are all tough, blah, blah. This is the kind of work I'd expect from Puzo if he were 14. I think its just an attempt to cash in on his name, rather than a serious attempt at a good story.

I'd advise you not to waste your time with it.

Rating:
Summary: So-so Mafioso tale
Review: Mario Puzo again looking for gold after The Godfather fails to find it with Omerta.

Puzo spins a yarn revolving around Astorre Viola, the protector of the family of Don Raymonde Aprile. Astorre is the late in life son of Don Zeno, the most powerful Don in Sicily, and his youthful wife who dies in childbirth. On his deathbed, Don Zeno entrusts the upbringing of his 2 year old son to the American, Don Aprile. Astorre is given a "proper" mafioso education as well as a high class formal one.

Don Aprile retires from the "business" and is subsequently assassinated in a plot orchestrated by the FBI, NYPD and a rival Mafia don. The goal is to usurp control of the banks controlled by the Aprile family. Astorre becomes the protector of the Don's interests as well a his 3 grown and established children.

Of course, Astorre seeks and gets revenge and the Aprile family lives happily ever after. Just a bit too tidy for my liking and there lies the major problem with this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Mafia in the 20th century
Review: I really enjoyed Omerta. I also have read the Godfather and The Sicilian by Puzo and I have to say that Omerta is not as good as the former books. But I enjoyed it because it gave an insight on how the Mafia lived in the 20th century. How all of them wanted to move from Illegitimate work to legitimate and how they discovered that there is more money in the legitimate work and less trouble. But of course the way the Mafia operates to obtain what it needs and to keep it didn't change.

There isn't a lot of character development in the book but still you won't be able to put it down because it's an easy read with interesting plots.

Rating:
Summary: Great novel
Review: I just read this whole book today and it is awsome. It drew me in and I couldnt put it down.