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Summary: I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse...
Review: "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse..." just gotta love that line...classic Vito Coreleone. That is from the single greatest Italian-mafia novel ever: The Godfather. Written by Mario Puzo this novel has it all: sex, violence, the workings of a hierarchal (don't know if I spelt that correctly, forgive me)organized crime group. Puzo executes this story line flawlessly with plenty of wacks, assaults, and dead horse heads. Pick this up if you want a great action packed read w\an exceptional story line. Don't pick this up if too much gore bothers you, or if illicit sex in a novel bothers you."Keep your friends close but your enemies closer."
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Summary: The Godfather
Review: This is possibly the most entertaining Novel I have ever read. It charts the rise, fall and rise again of America's largest Mafia or Cosa Nostra Organisation. Throught the Book are various sotries about different people who all have one person in common, their benifactor, their godfather Vito Corleone, a man of utmost honor and respect dispite being a murderer and extortionist. The book starts with the Don at the hight of his power. After an assation attempt the Don's health becomes a cause for concern and now he must decide which of three sons will take contol of the family business. Mario Puzo has constructed a compelling novel, although this is a big read I would recommend it for beginners or seasoned readers, an absolute classic
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Summary: The Godfather of All Books
Review: The Godfather by Mario Puzo is about an Italian Mafia family, the Corleones, who live in New York, and it gives an inside look at how the Mafia runs. The many characters include Don Vito Corleone, the Godfather, and his three sons, Santino, Fredo, and Michael. The first main event happens when a man by the name of Virgil Sollozzo enters Don's office and asks if Don would help him import drugs into the United States. Don rejects saying that even though the profits from drugs are high, so are the risks. A couple days later, when Don is getting into his car, he is shot by two men. Even though he is severely wounded he is not killed and Santino is forced to take over the business. I won't give away the rest of the book, but I will tell you it kept me on the edge of my seat. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys nonstop action in the novels they read. I found Mario Puzo's writing style to be very good with lots of unexpected twists and turns. This helped make the book very exciting. I also recommend it to anyone interested in the Mafia. This book provides an inside look about how the Mafia is run. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much.
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Summary: Life in the Underworld
Review: My mom and I love the movie and I thought I'd give the book a try. First off, Mario Puzo is a great author and is ingenious at making the book come to life. The way he so vividly describes events and the characters' thoughts makes it seem like you are actually experiencing them yourself. After the first couple of chapters, you begin to feel certain emotions towards the characters. For example, you may feel hatred towards the 'Turk' Sollozo, lust for the womanizing Santino Corleone (ladies), respect and fear for the great Don, or have pity on young Connie Corleone for her abusive marriage. Each and every character brings something new to the story. The Don is such a strong character. He gains his respect by doing people significant favors, and all he asks for in return is their friendship and for them to help him out whenever he asks for a favor. Despite his harsh reputation, the Don is actually a admirable individual who keeps his word, has strong opinoins and sticks to them. When it comes to the issue of drugs, his views contrast sharply with the opinions of the leaders of the other families. Don Corleone did not want anything to do with drugs, which he felt would be the downfall of the Mafia families. His difference of opinion caused the other heads of the families to turn on him and ultimately contribute to his assassination.
Puzo's elucidative writing is not the only thing that makes this story so enjoyable...the story itself is part of its vast fame. It is a glimpse at what the Mafia underworld might be like. Like other, more ideal American families, the Corleone family is built on love and trust for eachother and for their close friends. In contrast, their lives are also filled with violence, greed, lies, betrayal, and murder. Sometimes you cannot trust the one's you consider 'family'. Or even though someone in your family may do something against your will, they will be behind your back, sticking up for you, in good times and in bad times. An example of this illustrated in the story is the bond between Michael Corleone and his father, Vito. Michael joins the marines against his fathers will. Even though he becomes a war hero, his relationship with his father will never be the same as it was before he left. When the Don is double-crossed and almost shot to death, Michael, who never wanted to get mixed up in his family's illegal affairs, joins in the family 'business' and kills the two men who were behind his father's attack. This is a immense sign of loyalty in that Michael gives up his whole personal life to prevent his father from being targeted any more.
This story exposes the dark side of the Mafia, and at times, it is hard to distinguish the villian from the hero. This is a well written, entertaining read fot the mature audience.
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Summary: The book so good it spawned 2 movies
Review: Th ebook is exactly like the movie except for a few touches that I really like. You get to hear what the charecters are acrually thinking. In the movie you had to guess by what they said(they always did a very good job). The secound thing that I really like about the book is that eventually Kay excepts that she is never going to change her husband Mike and ceases to moan and complian. Conclusion-If you liked the movie, you will love the book.
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Summary: Just Watch the Movie Again
Review: Since The Godfather is one of my favorite films, I decided to read the novel, following the tenet that the book is always better than the movie. Oh goodness, not true in this case. Mario Puzo writes like a amateur. Example: He's goes on and on for 5 or 6 pages about something (details aren't important) and then actually WRITES "To make a long story short...". I gasped. Note, if the novel's writing style was conversational throughout, this would be acceptable. Much to my dismay, it's not. I found Puzo to be a quite lazy writer; he just doesn't take the time to think about a better way of forming his words and telling the story. So, I say if you enjoy the film as much as I do, and yearn for more background story and character development, please please shy away from this horrible piece of pulp. Just watch the movie again.
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Summary: one of my favs
Review: enough has already been said.. i d just add that its one of my all time favourite fictional works.
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Summary: Even better the second time around
Review: I picked up this book when I was a teen and read it simply because I wanted to read the #1 bestseller. I remember enjoying it very much and then a couple of years seeing the movie and being rather disappointed in the movie (in comparison to the book). Anyway, about a month ago I was rollerblading through the streets of Chicago and ran across a garage sale. They had a beat up paperback of the Godfather, first paperback printing. No cover. I bought it for a dime and started reading it that day. I brought that beat up paperback with me everyday for the next week and finished it off relatively quickly. The book is simply magnificent; I found that I had forgotten almost everything during the 30 year span between readings. I hadn't forgotten the part about Sonny banging Lucy standing up against the door though! The great Don, it is repeated at least three times, "is notoriously straitlaced on matters concerning sex." This is just one of the many fascinating glimpses into the mind of the central character Vito Corleone. Although Vito Corleone may be the central character, contributing to the greatness of this book is the superior development of a host of very interesting characters. Such as Michael, Sonny, Tom Hagen, Tessio and Clemenza, Lucas Brasi and Albert Neri, Carlo Rizzo, Tattaglia, Barzini and the other dons, Amerigo Bonasero, Nazzarine, Paulie Gatto, Johnny Fontane, Woltz, Mama Corlene, Kate and Apollonia, Fabrizio and the other sheperd, Don Tommasino, the island of Sicily, the depiction of the "brutes" from Chicago. The scenarios of vengeance and retaliation are the most exciting you will ever read in my opinion. Many interesting insights into the human condition are covered going along with the flow of the novel. One thing I found interesting is how many Sicilians cannot grasp how anyone would put anything more than a trivial value on the "sexual powers of a woman." I've read many Puzo books and only this one did I read twice....I will probably read it again in the next thirty years. It is timeless.
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Summary: Get the unabridged audio cassette for some brilliant
Review: The cassette had brilliant performances worthy of the movie and Brando!
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Summary: Awaken the DON in you!
Review: The Godfather is, in many ways, not just a novel - it is an experience, after which your life will never be the same again. I have not the least of doubts in calling it 'the best, most influential and deep-cutting that I have ever read.' In its sheer departure from being just a general, run-of-the-mill tale about idolizing a particular individual, the novel presents to us with a ringside view of the workings of the Mafia, and more importantly, the lives of the people who are involved in it, directly or indirectly. The novel starts off with a quote from Balzac - "Behind every great fortune, there is a crime." That, in effect, sets the tone for the entire novel. Mario Puzo, the author, ruthlessly captures the travails of a New York Don, Vito Corleone, who is, to quote the words of his son, "not a crazy gunning mobster", and his family. Puzo presents to us an entire array of different characters - be it the short-tempered Sonny, or the dreary undertaker Bonasera, or the ever-faithful Luca, the cool-headed Tom, the 'Turk' Sollozzo, or the pleasant outsider Kay Adams, each character enters our world, refusing to leave. We are impressed by most of these essentially evil people because the story is told in an entirely closed world (of crime) and so we tend to love characters whom we would, in the normal course, detest. The novel is, basically, about just two persons, Don Vito Corleone and his son, Michael, who after refusing to accept his father's ways, finally comes to terms with the reality and takes up the 'family business'. Puzo shows us why he is the great author he really is! The character of the Don pervades our thoughts more than most (or almost all) other fictional characters do. Though the nature of his business is violent, the Don is portrayed as a genial, kind and reasonable man. To say the least, the Don is someone whom 'every son will look for in his father, every woman will look for in her husband, and any mortal will look for in an inspirational leader.' In fact, the Godfather is what every man aspires to be - a strong, powerful and wise yet cunning genius and family man. I have not read a better novel - chances are, you won't either! Do not miss the Godfather movies too.
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