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The Godfather (Signet) (Paperback)
by Mario Puzo
| Category:
American fiction, Crime novel, Gangsters |
| Market price: ¥ 108.00
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¥ 98.00
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MSL Pointer Review:
A classic american crime novel. An offer you can't refuse...
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Author: Mario Puzo
Publisher: Signet; Reissue edition
Pub. in: October, 2005
ISBN: 0451167716
Pages: 496
Measurements: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00769
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0451167712
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- Awards & Credential -
The #1 New York Times bestseller; a classic american crime novel; since its first publication in 1969, Mario Puzo's epic The Godfather has earned a permanent place in the American psyche and culture. The movie (which adapted from this novel) won 3 Oscar for Best Picture Best Actor Best Adapted Screenplay ...
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- MSL Picks -
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.
(quoting from Vijay Krishna, India)
Target readers:
General readers
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Mario Puzo (1920-1999), American novelist, best-known for his Godfather saga. The novel stayed on The New York Times' best-seller list for sixty-seven weeks. Puzo's book had a deep impact on American society through its film adaptation, and the saying "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse" has became a cliché.
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From Library Journal
Diehard Godfather fans play second banana to no other subculture in their obsession with the minutiae of Puzo's novel and Coppola's films. These dedicated fans will be most disappointed by the new audio version, although perhaps only an hour of material is missing, but casual aficionados will barely notice the abridgment. Missing are the subplot involving Sonny's mistress, Lucy Mancini, and Dr. William Kennedy and the descriptions of the regional Mafia chieftains that precede the commission meeting at which Don Corleone flushes out Don Barzini as his number one rival. Actor Joe Mantegna does a fine job throughout, largely resisting the temptation to put on voices for too many of the characters. However, this cannot be said for his Don Corleone. Perhaps it is vengeance: after all, Andy Garcia, as the late Don's nephew, Vincent Mancini, put the hit on Mantegna's Joey Zasa in Godfather III, but whatever the reason, Mantegna gives Corleone a raspy falsetto-imagine the Pillsbury Doughboy with a tracheotomy-that ranks as one of the worst Brando impressions ever. Also, Puzo's chilling ending in which Kay converts to Catholicism with the hope of saving her husband's soul is inexplicably transformed into a chamber-of-commerce-style bromide about the family's new life in Nevada. Still, the popularity of Puzo's novel 27 years after its publication makes this abridgment a must-have.
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| View all 13 comments |
Mikels (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
I first read Mario Puzo's The Godfather three decades ago, and the impact it had on me was overwhelming. Here was a rare novel that hooked the reader from the very first page, a novel to be savored and absorbed by the author's grim yet masterful prose.
Through the pages of this book the reader is introduced to the shadowy world of organized crime - more importantly, to the fiercely interdependent workings of the mafia. Deeply embedded in its Italian heritage, it was a culture of unspeakable violence, but it also fostered family, honor, community, loyalty, friendship. Vengeance. If you are downtrodden, or unfairly victimized, all you need do is approach one of the "families" and request a "favor." Proclaim your devotion and friendship, the favor will be granted. And then - even though it may never happen - you must be willing to return the favor.
Or suffer the consequences.
Puzo's novel brings to life the Corleone family, headed by its aging patriarch, Don Vito Corleone. In post-World War II New York, Corleone faces a changing world, but he is still plagued by the relentless "turf wars" with the other major families. Intense pressure is brought to introduce narcotics to the list of "services" provided by his family - pressure that Corleone emphatically resists, to the bleak detriment of first himself, and to those he loves. The subsequent development of the story - of the Corleone's strategy, of the emergence of one of the Godfather's sons to perpetuate the family's power and considerable clout - is spellbinding.
Few novels of the last thirty years have had any lasting effects on our cultural lexicon. The Godfather is one of them. Highly recommended.
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Mok (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
The canonization of Francis Ford Coppola's two-part adaptation of this book in the film world has made us forget that, upon its release, The Godfather (the novel) was actually considered quite pulpy, and not of the high-art status that the films have achieved.
Personally, I couldn't care less - Mario Puzo is an entertaining storyteller, and the characters he created were marvellous - the seemingly docile Michael Corleone; hothead Santino; Tom Hagen, the brilliant lawyer with an identity crisis; Luca Brasi (underused in the film version), the subhuman brute; Albert Neri, a man driven by circumstances into the world of crime; and of course Vito Corleone himself, the elegant mastermind, a man with a dream, a romanticization of the crimelord as a patriarch of King Lear proportions.
The novel benefits from its chosen form. A scarcely acknowledged fact about the Godfather pictures is that much-needed exposition often had to get excised because there was so much back story to each character set up in the book that the film form couldn't handle adequately. You might notice in the Godfather films how Michael's return to America is completely unexplained; Luca Brasi's power and strength are never shown onscreen (he appears at the wedding, then dies in the bar at the hands of the Tattaglias); Paulie Gatto becomes a skimpish character; Genco Abbandando disappears; and Tom Hagen's conflicts about being consigliere are minimized. Even given two three-hour films, the amount of information in the one source novel couldn't be disclosed properly, resulting in huge gaps of information. Puzo's novel does it well, with exaggeratedly elevated language, character behaviour, and third-person narrative. It works beautifully, even given its trashier inclinations (eg. commentaries on Lucy Mancini's anatomy, and the large Johnny Fontaine/Nino Valenti subplot).
Small wonder that this larger-than-life novel spawned the most famous film series of all time, the first entry of which has been called the best film ever made (I have contentions with that). The Godfather can be read as pure entertainment and, if so desired, as literature.
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Hank Robbins (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
Before I even realized that there had been a book, I was an avid fan of The Godfather and loved the characters of Sonny, Michael, Vito, Lucca Brazzi, Peter Clemenza, and the other unforgettable faces that made the film great. Then, one day I came upon a first edition of the novel at an antique shop and bought it. I read it quickly (the book travels at a breakneck speed) and with much relish, and when I was done I was satisfied. The movie was good, but the novel was BETTER. Puzo's Corleone family is a well-illustrated, clearly defined group, each member with his own strengths and weaknesses. The storytelling is gripping, the dialogue brilliant, the characters charming. Puzo, in addition to the main bent of the story, delves into the shady side of old-school Hollywood and makes an interesting read of it. For any lover of the Godfather saga, this book is a must read. Check it out, and enjoy!
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Jared Smith (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
Don Vito Corleone continues to be a fictional figurehead of the American mafia's underworld. He is the portrait of a modern mafia boss, despite being thirty five years old and set in the 1940s. The Godfather is about power. Don Corleone's insatiable desire for power combined with a total refusal to play by someone else's rules-i.e. the government, created an amiable but villainous Don in control of the greater part of New York City's underworld. He is heralded as an angel-granting alms, help, justice, equity, protection, citizenship and whatever else you can imagine. Puzo makes you revere Don Corleone, like all of those poor people whom he has helped over the years of his reign. Granting favors is how he remains with so much power, innumerous people owe him for the "good deeds" he has done them.
Unlike other mafia novels, Puzo ensures that the blood and the gore take second stage to the decision to exercise power. After reading the explanations and unfortunate circumstances that these characters find themselves in, there is no choice but to exercise power by making their enemies "an offer they can't refuse." Why and when Corleone exercises power is the interesting point in The Godfather, because it demonstrates how and in what circumstances he loves possessing power.
With all of the talk of Don Vito Corleone, he is not the true protagonist. Michael is. Michael Corleone, the third son and most like his father. The second key theme of the novel is the importance of the family. Michael was an idealist, not interested in working in the "family business." But after unfortunate circumstances of Don Corleone's attempted assassination, Michael must step up and fill the vacancy in his father's war room. He is essentially forced into his crimes through loyalty to his family. This loyalty is instilled in him at an early age by his father, learned as an age-old Sicilian adage and necessity.
Michael's internal conflict between desiring a legitimate life and following his father's footsteps is the main conflict of the book. Unfortunately, Puzo does not develop Michael enough to fully leverage this conflict into powerful writing. The plot points which drive Michael to eventually become Don Corleone himself are sufficient to explain why he made the decisions he made. For example, the necessary hit of Sollozzo and the assassination of his new bride drove him deeper into the family business. But Puzo lacks clear manifestations of an ongoing internal struggle that he set up Michael to have: he wants to be legitimate-he wants to live a normal life but can't because he is a Corleone. Puzo's only good example of Michael's desire for legitimacy is how he tries to withdraw the Corleone's from New York and take them to Las Vegas. But this seems more of an idea of Don Vito's than Michael's. Without directly writing Michael's internal dialogue, Puzo could include more conversations and evidence that he is truly struggling with his decision.
As the all-time bestselling novel in publishing history, The Godfather has an intricate plot with many distinct and intriguing characters that keep you guessing what happens next.
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