The Godfather: Amazon.ca: Mario Puzo: Books

Product Description

From Amazon

The story of Don Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia family, inspired some of the most successful movies ever. It is in Mario Puzo's The Godfather that Corleone first appears. As Corleone's desperate struggle to control the Mafia underworld unfolds, so does the story of his family. The novel is full of exquisitely detailed characters who, despite leading unconventional lifestyles within a notorious crime family, experience the triumphs and failures of the human condition. Filled with the requisite valor, love, and rancor of a great epic, The Godfather is the definitive gangster novel. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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.
Adam Mazmanian, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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275 Reviews

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4.7 out of 5 stars (275 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BUY, Feb 12 2012

By

Michel Yves Savard - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Godfather (Mass Market Paperback)

GREAT TO READ THE BOOK ONE MORE TIME. GOOD READING. BUY THIS ITEM NOW. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A 20-WORD FEEDBACK WHEN YOU HAVE TIME TO WASTE.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting classic, Mar 3 2005

By

Sancho Mahle (Charlotte, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Godfather (Mass Market Paperback)

It becomes clear after watching the movie before reading the book that The Godfather novel is better than the movie even though I rank The Godfather movies as one of the best ever. This saga about Corleone Family, gives the best definition of the mafia genre than all the written works that may be known. The character development is unrivalled, the plot is marvelous, the pace is fast, the setting is engrossing and with the complex though fascinating lessons contained within the lines, one gets something close to a catechism. I think that is why Francis Ford Coppola did not have to alter much in the story to produce the movies.
"Behind every great fortune, there is a crime," Wrote the French novelist Balzac. This quote is the forerunner to The Godfather. It takes a short while into the novel to realize that The Godfather transcends being just a novel. Many readers have confessed that it altered their perception of life after reading it. It certainly is a classic with the most influential and deep-cutting influence on the minds of its readers. This novel presents us with the uncommon code and workings of the Mafia. It also explores the lives of the people who are directly or indirectly involved in it. Throughout the novel, one is forced to view Don Corleone as a very good bad man.
Mario Puzo's The Godfather is rich with wide-ranging characters as well. There is Don Corleone's first son-the short-tempered Sonny, Fredo the weak-minded second son, Michael the reluctant son with his father's steel-mindedness who ends up to save the family and Connie the baby sister who follows her impulses all the time. Then there is Amerigo Bonasera the dreary undertaker, the wily Genco, the ruthless capo-regimes, the psychopathic but faithful Luca, the cool-headed and loyal adopted Corleone son Tom Hagen, the women who married into the family and come to accept the reality of their new worlds, loving characters that are detestable to the real world. In the end, this novel revolves around Don Vito Corleone and his son, Michael, who like a reluctant disciple finally takes over as the head of the Corleone family.
You will not be happy when you read the last page because you will be wish for more about the lives of the Corleones and their fantastic world. For sure the character of the Don will last long in your mind, because beyond being violent, Don Corleone is portrayed as a kind, considerate, strong, reliable and reasonable, man. In his person is to be found the ideal father, husband, friend, Godfather, son, leader and business man. Fame, power, wealth and common place idealism make this book the great story it has been over the past three decades.DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE is another novel with ingenious characters and an inspiring hero.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Read You Can't Refuse!!!, Sep 21 2003

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chris meesey Food Czar (The Colony, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Godfather (Mass Market Paperback)

Not many works of fiction can claim to have significantly changed the face of American culture; Mario Puzo's classic novel The Godfather is surely one of those. Look at the evidence: This book (and the wonderful cinematic counterpart) reintroduced the gangster as an American icon. It helped to spawn entire new genres in fiction and films. (Some critics suggest there should be an entirely new designation for this genre and have dubbed it "The Eastern".) Of course, it introduced that classic catchphrase "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse." Finally, it introduced one of the great heroic criminals into literature in the person of Don Vito Corleone (a character reportedly based on Puzo's own mother). Yes, it is true that the movie and not the novel must take much of this credit, but this work is hardly the two-star pulp trash that a few misguided critics have made it to be. It's solid all the way through, particularly the fabulous portrayals of the ruthless gentleman Don Vito and his family, epecially the sons: hotheaded Sonny (whose penchant for needless violence proves fatal), cowardly Freddie (who is spooked by the Don's near-assasination and runs away to Las Vegas), and, most memorably, cool, reserved Michael (who, in the end, proves a tactical genius truly worthy to be called his father's son.) Also, don't forget the fabulous cast of supporting characters: singers Johnny Fontaine and Nino Valenti (read: Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin), and the many minor players such as Luca Brasi and Amerigo Bonserai, who literally owe their very existence to the Don's generosity. And the women!!! Such marvels of strength, tenacity and character presented in blindly obidient Connie, questioning Kay, and the Don's own wife, who knows much more than she reveals. Her tutoring of Kay into the Sicilian way of life ends the book on a high note. Puzo makes these character studies work because he gives each person his own little spotlight; by chapter's end, you know why each one has chosen to become a family member or confidant. The chapters showing the Don's rise to power, subsequent fall, and rebirth are the highpoints of the book, as the newer, more ruthless families seek to destroy the Corleone's sacred honor by forcing them into trafficking drugs. Yes, in the end, it is Michael who prevails, but the action is so good that the climax is not spoiled by knowing the outcome in advance. The reader will want to visit this novel time and again for it's unique perspectives on honor, justice, and The American Dream.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A favorite, and classic read
The Godfather is every bit the classic as the movie and one of the few where I like both the book and the film. Read more

Published on Aug 14 2009 by Karoline

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly done audio, does justice to a brilliant novel
I thoroughly enjoyed this audio rendering of the Godfather. I'm new to audio books, but I was very pleasantly surprised to see that this multi-performer audio made the story... Read more

Published on Aug 9 2006 by umairSalam