Customer Reviews

The Sicilian

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While this book was great from beginning to end; I only read 1 other book from Mario Puzo the omerta but this is even better, the plot the detail in each way and the ending is the best. If you like any mystery I would recommend you get this book.

This book is truly amazing. It is, albeit, a slow read, but it really gives you insightinto thesuffering of Sicily, which Mario Puzo obviously feels a passion for.
These 410 pages of genius are about Salvatore Guiliano, a Sicilian bandit, who is against any authority that prevents the poor from getting a loaf of bread. Amongst these authorities are the government, the italian police, and the mafia, who continually 'wet their beaks' in the poor's money. He is willing to kill for the plight of the poor, and also for the boosting of his own ego.
Michael Corleone, son of Don Vito Corleone from New York, (godfather) is nearing the end of his two year exile in Sicily. (This carries over from the middle of the book the Godfather) and is awaiting the trip home, when his father tells him he is to rescue Salvatore Guiliano at all costs, but he has but a week.
This book, unlike numerous other Puzo novels hardly glorifies the mafia and their ways, as Guiliano is against the Black Hand taking away what little the poor of Sicily have.
All in all, this book is fantastic, and it is great for a lazy day where you can simply sit and read.

after reading the godfather, i wanted to read more of mario puzo's work. and, after being told that there was a sequel to the godfather, the sicilian, i decided to purchase it. To my surprise, this book had absolutely nothing to do with the movie - the godfather part 2 - and barely did it follow the story of michael corleone. It instead re-told the story of a real-life hero - salvatore guiliano - the troubles he encountered and the daily adventures he had to endure. Dont pick this book up expecting a godfather sequel, because it is far from it... but it is truly a classic novel in my eyes. Im sure you'd like it if you liked the godfather. Buy it fashizzles

As Puzo says in his book-'But life is a different history'-the sicilainas have carved a different history for themselves.
The theme is not impressive,but the dialogues are catchy-words that can be stored in heart and taste it when it is 'cold' by bringing it back to memory.
Towards the end there are two heroes-Guiliano and his evertime friend Pisciotta.As the author says,only one hero will become a legend,not his friend,but a villian can put his shoulders alongside the hero when the history is written for them.
And the biggest lesson is 'Live to keep you alive,'death of a hero' and 'legendary' -just ephemeral memory for the generations.........
-Good for a one time read

I found this book very close to the GODFATHER in terms of it being a literary masterpiece. The plot is very engaging and the characters are presenteld in a very skillful manner. Read this book !!!

I stumbled upon this book one day at the book store and I saw who the author was, Mario Puzo. Having previously read the Godfather I decided to give it a try, all I can say is this is a very enjoyable book to read from beginning to end. The book tells the story of a real life character, Turi Giuliano, who lived after WWII and was considered a hero by many -a modern day Robin Hood. Having researched this character after reading the book, I found that many of the events that happened in the book are in fact what actually happened in real life. It's interesting to see how Mr. Puzo took the time to do some research on Salvatore Giuliano. The book calls him 'Guiliano', but in fact his surname was 'Giuliano'. The book deals with the main character's life as well as Don Croce-the Friends of Friends top boss- and Michael Corleone's time in exile. A good read. You'll be surprised how the story ends...

90 out of 100 have heard of "The Godfather", but not many people know of "The Sicilian", Mario Puzo's epic tale of friendship, deceit and love and follow-up to "The Godfather". Set during the middle of GODFATHER, Michael Corleone must help legendary Salvatore Guiliano, a Robbin Hood-esque bandit trying to escape to America. Excellent, dramatic, action-packed, clever and at times extremely sad; a highly recommended read.

A wonderful wonderful book. Perhaps even better than The Godfather. Long live Guiliano!

"We all loved Turi Giuliano: But how could we live with him? He wanted to change the world, turn it upside down. He loved his fellow man and who killed more of them? He believed in god and kidnapped a Cardinal!"
Well, Don Croce's words towards the end of the novel pretty much wrap up the story of Giuliano, the man who rose against thousands of years of tradition, against a mixture of interlaced political and economical interests, of local and foreign politicians and barons of crime (for the sicilians, every italian born anywhere outside Sicily is considered a foreigner).
This work is vintage Puzo: it has many similarities to other works of the great writer, a wide range of complex characters, a detailed study of these characters and the relationships between them, all these entwined in a bloody web of violence and vendettas, life and death, loyalty and betrayal, friendship and sexual exploits of the main characters, very similar to those you find in "The Godfather", "The last Don", "Omerta", "The family", "Fools die", etc. Through this novel though, Puzo takes the reader in the land of mist-shrouded mountains and ancient ruins, when "children more beautiful than the angels spring from the earth and turn into demons, where the evil florish in the soil like the bamboo and the prickly pear". He also gives the occasion to the readers to learn something about the history of Italy in general and of Sicily in particular during and right after World War Two (to those who are interested in it, anyway).
All in all one of Puzo's best works, at least as far as storyline and writing style are concerned. One major critical remark though, not for the writer, but for the editor: his name was Salvatore Giuliano and not Guiliano, as you repeatedly find the name mistakenly written at least five times in every page of the book. Maybe I'm nitpicking a bit here, but this "little" error changes completely the pronunciation of his name in italian. Maybe it's not that important, but how would you like to read a book about George Woshington, Elvis Preesley or Martin Luther Kong?

"We all loved Turi Giuliano: But how could we live with him? He wanted to change the world, turn it upside down. He loved his fellow man and who killed more of them? He believed in god and kidnapped a Cardinal!"
Well, Don Croce's words towards the end of the novel pretty much wrap up the story of Giuliano, the man who rose against thousands of years of tradition, against a mixture of interlaced political and economical interests, of local and foreign politicians and barons of crime (for the sicilians, every italian born anywhere outside Sicily is considered a foreigner).
This work is vintage Puzo: it has many similarities to other works of the great writer, a wide range of complex characters, a detailed study of these characters and the relationships between them, all these entwined in a bloody web of violence and vendettas, life and death, loyalty and betrayal, friendship and sexual exploits of the main characters, very similar to those you find in "The Godfather", "The last Don", "Omerta", "The family", "Fools die", etc. Through this novel though, Puzo takes the reader in the land of mist-shrouded mountains and ancient ruins, when "children more beautiful than the angels spring from the earth and turn into demons, where the evil florish in the soil like the bamboo and the prickly pear". He also gives the occasion to the readers to learn something about the history of Italy in general and of Sicily in particular during and right after World War Two (to those who are interested in it, anyway).
All in all one of Puzo's best works, at least as far as storyline and writing style are concerned. One major critical remark though, not for the writer, but for the editor: his name was Salvatore Giuliano and not Guiliano, as you repeatedly find the name mistakenly written at least five times in every page of the book. Maybe I'm nitpicking a bit here, but this "little" error changes completely the pronunciation of his name in italian. Maybe it's not that important, but how would you like to read a book about George Woshington, Elvis Preesley or Martin Luther Kong?