It's common knowledge the movie version of Mario
Puzo's The Godfather is considered by many to be one
of the best films ever made. It boasted a stellar cast
and undoubtedly solid direction in the adept hands of
Francis Ford Coppolla, but the screenplay was just as
memorable; perhaps even more so.
On first glance, I didn't think I'd get through the
novel anytime soon. Maybe it's the age of the book or the thickness of the paper used, but one look at its 450 pages makes it come across as intimidating for someone such as myself, who has
dramatically fallen off the reading wagon in recent
years. But like the movie, the book sucked me into the imaginary world of the Corleone Family so effortlessly, that it became one of
the better page-turners I've read in a long time.
It begins with three men from different walks of life
who have one thing in common -- they need to enlist
Don Vito Corleone to help them with their problems.
They do so at Corleone's daughter's wedding, and the
Godfather agrees to help, under the condition if he
ever needs a favor returned, that he can count on
them. Through the granting of favors and a lucrative
olive oil business, Corleone has established himself
as the head of one of the five mob Families in the New
York area. After an attempt is made on his life,
family affairs fall to the eldest son, Santino
(Sonny). Sonny gets his younger brother, Michael, to
attempt a hit on Sollozzo, the drug-peddling Turk who
master-minded the Godfather's shooting, and McCluskey,
the corrupt cop who dislocated Michael's jaw after a
skirmish. This action ends up having several other
repercussions, which Puzo seamlessly weaves together.
One drawback to the novel is that it features a
subplot regarding Lucy, the bridesmaid who Sonny fools
around with at his sister's wedding, and her romantic
experiences with an abortionist from Vegas. The entire
Vegas portion takes up almost a quarter of the novel's
material and manages to singlehandedly grind a great deal of the action to a halt.
Still, there is plenty of excellent prose to soak in,
including a flashback to Don Vito's youth and how he
first entered the business (brought to cinematic life in the 1974 film sequel), and an excellent interlude
to Sicily, where Michael is forced to hide out for
several years due to troubles back home.
I bought The Godfather at a yard sale for 25 cents six
years ago and it has been gathering dust in my book
collection. I sat down for a few minutes one day and
read the first few pages. After that, finishing Puzo's novel
became a tempting, enthralling offer I simply couldn't refuse.
