The Godfather (original 1969; edition 1983)

This is a case where the movie was better than the novel. The writing is very nice, but it goes on forever on tangents and skirts the most thrilling and/or violent scenes. In the end, it reads more like an essay about the mafia, or a political figure than a novel. There are still great parts and Don Corleone is much more magnificent than his counterpart in the movie, but it still fell flat for me. ( )

This book was pretty amazing. As a die-hard lover of the movie, I just had to read the book - even though reading the book after watching the movie always ruins the latter. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The book was definitely better, naturally, but the movie keeps closely to it.

My favorite part of this book, honestly, was the characters and story lines the movie passes over. The film obviously had a time constraint that the book did not, and wow does it make a difference. I loved the addition of the family's business out in Vegas; it offered a darkly glitzy element to the crime and murder aspect. It also went into far greater detail about the Five Family's histories with each other - some very interesting pieces the film (inexplicably) failed to mention.

A definite must-read. ( )

When this book first came out I was working in an insurance office in Boston with a lot of Italian girls from the North End. I remember their almost whispering about this book -- the fear/respect for the Mafia was so ingrained in them. Growing up in the 50s and 60s, much of the time not far from New York, the doings of the Mob were a daily or weekly part of the news. This was the first novel I know of that explored that culture of crime and family. I suppose we have it to blame for TV shows like "Growing Up Gotti," but it's still a great read. ( )

The Godfather (part 1) is the best movie ever made without nudity in it, and that is a proven fact which nobody can argue with. I know you've all seen it, so I'm not even going to get into plot or characters here. Instead, I'm going to be bold and unconventional, and subject you to a reverie of my personal past instead (so y'all better vote for this review, bitches!)

(WAVY SCREEN EFFECTS ACCOMPANIED BY THE SOUND OF SOMEBODY RUNNING THEIR FINGERS OVER HARP STRINGS)

An older cousin of mine, whom I looked up to in that embarrassing way early-adolescents do, was a huge fan of the film. This being the early 1980's, and my family having neither cable television nor a VCR player, the book was really my only access to the story. Honestly, I wanted to be as excited about The Godfather as my cousin -thinking our mutual enthusiasm would be a point of bonding between us (but in reality, it probably wouldn't have been, just because of our respective ages and personalities). To my disappointment, the book didn't blow me away like I was hoping. ...Don't get me wrong; the gangsters and violence and the secret underworld of the mafia were all very interesting... but nothing to get obsessed about, the way, for example, I had been with Star Wars (the second best movie ever made without nudity). For a long time, I opined that I had gone into the story with overhyped expectations that no book could reasonably live up to. Now I'm not so sure. My wife and I lived in Sicily for two years*, where the Godfather still lives large in the popular culture. Souvenier stands there sell caseloads of the DVD, but rarely did we see the book offered. On viewing the movie again about a year ago, I could still see how well done it is. I think this is one of those rare cases where the film is better than the book. Maybe Francis Ford Coppola is a more skilled director than Puzo is a writer... it's hard to make comparisons like that. What I really think is that the story just lends itself better to visual media than the written word. In the movie, there's that famous montage where the Corleone family is attending a child's baptism, while their agents are slaughtering various enemies around the city. It's a powerful visual juxtaposition condensed to about a minute of screentime. Visually, that imagry was very cohesive, but reading the same thing would be very disjointed and much more drawn out. The only part where I remember liking the book better than the film is where Puzo explains how Don Corleone ensures the hitman's (sorry, I don't recall his name here) loyalty, because although said hitman is not afraid of death, he is terrified that his death would be at the hands of the Don. Now that I've just told you that part, you can rent the movie and forget about the book, secure that you've chosen the superior way of experiencing this tale.

* Meredith, this review is exactly like that time I used to live in Sicily. ( )

Mario Puzo brings to life the 1940s (and earlier) eras of the Mafia in full force. This book, as well as the trilogy of movies that came from it, shows the inner politics of the Mafia. It also shows how human, loving, and caring the characters are, which makes it difficult to support OR damn the characters. Truly a classic that should be read by anyone who enjoys fiction and drama. ( )