The Fortunate Pilgrim

I still love this book! On second read, I did notice some things that irk me (refer to a young woman's body as "ripe" one more time, Puzo, why don't you?), but I'd still highly recommend this to just about anyone. Puzo reveals a gaping absence in literature in this portrait of his mother. Lucia Santa is a woman unlike any other that I've read-- absolutely ruthless in how she cares for her loved ones.

On a less important note: Puzo is the king of food descriptions. More than two years after my first read, I could still vividely recall his narration on a piece of bread speckled with balsamic and olive oil. That's what made me decide to pick it back up in the first place. Peak!

The Fortunate Pilgrim, by Mario Puzo. (283 pgs, 1964)(About the experience of being an Italian immigrant and the children of Italian immigrants in NYC in the first half of the 20th century), 5 stars. This man is such a talented author and this book, which is partly biographical for his life, really spoke to my heart because my Grandparents were Italian Immigrants. Weep bitter tears for Lucia Santa and her family and laugh out loud for the way he accurately describes all your Italian relatives in this most extraordinary book. Then be thankful your parents and grandparents were the fortunate pilgrims, and you can live the carefree life of Gino (throughout most of the book) living in the ‘burbs’ in the land of opportunity.

This work of fiction moved me so much that I couldn't believe that Puzo was capable of such versatility. The impressive story about the struggling mother and her indigent family members, each with their own magnificent stories about challenging family ties, never ceased to teach me about how endurance with loved ones at several life crises strengthens your inner self. Each character being so very detailed and intricate, turned out extremely satisfying and lovable to such extent that picking one as a favorite seemed just impossible.

Taking a risk to write about a book which doesn't include violence or themes of vengeance, menace or even ordinary crime, Puzo strived in delivering a masterpiece.

This work of fiction moved me so much that I couldn't believe that Puzo was capable of such versatility. The impressive story about the struggling mother and her indigent family members, each with their own magnificent stories about challenging family ties, never ceased to teach me about how endurance with loved ones at several life crises strengthens your inner self. Each character being so very detailed and intricate, turned out extremely satisfying and lovable to such extent that picking one as a favorite seemed just impossible.

Taking a risk to write about a book which doesn't include violence or themes of vengeance, menace or even ordinary crime, Puzo strived in delivering a masterpiece.

"The Fortunate Pilgrim" is one of the most interesting novels I had the pleasure of reading. Mario Puzo did an excellent job of incorporating language and imagery into the novel in a manner that allows the reader to not only visualize the characters, but relate to them as well. Lucia Santa's family is a nontraditional family, one where its members choose and follow their own paths. One of her sons chooses to join the Mafia, and another one breaks an important Italian social code and marries a Jewish woman. Lucia Santa is relatable because of the fact that she simply wants to live the American Dream in spite of all of her life's difficulties. The book also pushes readers to think about their own background, and what they are willing to show more do and sacrifice to reach the American Dream. show less

The Fortunate Pilgrim is an immigrant story featuring Lucia Santa. Her family has moved from Italy and finds themselves in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. In a somewhat autobiographical story (Lucia Santa being his real life mother), she has to go through a great deal of adversity as a single mom raising six children. The story is filled with tragedy: one son commits suicide, a daughter spent significant time in a sanitorium, another son is muscle for the Mafia. Despite all of that Lucia finds ways to persevere and keep her family together.

I’m a huge fan of Mario Puzo and thoroughly enjoy his gangster novels. This is why I found this novel particularly disappointing. The prose is still high quality. Mario Puzo is a fantastic writer that show more as a fellow writer I can appreciate. But I could never get into the story. The plot had a rambling quality that seemed to lack focus. It just went from one event to the other and didn’t have any tightness. Out of all the Puzo novels I have read, this is easily the worst. Unless you are a hardcore Puzo fan, I would advise skipping it.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street show less

I would call this a classic of Italian-American fiction.
It's the tale of Lucia Santa Angeluzzi-Corbo, a Southern Italian immigrant who settles in New York(Hell's Kitchen) in the 1920s and her family.

I did this in audio because I love the colorful language that these immigrants spoke.
Lucia Santa is matriarch..a woman of immense strength and an equally imposing fragility.

I loved this audio and had no trouble at all sitting around the family table

4.5 fav