The Dark Arena
by Mario Puzo
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Mario Puzo won international acclaim for The Godfather and his other Mafia novels. But before creating those masterpieces, Puzo wrote his first acclaimed novel The Dark Arena–an astounding story of a war-scarred young American in a battle against corruption and betrayal. . . .After coming home at the end of World War II, Walter Mosca finds himself too restless for his civilian role in America. So he returns to Germany to find the woman he had once loved–and to start some kind of life in show more a vanquished country. But ahead of Walter stretches a dark landscape of defeat and intrigue, as he succumbs to the corrupting influences of a malevolent time. Now he enters a different kind of war, one in which he must make a fateful decision–between love and ambition, passion and greed, life and death. . . . show less
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My first Puzo, which I had on hand, and would help me decide to buy the Godfather or not. Yup, I'll be picking up the Godfather the next time I get a chance. The Dark Arena was good, not great, but it was definitely an enjoyable read exposing a time and setting I was not very familiar with. The characters, although not very likable (which I've seen other reviewers complain about), we very well done, each fitting in their own niche. Overall it wasn't a very pleasant book, not what one would call a beach read, but it was definitely worth reading as Puzo spins a good tale.
I found this to be rather dull and boring, it portrayed a pretty decent atmosphere of post war Germany however none of the characters were particularly likeable and the story didn't really move me in anyway what so ever. The ending was also quite bland for everything you had to sit through to get there.
I'm surprised it's written by the same person as Godfather, his writing certainly matured with time.
I'm surprised it's written by the same person as Godfather, his writing certainly matured with time.
Schauplatz BREMEN in den 5oer Jahren, GIs und German Fräuleins... 1953 first published "The Dark Arena", Puzo himself was stationed in Bremen after the war.
Vivían en un mundo de hombres despiadados y sus mujeres. Un mundo de poder desnudo e influencia secreta. Un mundo fuera de la ley, más allá de la ley, por encima de la ley. Vivían en The Dark Arena.
Mosca, joven, dura, ambiciosa. Le gustaban los juegos y tratos y no tenía miedo de matar. Pero había una cosa con la que no contaba: el amor.
Hella, amaba a Mosca más que a la vida misma, lo cual era muy peligroso, para ambos.
Eddie, un verdadero operador. Solo se preocupaba por sí mismo y por los tratos que podía hacer. Y cuando estaba borracho, era vicioso.
Leo, un alma dividida. Estaba entre mundos y atrapado en las intrigas mortales de Eddie y Mosca.
Mosca, joven, dura, ambiciosa. Le gustaban los juegos y tratos y no tenía miedo de matar. Pero había una cosa con la que no contaba: el amor.
Hella, amaba a Mosca más que a la vida misma, lo cual era muy peligroso, para ambos.
Eddie, un verdadero operador. Solo se preocupaba por sí mismo y por los tratos que podía hacer. Y cuando estaba borracho, era vicioso.
Leo, un alma dividida. Estaba entre mundos y atrapado en las intrigas mortales de Eddie y Mosca.
Dec 11, 2022Spanish
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98+ Works 24,477 Members
Mario Puzo, best known as the author of The Godfather, was born on October 15, 1920 in the Hell's Kitchen area of New York City. He served in the U. S. Army during World War II, and when he returned attended New York's School for Social Research and Columbia University. He wrote pulp stories and edited Male magazine before publishing his first show more novel, The Dark Arena (1955). His works were well-received critically, but failed to generate much revenue until he published his most notable work, The Godfather, which was ultimately made into a trilogy of award-winning movies. Puzo continued writing novels, and his final work, Omerta, was finished not long before his death. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in both 1972, and 1974. Puzo died on July 2, 1999 in Bay Shore, Long Island. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Dark Arena
- Original title
- The dark arena
- Original publication date
- 1955
- People/Characters
- Walter Mosca
- Important places
- Germany
- Important events
- World War II
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Statistics
- Members
- 339
- Popularity
- 93,392
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.12)
- Languages
- 11 — Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 39
- ASINs
- 11
