The Godfather (The Godfather #1)

I read The Godfather many, many years ago and thought it would be a nice change to pick it up again. Its very interesting that I seem to have memorized the movie somehow, and, just like the first time I read it, I seem to have liked the movie better than the book. This is a rarity! Its also a rarity that the movie follows the book so preciselyuntil I realized that Puzo also wrote the screenplay. Of course, having seen the film first probably influenced me; after all, how can you beat that incredible cast? This doesnt mean I enjoyed the book any less; really, I think it was flawless in its execution (oopspardon the pun). The characters were well drawn and each stood out in his or her own way. I found the book hard to put down even though I knew what was going to happen.

Is there anybody who doesnt know the story? Interestingly, the early life of Don Corleone was inserted into the middle of the book (wasnt this from movie number two?). It helped a lot and made the Don more approachable to the reader, I think. Also, we do get a deeper insight into the private life of Johnny the singer, for instance, and even Tomas well as an explanation of why Tom was removed as Consigliere at the end. We get a better understanding of Kay, and why she stuck around after Michael cleaned house, so to speak. So in many ways, the book really did enhance the movie experience and certainly would have stood the test of time all by itself. It was well worth reading again.

The Godfather 1 & 2 are arguably the greatest movies EVER. The book was better than the movies because it goes into detail not included in the movie. The Godfather audio-book is even better than the book or movie. Joe Mantegna narrates the book to perfection. I usually listen on my hour drive to work. For the first time in my life I could not wait to go to work so I could listen to the next chapter of the Godfather. Amazing, read the book seen the Godfather 1 & 2 numerous times, however, this audio-book is the best of all the Godfather versions. Mario Puzio was a genius!!

Honestly if you are reading reviews trying to decide if you should read the Godfather or not, you are entirely too picky of a person and would probably spend 30 minutes deciding between two types of Pinot’s at dinner. This is one of the top 5 movies of all time, and the book is exponentially better. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot of terrific books.

The two most important elements of a story are its plot, and its characters. Oftentimes you can have a terrific story that is taken down by shallow characters, or an average story that is saved by complex and unique characters. This story gets an A+ for both.

The plot is interesting, complex but not overly hard to follow, covers a lot of ground over a lot of time, and at multiple points in the book some truly unexpected plot twists that will put your jaw on the floor. It paints a picture of the Mafia as this all knowing, all powerful entity that can reach out and touch anyone, anywhere, anytime. But all of it is believable, cohesive, makes sense and works together.

As good as the plot is, the characters really shine in this book. Everyone is unique, has their own backstory, motivations, history, and goals. And (at least with all the major and many minor characters) these backstories and motivations are explored in tremendous detail. While you are reading this book you don’t think about them as characters in a book, but rather people you know and care about (or in some cases, loathe and detest).

One thing that I think this book does exceedingly well (and better than most any books I’ve read) is detailing how characters come to specific decisions, and why. It’s hard to explain without providing the actual text, but the internal dialogue that takes place throughout the story with the multiple characters is incredibly detailed and compelling. A character may start off a paragraph set on one course of action, and at the end of their “conversation” with themselves have talked them into a new course of action. It’s brilliantly done, and pulled off extremely well.

In short, if you have read this entire review you have wasted time and could already be reading the book.

Ive read The Godfather several times during the past 45+ years. My parents read it in 1969 or 70, and I am remember both talking about it favorably. When they didnt say anything when I picked it up and read the first couple of paragraphs, that sealed my fate; I was going to have to read the entire book.
Im sure I enjoyed it then because of the sex, violence and other mature themes I was just starting to read, but first and foremost, it was a page-turner like nothing else ld picked up before.
Subsequently it seems like it was always around on a friends book shelf or found in the local library on the to be shelved cart, which made for easy accessibility and instant immersive reading bliss.
This is a ripping fine story that combines family histories and conflicts into something that seems to morph into something new and unique with each new reading.

It maybe the wrong way round to do this but it never has been a trait of mine to read a book before seeing the film version. But I have come to realise, on many occasions, that the book is often far more satisfying to read than seeing the film version. And so it is with The Godfather, as much as I enjoyed the film, the book is a much more fullfilling story, more rounded if I can put it that way. But having seen the film first gives me a visual image of the books characters and so enhances the reading experience, a very good book but the story needs no explanation from me.

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