The Godfather

I love "The Godfather" movie trilogy. It's one of those movies I always stop to watch when I see it on TV even though I own the collection on DVD. My mother has an original 1969 hardback edition of "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo in her collections of books. I've been eyeballing it for sometime, interested in reading the book version that precedes a film trilogy I adore. I put off reading the book until the last couple of days because I rarely read novels that have been made into movies when I've seen the movie first.

Everyone knows the premise of the novel and the movies, if you don't, stop reading now and go read the book or rent the movies. Rather than recap the story here is what is said in the jacket in the first publication of the book:

"Mario Puzo has here created an extraordinary novel; it pulsates with dramatic and evil incident, brute rage, and the naked terror of an infamous underworld. Puzo takes us inside the violence-infested society of the Mafia and its gang wars. He shows us its trials by gunfire and torture and the nature of Mafia friendship. The Godfather is essentially the story of a man and his power, and it is a reading experience one is not likely to forget.

The Godfather is Mafia leader Vito Corleone, benevolent despot who stops at nothing to gain and hold power.

The Godfather is a friendly man, a "reasonable" man, a just man -- and the deadliest gang leader in the Cosa Nostra.

The Godfather's command post is a fortress on Long Island, from which he presides over a vast underground empire that encompasses the rackets, gambling, bookmaking, and unions. Tyrant, blackmailer, murderer -- he gives his friendship (no man dares refuse it), rights wrongs (even murder is not too great a price for "justice"). His influence runs through all levels of American society, from the cop on the beat to the nation's mighty.

Mario Puzo introduces us to an extraordinary gallery of men and women and re-creates the feudal world of the Mafiosi. The elements of this world explode electrically to life in this violent and impassioned chronicle. It is a spellbinding story, written with authentic knowledge of this particular milieu and with the hand of a master storyteller."

I was surprised how well the first movie followed the story of the first novel so closely. Characters, quotes, and storylines are all strongly based on the book. What made the book an interesting read was the further detail it provided to the story we all know as well as to provide more depth to some of the minor characters and events. For example there is a character arc involving Johnny Fontane that runs throughout the book that was never really told in the movies, other than very lightly at the beginning of the first film. We learn more about the brutal cold blooded killer, Luca Brasi, as well many other intriguing characters.

If you're a fan of the movies, I highly recommend this book. The storyline may be very familiar but the depth the novel adds is well worth the read. Puzo crafts a novel that flows well and moves along at a remarkable pace. I enjoyed his style so much that I'll probably look into some of his other written works. I'm also eager to watch the movies again. "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"