The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

2004 lingo on the street: "Yo Man! Don't be dissin' me or I'll put a cap in yo ass."

1949 language of "The Families": "If you disrespect me, you disrespect my family. If you do this, I may have to make you an offer you can't refuse."

See any similarities? You should.

Little do the "gangsters" of today know it, but they owe their backgrounds to the Mafiosos of the early and mid-20th century who brought forth the American icon of such memorables as Bugsy and Capone.

In Mario Puzo's excellent novel, The Godfather, we are introduced to Don Vito Corleone, a man with a powerful business base grounded on family, respect, favors and, of course, murder (or "sleeping with the fishes" if you prefer). The rise of the Dons are brought into blindingly bright view as we see both the caring and compassion of the Dons, as well as their brutal methods for remaining in power and bringing in more business and respect to their families.

Sonny, Michael and Freddie are excellent drawn for us by Puzo's able hand as he reveals the strengths and weaknesses of each of Vito Corleone's sons. Sonny, a hot-head who is difficult to control but a loving son and caring family man who will ultimately be brought down by his own temper; Freddie, a coward but able businessman whose connections in Las Vegas  will help launch the Corleone family into the West and into an entirely new "empire"; and of course Michael, the silent and calculating son who will end up leading the family after the Don's death.

Some critics claim that Puzo created his own sub-genre (the "Eastern") when this novel bust onto the literary scene. I tend to agree. I've never read anything quite like it and it deserves all of the attention it got (the films, the academy awards, the spawning of multiple TV and movie spin-offs like The Sopranos, etc.). Other critics have lambasted Puzo's prose for it's simplicity. Although there is some truth to this, I find it hard to imagine the book written any other way! But this isn't what draws the reader in; it's the characters and all of the terrible events they find themselves in. Will they find a way out? Can the families coexist without tearing each other apart? How can you (the reader) both hope that the Corleone family succeeds, and cringe when they do by means that are less than appetizing?

This is a book that has changed the face of literature and our TV and movie worlds. It deserves our notice and will, with all likelihood, never go out of print. It is an American classic, like it or not.