The Godfather

by Mario Puzo

Image courtesy of Amazon.com.

The astonishing story of a man who became the All-American Gangster.

Puzo proves stories aren't always happy, research isn't always boring and gangsters aren't always bad in what is perhaps the most popular crime novel of all time.

From a young Sicilian immigrant barely existing in Hell's Kitchen rises Vito Corleone, an olive oil importer of undisputed international renown with strings to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and the Old Country. Loving first his family and second his heritage, Corleone's rise in organized crime is as necessary as it is accidental. Years of services given in exchange for friendship makes him a powerful enemy and a steadfast godfather to many Italians, for whom no grievance is too large. But when an "little accident" brings the Don closer to death, he must confront his mortality by making a decision: choosing one of his three sons to take over "the Family business." The choice teeters on a turf war between the five New York Families and sets off a series of events that ripple across the country. The Corleone Family will survive...for a price. Puzo's writing suggests he's spent time among mobsters himself, though evidence of this is skewed. Rather than focusing on origins, he sucks readers into the saga of a poignant character who rebukes the way mobsters are scene in American culture. Instead of carrying out evil vendettas, the Godfather kills only when pushed to the edge. Instead of exploiting vice, the Godfather maintains a strict moral code. The Godfather accepts progression, but keeps the old ways alive in his Family. Puzo's protagonist could be, for all intents and purposes, a real American hero.

The world Puzo creates thrives in the shadows of public knowledge. Deciding how much of it is real is up to the reader. It is best, perhaps, to keep the adage of another hero in mind: When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.