Rating: 
Summary: As much a part of America as Mustangs and Baseball
Review: The Godfather is one of the best pieces of literature ever written. Mario Puzo paints this elaborate picture of the Sicilian mafia through the eyes of Michael Corleone, a returning Marine Corps hero who at first wants nothing to do with the elaborate crime family that his father has built.
Don Vito Corleone, an Italian immigrant who goes from poverty in Little Italy to create one of the Five Families of New York with the help of his friends Peter Clamenza and Salvatore Tessio.
His inferiors include his sons, the short tempered Santino "Sonny", the clumsy Fredo, and of course Michael. Wounded war Vet Rocco Lampone, and the tough Luca Bracsi.
The Godfather starts in a 1945 New York. A mob war is brewing between the Corleone's and a rival family. The dilema of getting into drug trade and betrayal are at the heart of this literature classic.
The reason that the Godfather is so good is the depth of Mario Puzo's characters. They aren't just evil criminals. They are real people. Puzo romanticises the mafia life and that time period altogether.
He also does something perfectly what other books have tried to do and miserably failed at. He parodies real life characters into his novel. Johny Fontane the saloon singer is his fictional Sinatra and it is perfectly done.
This is easily ther best book you will ever read. Also check out Puzo's other mob stories and Mark Winegardner's "The Godfather Returns" but only AFTER you read their inspiration, The Godfather.
Rating:
Summary: A Modern day masterpiece
Review: Everyone once in a long while comes along a book that would forever stand out in the midst of all its contemporaries and get etched into the consciousness of the general populace. One such book is Godfather, a modern day masterpiece by Mario Puzo. This book, a classic of our modern times has been widely read and appreciated for over a quarter of a century and has even been adopted into three of the most popular motion pictures ever.
In this book, Puzo delivers unto us a spellbinding tale of the American Mafioso of the Sicilian origin. The intricately woven plot revolves around the lives of the family members and associates of the Godfather, Don Vito Corleone, who is portrayed as a man of immense bulk and even immense power in every place, yet over staying out of the limelight. It delves deeply into the lives of the Don, his family and his associates and henchmen. It gives us a ringside view of an American born Sicilian son's vendetta against his father's attackers, his time in hiding and ultimately his rise as the Don upon his father's death. Through out the book, there is always the feeling that even the Mafiosi have their own families that they care deeply about, as is evident from their actions. At times, even these bloodthirsty 'animales' seem humane, an achievement on Puzo's part.
The portrayal of the brutal, remorseless world of the mafia, which is so dark, yet so magnetically charming, is brilliant, at times even mercilessly so. This tale had raised much of a storm in the hearts of it's readers, albeit one of awe and admiration.
Anyone who starts reading this book would never be able to put it down; so engrossing is this tale of an entire underground, invisible, all pervasive, secret society.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest book ever written in the times of jesus christ
Review: I do have to start with the admission that I do feel the movie was, in the case, better than the book. Anyway, I enjoyed it more. That could be just me though. That being said, I do feel this work is well worth the read. It certainly will grab your attention and hold it. I would rank it a bit above pulp fiction as the author's style and character developement is quite good and the story line certainly works. Even those who do not particularly enjoy "ganster books," (I fit that category), will find something to like about this book. It is simply well done! I would certainly approach the book as entertainment rather than a social comment on our society, as I am not sure of the accuracy of the research that went into it. Anyway, read it and enjoy and I do highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece...
Review: I don't get why everyone likes the movie so much more. This book contains subplots that were vastly important, but that the movie lacked. Johnny Fontane's struggles were heart-wrenching. Santino's girlfriend, and the doctor were a perfect diversion. And the cop turn hit-man was a wonderful look into what must have happened to Luca Brasi. And this Godfather is not a thinly veiled thug like the one Marlon Brando played. He's a caring person, who sometimes has to have people killed for what he sees as the greater good.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing. Spellbinding.
Review: I first read Mario Puzo's THE GODFATHER three decades ago, and the impact it had on me was overwhelming. Here was a rare novel that hooked the reader from the very first page, a novel to be savored and absorbed by the author's grim yet masterful prose. Through the pages of this book the reader is introduced to the shadowy world of organized crime--more importantly, to the fiercely interdependent workings of the mafia. Deeply embedded in its Italian heritage, it was a culture of unspeakable violence, but it also fostered family, honor, community, loyalty, friendship. Vengeance. If you are downtrodden, or unfairly victimized, all you need do is approach one of the "families" and request a "favor." Proclaim your devotion and friendship, the favor will be granted. And then--even though it may never happen--you must be willing to return the favor. Or suffer the consequences. Puzo's novel brings to life the Corleone family, headed by its aging patriarch, Don Vito Corleone. In post-World War II New York, Corleone faces a changing world, but he is still plagued by the relentless "turf wars" with the other major families. Intense pressure is brought to introduce narcotics to the list of "services" provided by his family--pressure that Corleone emphatically resists, to the bleak detriment of first himself, and to those he loves. The subsequent development of the story--of the Corleone's strategy, of the emergence of one of the Godfather's sons to perpetuate the family's power and considerable clout--is spellbinding. Few novels of the last thirty years have had any lasting effects on our cultural lexicon. THE GODFATHER is one of them. Highly recommended.
--D. Mikels
Rating: 
Summary: I must be too biased for the movie
Review: I think if you read most reviews here you will see virtually everyone loves "The Godfather." That said let me just say I enjoyed the book but I think I preferred the movie (Actually the book touches on both Godfather I and II) instead. This is unusual because I almost always enjoy the book over the movie but this is an exception. Let me explain why:
1. The book focuses more on the woman Sonny is having an affair than the movie did. Minimizing her in the movie was a smart idea.
2. The scene in Godfather I where Micheal descibes how to get away with killing McClusky and Sollozzo seems to be an important turning point in Micheal's "career path". In the movie Sonny is surprised his college bound brother wants to get involved in the family. The book version seems ridiculous, with Sonny saying basically "It is about time you joined us..."
3. I liked how the book focuesd more on Johnny Fontaine but it was sort of long winded at times. I can see why the movie cut that part out.
It is a good book, but to me the movie is just so much better.
Rating:
Summary: An Offer You Can't Refuse...
Review: I was surprised to hear that Mario Puzo wrote "The Godfather" after attempts at "literature" hadn't provided enough income. According to the source I read he wrote this book for the money. What can I say? I heard Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for the same reason.
Whatever his inspiration, Puzo's tale is one I couldn't put down. I don't know how many today read the book before seeing Coppola's movie - one of the greatest films by almost any measurement. I read the book back in the 70s before seeing the film, and the movie vividly brought the characters in my head to life. The advantage in the book is that Coppola is able to allow you inside the heads of the characters and flesh out much of the back and side stories. Remember the undertaker who opens the movie, asking for the Godfather to render justice to the two punks who violated his daughter then were set free by the American court? In the book we find out what happens to those punks. The movie star Johnny Fontaine is fleshed out with a little Hollywood Babylon. We get to read the story of the young Vito Corleone and how he came to become "The Godfather" - a story that doesn't show up in until the second movie with DeNiro as young Vito and Bruno Kirby brilliant as the young Tessio. We find out how the Irish kid Tom Hagen becomes like an adopted son to the Godfather and how his intelligence enables him to go to law school and become the Godfather's next Consigliore. We get to find out about the fearful Luca Brasi and why he's pretty much the only man that makes Vito Corleone a little nervous.
Puzo creates a fictional world that is rich and profound and populated by larger than life characters. Only recommended for those who want to read the quintessential gangster novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Botched and cheesy compared to the film's script
Review: I'm mystified by all the reviewers who insist this book is "way better than the movie" and indiscriminately slap 5-stars on it. They're misguided. Don't believe them. Sure, The Godfather is a page-turner...I've read it a few times and you can always count on it to suck you in like a Hoover. BUT C'MON! It's full of trashy sex scenes and lazy language. Puzo himself dissed the book, and freely admitted that he wrote a ... formulaic book strictly designed to make money. Francis Ford Coppola's movie axed out all the pulpy aspects, and transformed a cheesy best-seller into a powerful piece of art. A key example of how the movie script blows the novel away: In the book's opening chapters, the narrator states that Don Corleone has always intended to make Michael his successor. Oops... ...there goes the suspense! Puzo ruins the crucial character arc--Michael's slow conversion from "nice college boy" to "ruthless don-in-training"--with this one line. In the film, on the other hand, no one views Michael as a successor. It's understood that he shuns the family business. As he's drawn in, it's his resistance, his denials, and his ultimate capitulation that keep us watching. Book botches this; film handles it expertly. Just one of many examples. By all means, read the book, but maintain a little perspective. It's no masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: book's good, MOVIES ARE BETTER
Review: it was a close call for me, but i enjoyed the movies better. not that the book wasn't awesome.. it was. you certainly get more of a feel for all the characters and a better understanding of their motives and feelings. (i especially enjoyed how the book described Tom's feelings of guilt at the loss of Sonny where the movie did not, to my recollection) it's an excellent book as everyone here knows, but i was pretty bored with the chapters devoted to Sonny's girlfriend, her surgeon boyfriend, and for that matter Johnny Fontaine as well. these diversions would've been perfectly fine by me if they had tied back in more dramatically with the overall story. i can't see how they added much to the story and i can easily say that they distracted me from the main story. i kept waiting for Puzo to tie the threads together. sorry but these parts seemed like page fillers to me. Why do i need a graphic description of Sonny's girlfriend's surgery? actually these portions detracted from the story considerably i my view. Still, i did not want the book to end, as i was just as drawn to the characters (especially Vito) as i am when i watch the movies. Plus i really enjoy Puzo's grasp of the familial relationships he writes about. honor among brothers, and devotion to family and such. Good book. better movie.
Rating:
Summary: A Read You Can't Refuse!!!
Review: Not many works of fiction can claim to have significantly changed the face of American culture; Mario Puzo's classic novel The Godfather is surely one of those. Look at the evidence: This book (and the wonderful cinematic counterpart) reintroduced the gangster as an American icon. It helped to spawn entire new genres in fiction and films. (Some critics suggest there should be an entirely new designation for this genre and have dubbed it "The Eastern".) Of course, it introduced that classic catchphrase "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse." Finally, it introduced one of the great heroic criminals into literature in the person of Don Vito Corleone (a character reportedly based on Puzo's own mother). Yes, it is true that the movie and not the novel must take much of this credit, but this work is hardly the two-star pulp trash that a few misguided critics have made it to be. It's solid all the way through, particularly the fabulous portrayals of the ruthless gentleman Don Vito and his family, epecially the sons: hotheaded Sonny (whose penchant for needless violence proves fatal), cowardly Freddie (who is spooked by the Don's near-assasination and runs away to Las Vegas), and, most memorably, cool, reserved Michael (who, in the end, proves a tactical genius truly worthy to be called his father's son.) Also, don't forget the fabulous cast of supporting characters: singers Johnny Fontaine and Nino Valenti (read: Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin), and the many minor players such as Luca Brasi and Amerigo Bonserai, who literally owe their very existence to the Don's generosity. And the women!!! Such marvels of strength, tenacity and character presented in blindly obidient Connie, questioning Kay, and the Don's own wife, who knows much more than she reveals. Her tutoring of Kay into the Sicilian way of life ends the book on a high note. Puzo makes these character studies work because he gives each person his own little spotlight; by chapter's end, you know why each one has chosen to become a family member or confidant. The chapters showing the Don's rise to power, subsequent fall, and rebirth are the highpoints of the book, as the newer, more ruthless families seek to destroy the Corleone's sacred honor by forcing them into trafficking drugs. Yes, in the end, it is Michael who prevails, but the action is so good that the climax is not spoiled by knowing the outcome in advance. The reader will want to visit this novel time and again for it's unique perspectives on honor, justice, and The American Dream.
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