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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great story, really cool mafia tale. One part in the middle about the bridesmaids tale in Vegas felt super weird but otherwise it was good.
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’ve seen a lot of reviews complaining about the racism and misogyny. And while those claims are more than valid, I’m of the opinion you should always consume media with its publication date in mind. This was written during a time where this was normal and so, I did not let it take away my enjoyment of this book.
That being said, there’s other things I take issue with. This book suffers from the strong beginning - horrible middle - strong ending syndrome. I got hooked pretty fast, but I felt my interest deplete near the 300 pages mark. Things just slowed down too much, got drawn out too much. The last 150 or so pages and especially the ending compensated quite a bit, but it still feels like this book didn’t need to be quite that long.
Another thing I disliked was Puzo’s need to overexplain things. Plot points would be discussed again ten pages after they were brought up, giving the feeling as if the author didn’t trust his audience to pick them up. Other than the feeling of being underestimated, it also slowed down the narrative a lot.
I did enjoy the storyline. It was well set out and written in a way to keep you curious. Who betrayed who and what will happen next? I especially liked the ending chapter where we follow Kay. It feels like a nice way to round the story out, but also give you the feeling that the cycle will continue, even if Michael doesn’t want it to.
Overall a pretty decent read, interesting characters and a strong plot.
That being said, there’s other things I take issue with. This book suffers from the strong beginning - horrible middle - strong ending syndrome. I got hooked pretty fast, but I felt my interest deplete near the 300 pages mark. Things just slowed down too much, got drawn out too much. The last 150 or so pages and especially the ending compensated quite a bit, but it still feels like this book didn’t need to be quite that long.
Another thing I disliked was Puzo’s need to overexplain things. Plot points would be discussed again ten pages after they were brought up, giving the feeling as if the author didn’t trust his audience to pick them up. Other than the feeling of being underestimated, it also slowed down the narrative a lot.
I did enjoy the storyline. It was well set out and written in a way to keep you curious. Who betrayed who and what will happen next? I especially liked the ending chapter where we follow Kay. It feels like a nice way to round the story out, but also give you the feeling that the cycle will continue, even if Michael doesn’t want it to.
Overall a pretty decent read, interesting characters and a strong plot.
Weird rating for me, normally my 3 stars means I didn't hate/suffered the book, but neither it was of any particular enjoyment.. In this case, 3 it's kind of an average, this book had several 1-2 stars chunks, but also some 4-5 ones
I guess this had the potential to be a great book for me with some chopping and polishing
I guess this had the potential to be a great book for me with some chopping and polishing
medium-paced
I love this book. Would probably rate it up there in my top 5.
One of the best books ever written. Fight me on it. It is so good I have 1) took it with me to social gatherings; 2) successfully ignored my friends to finish just one more chapter then 3) ended up tossing it to the other side of the room in shock when THAT THING happened.
No, I had not seen the movie before.
I still haven't seen it, actually, and I don't think it ever will. I'm terrified it will ruin the book for me either way - by being so much worse I'll end up regretting watching it or by being so great I won't remember my experience reading it. So I shall live in this Schroedinger's Cat situation eternally, and for that, I feel grateful.
No, I had not seen the movie before.
I still haven't seen it, actually, and I don't think it ever will. I'm terrified it will ruin the book for me either way - by being so much worse I'll end up regretting watching it or by being so great I won't remember my experience reading it. So I shall live in this Schroedinger's Cat situation eternally, and for that, I feel grateful.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A brilliant read! The storytelling with all the differrent perspectives and characters is perfect, it's cinematic. No wonder this story worked great as a movie. This story is not just a crime story, it's also a family drama and I found the book overall quite emotional. Towards the middle there are some chapters and perspectives that are not really instrumental to the main story, so I expected to get bored, but I didn't. The characters in this book (most of them anyways) are so vivid and three-dimensional that even the more "boring" chapters keep you entertained. Also the ending was just perfect!
I'm glad I read this book and I'm glad I did so before watching the movies.
I'm glad I read this book and I'm glad I did so before watching the movies.
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes