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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Even if you've seen the movie it still holds up. Immediately began a google worm hole on the Mafia. Morbidly fascinating.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What’s not to love??? The book is always better than the movie! This is one of those rare instances where I saw the movie first (loved it) and then read the book (loved it)!
This is and will always be one of my all time favourite books. I'm a huge mafia fan. And this book just sealed-the-deal for me.
dark
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 very good book that gave me much to ponder.
When Santino is reproached by his father and he responds, "I saw you kill Fanucci" is when the spell the novel pains to put you under, that the Don is god-like, all seeing, all knowing, broke. Perhaps Vito was more intelligent, perhaps he was wiser, but he was no more moral a man than the brash and violent Santino.
Another part I really enjoyed was when Michael repairs his face and the Don responds, "What's the difference?" Not exactly subtle symbolism, but effective nonetheless. It also reactivated the spell of awe surrounding Vito. He sees beyond the mask people put up.
Is it a masterpiece? No. I don't dislike the asides regarding Johnny Fontane and his lagging career, Nino and his desire to die, or Lucy and her cavernous [blank]. In fact, I think they add some juxtaposition and depth to the core themes of the primary plot, (particularly Nino's story) but they are a little bawdy and aren't quite consistent with the tone of the piece.
When Santino is reproached by his father and he responds, "I saw you kill Fanucci" is when the spell the novel pains to put you under, that the Don is god-like, all seeing, all knowing, broke. Perhaps Vito was more intelligent, perhaps he was wiser, but he was no more moral a man than the brash and violent Santino.
Another part I really enjoyed was when Michael repairs his face and the Don responds, "What's the difference?" Not exactly subtle symbolism, but effective nonetheless. It also reactivated the spell of awe surrounding Vito. He sees beyond the mask people put up.
Is it a masterpiece? No. I don't dislike the asides regarding Johnny Fontane and his lagging career, Nino and his desire to die, or Lucy and her cavernous [blank]. In fact, I think they add some juxtaposition and depth to the core themes of the primary plot, (particularly Nino's story) but they are a little bawdy and aren't quite consistent with the tone of the piece.
adventurous
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
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I hope your reading chair has seat belts.
There is something so classic and haunting about this book. Even if you have the film firmly cemented in your head the whole time (as I did), the book goes into so much more depth and weaves the threads much more subtly than visual media ever could. And because the structure of the novel is non-linear and spreads fairly horizontally, it keeps the reader on their toes and guessing what the hell is even happening sometimes.
There are so many wonderful characters in this novel - the Don, Sonny, Lucy, Carlo, Johnny Fontane, even Kay's parents are unexpectedly hilarious. But at the center of this story is Michael Corleone, who lies and manipulates so cooly that by the end you are actually not sure if most of what he says is the truth, even when he speaks to confidants like Tom and Clemenza. Duplicity and corruption are overarching themes of the story, but it pops up in oddly unexpected corners -- literally. Like when Lucy is getting her surgery, the doctor manhandles her to impress the other doctor, Jules. The creepiness of that picture took me a little while to understand -- this woman is unconscious while her lover and his doctor friend operate on her vagina, and even in this moment of utter medical vulnerability and helplessness the surgeons have a little bro moment (tightening her genitalia to make sure its extremely pleasurable for the boyfriend). The whole thing felt so violating, but at the same time Lucy is in these men's debt. If her boyfriend had not diagnosed her, then she may have been sexually miserable her whole life. And his commitment to her is real -- he proposes to her and pledges devotion, even though he has been intrusive. His relationship is founded in a genuine love, but it expresses itself in a very personal, dominant way. Wait...WAIT! IT'S A METAPHOR! IT'S A METAPHOR FOR HOW ORGANIZED CRIME IS A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BASED IN A DESIRE TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE, BUT EVENTUALLY VIOLATES THE LOWER STATUS PERSON'S TRUST AND AGENCY IN AN OVERARCHING DESIRE TO HELP! AND YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU CAN'T DENY THAT YOU ARE BETTER OFF THAN IF YOU HAD NEVER SOUGHT HELP TO BEGIN WITH, AND IN LUCY'S CASE SHE WILL NEVER KNOW THAT WHILE SHE WAS UNDER GENERAL ANESTHESIA THE SURGEON FINGERED HER TO IMPRESS THE OTHER DOCTOR...
...Or not, and maybe that passage is just one of many disturbingly misogynistic moments in this novel.
Either way, I liked this novel, could not put it down, and will recommend it for anyone!
There is something so classic and haunting about this book. Even if you have the film firmly cemented in your head the whole time (as I did), the book goes into so much more depth and weaves the threads much more subtly than visual media ever could. And because the structure of the novel is non-linear and spreads fairly horizontally, it keeps the reader on their toes and guessing what the hell is even happening sometimes.
There are so many wonderful characters in this novel - the Don, Sonny, Lucy, Carlo, Johnny Fontane, even Kay's parents are unexpectedly hilarious. But at the center of this story is Michael Corleone, who lies and manipulates so cooly that by the end you are actually not sure if most of what he says is the truth, even when he speaks to confidants like Tom and Clemenza. Duplicity and corruption are overarching themes of the story, but it pops up in oddly unexpected corners -- literally. Like when Lucy is getting her surgery, the doctor manhandles her to impress the other doctor, Jules. The creepiness of that picture took me a little while to understand -- this woman is unconscious while her lover and his doctor friend operate on her vagina, and even in this moment of utter medical vulnerability and helplessness the surgeons have a little bro moment (tightening her genitalia to make sure its extremely pleasurable for the boyfriend). The whole thing felt so violating, but at the same time Lucy is in these men's debt. If her boyfriend had not diagnosed her, then she may have been sexually miserable her whole life. And his commitment to her is real -- he proposes to her and pledges devotion, even though he has been intrusive. His relationship is founded in a genuine love, but it expresses itself in a very personal, dominant way. Wait...WAIT! IT'S A METAPHOR! IT'S A METAPHOR FOR HOW ORGANIZED CRIME IS A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BASED IN A DESIRE TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE, BUT EVENTUALLY VIOLATES THE LOWER STATUS PERSON'S TRUST AND AGENCY IN AN OVERARCHING DESIRE TO HELP! AND YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU CAN'T DENY THAT YOU ARE BETTER OFF THAN IF YOU HAD NEVER SOUGHT HELP TO BEGIN WITH, AND IN LUCY'S CASE SHE WILL NEVER KNOW THAT WHILE SHE WAS UNDER GENERAL ANESTHESIA THE SURGEON FINGERED HER TO IMPRESS THE OTHER DOCTOR...
...Or not, and maybe that passage is just one of many disturbingly misogynistic moments in this novel.
Either way, I liked this novel, could not put it down, and will recommend it for anyone!