A review by riddlersboyfriend
The Godfather by Mario Puzo

4.0

rating: ★★★★ - i couldn’t put the book down but not in my top 10

why i chose this book: i'm writing a mafia novel myself, so i wanted to read The classic mafia book of all time to get some better insight on how it all worked. plus, i've been curious about this book for a couple years, so i figured now was the time to finally read it.

things i liked:
• sonny. i love sonny corleone so much. his love for his family, his temper... he reminds me of me when i was younger. he made a big impression on me early on

Spoiler

and i was wrecked when he died.

• tom hagen. loved how everyone's like "he's irish!" but he's actually german-american (i am all of those things). loved the found family aspect of it and how he's basically a corleone too. and i love his relationship with sonny.
• the way the story comes full circle. michael is his father and kay is his mother (metaphorically) at the end of the book
• johnny fontane and his love for singing. as a fellow singer i understand this all too well
• the way nino valenti's depression and alcoholism is covered. he's not jealous of johnny's singing voice, he's jealous that johnny feels so strongly and so happily about it! he doesn't have anything he cares enough about like that!
• mama corleone, god bless her. her relationship with kay is so good
•

Spoiler

CARLO RIZZI DIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

WIN FOR EVERYONE

things i disliked:
• what was the thing with apollonia about. did we really need to see it
• the lack of development freddy got. do i understand it, yes. do i kinda wish i'd seen more of him though? also yes
•

Spoiler

tom hagen getting kicked out at the end

cause that's my boy!!
• oh the way women are treated (kay especially, and especially by michael). i know this is like 1950s and they're italian so the bar shouldn't be high but i had qualms with how

Spoiler

michael ditched kay and then she just went back to him almost as soon as he came back from sicily.

and michael just treats women like they're stupid on the whole anyway.
• i... do not like michael very much. wish he was less of an asshole

was it worth the money?: absolutely yes it was. i like this writing style, i like how the characters come alive and leap off the page, and i like how the author was NOT in the mafia and didn't talk to anybody IN the mafia and yet wrote an exceedingly accurate mafia book anyway. don corleone taught me some life lessons in this one yall