Take a photo of a barcode or cover
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.