The Family Corleone Mass Market Paperback – June 25, 2013

The book is well written. It does tend to jump around a lot. It's a scary book and at times graphic but that is the Mob. It tries to describe all the background of the characters from the original Godfather series. Have read only half so far but like the book very much.

An interesting story, and a must read for die hard fans of "The Godfather" saga. Hats off to the Mr. Falco for standing in for Mr. Puzzo...I though he did a first class job. Tough shoes to fill, especially carrying forward with established characters (you keep seeing their faces from the movies), and knowing where the story is going before it starts.The main characters who get the most print time throughout the book are Vito Corleone, Sonny, Pete Clemenza and Luca Brasi...followed by the "bad guys" and their Irish surrogates. Connie, Michael and Fredo are kids, and Tom Hagen is in college, so they appear infrequently. There is also a helpful glossary with several dozen Italian slang words and phrases, which appear italicized throught the story...all brought back old memories of the NY neighborhood, where I grew up in the 50's.The tale is in two parts, beginning in the early 30's prior to repeal of prohibition (1933). The Corleone's (younger, smaller, but smarter of the 5 families) are growing and managing their buisness, Sonny (17 yrs old) is chomping at the bit to get involved, there are family stories and get togethers, we meet Genco Abbandando (Vito's consigliere), the land for the compound in LI has been purchased, business is good, things are looking up. Lurking in the background is Giuseppe Mariposa (wanna be boss of all)and his cronies, the brothers Barzini et. al., and the irish gangs.Part two starts in 1934, prohibition has ended, and the Corleone's competitors are feeling it...well, we all know how the Corelone's handle adversity, it's just a question of how and when....I even though I heard the organ music in the background! At the end Vito (as he has been referred to throughout the book), becomes Don Corleone the "Godfather".A real made for the movies blow out, which "The Corleone Family" will surely be...hope they cast it with all unknown actors, similar to the way HBO casts their series.The most interesting part of the book is the story of Luca Brasi, not to be missed. Interestingly, there is no background on Clemenza, Tessio or Genco. Further, Sollozzo appears at the end of the story for no reason other than introduce himself to Sonny. These last two things lead me to believe there will be another book (probably a movie too) covering these background stories, and the tweny years in between 'Family' and 'Godfather'.Basically a good read, although I was suprised by an error that Mr. Puzzo would have never made. On page 333 the author refers to Genco (Vito's consigliere or counselor), as Vito's caporegime, a made member with soldiers under command, like Clemenza or Tessio.

This book is presented so well you can almost envision a movie of it in your head. Narrator has extremely good grasp of different accents, and does Don Corleone and Frankie Pangelli exactly like they sounded in the movie "Godfather" You'd think Brando was there, reading his part!The most valuable part of the book is that it explains the backgrounds of Tom Hagen, Luca Brazzi, Michael, and Vito. Sonny's escapades lead to understanding about his later demise, as do the Michael scenes.It is well presented, and covers the era 15 years before the opening of Godfather itself. It ends with a wedding, just as the Godfather starts with one, with the same casts of characters filling the scenes.It also explains a bit from the movie/book "Godfather' that says, "every ten years or so we have to got to war". There is a war before, in the 30's, and the Don's ways are used to benefit him and set up the later book.Johnny Fontaine is in here, as is Clemenza, Tessio, Tattaglia, & Barzini and others we all enjoyed in the movie.Luca in this book is described as huge, tall, wide. In "Godfather" he is depicted as short, wide, more a sparkplug look, and has 'lips that look like veal', but in this he apparently looks like the "Frankenstein" character popular in that period's movies.The mechanications of the mob, and of management, which is what this really is, are well told.There were a couple reviews I read that weren't crazy about the book, but I cannot understand what they may have been expecting.This is well-done, well-told, has suspense, love, drama, evil, and provides such a background to everyone that it makes the original book understandable as to where these people came from.We never knew the shocking facts of how Tom Hagan became an orphan, nor of the doubts and conflicts Santino and his father had, nor the fact that Michael always had his nose in a book when he was 12-15 years old. Fredo is depicted with about the same qualities he later had as a man: weak, needing respect, getting none, a bit desperate.I could go on, but I recommend a person with interest go ahead on this, and get it. I am a Godfather Fan, and have also gotten "Godfather Returns" and "Godfather's Revenge." These books all fill in the gaps that the movies tried to cover, and they are all well-done.WOG

This book is brilliant. The author develops and enhances characters that we thought we knew well. Vito, Sonny, Clemenza, Tessio, and an even more terrifying Luca. These familiar characters are brought to life greatly expanded while staying true to their Puzo roots. Indeed character development is a crucial factor in this novel’s appeal.New characters are also brought to life and are quickly understood and easily appreciated. Relatives of characters that we know from Puzo are brought to life and beautifully rendered. Players that we thought were simple to understand turn out to be wonderfully complex and compelling. Chief among these is Luca who is not just the simple killing machine we have come to know but rather a deeply complex and enigmatic figure who clearly is one of the author’s favorites.The action is powerful and palpable with Luca leading the charge in the most grizzly manner. We get to see ambushes planned and executed or foiled with a good understanding of each character’s motives and thought process. The action can heat up suddenly or develop as full blown wars which are played out through several chapters.This is a very special book and it is more than a worthy prequel to the original!

Even if it's not from Puzo, the storie take really count to the features of every character of Puzo's book.

Correct

I love this book! You're able to visualize every moment! Its a peefect homage piece to the Mario Puzo classic and gives a grand backstory full of twists and turns.Not only is it a strong backstory but it additionally answers questions you probably wouldn't of asked prior.Ed Falco did an excellent job with this book. It introduces characters known and unknown and we see the starting days of Sonny Corleone. Which ironically have an allignment with those of Vincent Mancini.Read it. Should be a movie. Where's Francis?!

The best book .. and the best prequel to The Godfather.

El material de la novela en sí es excelente, buen seguimiento para las novelas de Puzo, estilo similar. Ahora, en cuanto a la calidad FÍSICA del libro, es pobre, muy chico para mi gusto, paginas con papel de baja calidad, además llegó con varias páginas dobladas.