The Godfather - Mario Puzo

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

My hopes were high for the book, since the movie is considered to be the best of all time, and I was not disappointed. My review is probably slightly biased by the movie, but the author wrote the screenplay as well and the two really are the same piece.

I was delighted to find that all the best moments and quotes from the movie are all here, and the book really does play out like a more in-depth version of the movie. We spend a lot more time with characters caught in the Godfather's web, which really helps to emphasize his influence. We also get a ton of backstory on all the characters in the Corleone family, adding a lot more colour to people I barely remembered from the movie. In particular we spend a lot of time with Johnny Fontane, a Sinatra-esque character through whom we see how powerful the Godfather really is.

I could not put this book down, the anticipation of knowing what's coming not spoiling the story, but enhancing it. There were still surprises along the way, and my connection to each character made the moments I knew were coming hit harder.

I wasn't sure if I should give a coveted 10 to the book, and if I was only doing it because I could imagine the movie in my head. But as I said, they are of one piece, and the afterward at the end of the novel really cemented the score for me. Another author analyzes how the book came out in 1969, a monumental year in America. He contrasts it to Westerns, which are people staking their claim in America and introducing law and order. This book is also a tale about immigration, but from people who felt wronged in the country the were coming from, and not trusting in American law and order. His case on why this resonated with people when it came out, and still to this day, really reinforced for me that this is a masterpiece even apart from the movie.